Your artist's statement is your chance to talk not just through your art but about your art. You can use your artist's statement to reveal the concepts, philosophy, themes and ideas behind your artwork and this useful guide will tell you how!
An artist's statement is as important as an artist's work. Simply put, the artist statement is a brief description of your artworks that shapes the viewers' perspective when they are looking at your art.
Think of it as your substitute when you are not present to answer questions related to your art. Art is subjective. People will look at your craft and evaluate it. So, it helps if you communicate your story to the viewer. Viewers often have questions about the art they are looking at. An effective artist statement answers those questions while you are not there.
Writing an artist statement should ideally be natural and free flowing because essentially, you are expressing your own story. However, it can seem challenging to put one together.
Creative professionals write artist statements as part of their online portfolio. An online portfolio acts as your professional address and launchpad to find work opportunities and recognition. Artist statements go hand-in-hand with a online portfolio website. A website helps you gain credibility and legitimacy. Take a look at some great examples of artist portfolio websites.
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Given below are a few valuable tips from professional essay writers that will help you to write a clear, concise, and compelling artist statement. Here are stunning great tattoo artist portfolio website examples designed for your use.
How to write an artist statement – The structure
Your artist statement is about YOU. So you must make it personal. Writing an artist statement is also an exercise for you to clarify your ideas about your work.
You must establish the connection between what you are creating as an artist, and why are you doing it. How are you expressing your ideas with the medium of your choice?
Your artist statement is an introduction to your work and should be no more than 100 -150 words. The opening sentence should be distinct and captivating and draw the readers in. Begin with a short paragraph about the basic premise behind your work, artistic style, and vision. What do you want to say with your art? What is it that makes your work unique? What inspires you? What makes you stand out from the rest of the artists working in your space?
Be honest about your work. Avoid repetition of words. Use simple language and short sentences that draw attention to, and illustrate your ideas to your audience
The next paragraph should be a concise expression of the type of work presented and the artistic process. Describe your job, your favorite colors, and your technique as an. As a photographer, explain your work from a creative and technical standpoint.
An artist statement can be a full-page statement or a short statement, only focusing on your current project.
In a full-page artist statement, do remember to include the following:
Tip: While writing, do remember that you should avoid exaggerated statements and avoid pretentiously grand terms like 'the only one' or the 'best.'
Remember, an artist statement complements your bio or resume. It is an opportunity to help the reader envision your work before actually seeing it, and present a picture of who you are as an artist.
Along with your portfolio of works, you must have an artist statement ready at all times. It is the first point of communication between you as an artist and the viewer.
Here are some artist statement examples that you can get inspired from:
Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe, silkscreen print
"I long for the old days of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, stars who had real glamour and mystique. We only knew so much about their lives; the rest was a mystery… My fascination with letting images repeat and repeat – or in a film's case 'run on' – manifests my belief is that we spend much of our lives seeing without observing."
Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi. Wikipedia
"The beginnings and ends of shadow lie between the light and darkness and may be infinitely diminished and infinitely increased. Shadow is the means by which bodies display their form. The forms of bodies could not be understood in detail but for shadow."
Painting by Berthe Morisot
"It is important to express oneself… provided the feelings are real and are taken from your own experience… My ambition is limited to capturing something transient, and yet, this ambition is excessive."
From any of the sample artist statements above, you can understand that conveying the purpose of your art and your philosophy towards it is important.
Check out these great examples of artist portfolio websites for your inspiration and further examples of artist statements.
One of the best ways to introduce your art to the viewers is to write about the inspiration behind it. This lays a foundation before you begin to explain your artwork to your viewers. Inspiration can be a daily phenomenon or a particular incident. Regardless, explain it in as simple words as you can. This act accomplishes the principal goal of connecting with the viewer. Not doing so leaves a viewer unconnected, especially if it's abstract art. Without it, your art is a splash of multiple colors on canvas with nothing to make of it.
The next important thing to do when you write an artist statement is to explain your art in words that would shape the perspective of viewers. Your art is your viewpoint, and one can easily misunderstand it. To ensure that you and the viewer are on the same page, add a line or two to explain your art. But, restrain from divulging all the details about your work. Try to leave a little room for curiosity such that the viewer is bound to further inquire about your art.
If you are wondering how long should your artist statement be, then you should know that lengthy biographies drain viewers, especially when they are out to see beautiful art. A lot of fancy words make a statement boring and challenging to comprehend. A long-winded explanation makes the work appear insecure.
Some of the best artist statements are under 100 words. A rule of thumb that you can follow here is - the shorter, the better. Find an example of an artist statement that you can relate to and get inspired by ideas from it.
Consider this as the most critical point in your lessons on how to write an artist statement. An effective artist statement is anywhere from a hundred words to one-page-long. To bring your statement in this range, cut down on technical details and fancy words that you may have included in your artist statement.
Write your artist statement in an active voice. It makes the tone more conversational as if you are speaking to your viewer in person. It establishes an instant connection with the viewer. Use online editing tools like the Hemingway App to ensure that your artist statement appears in the active voice.
One of the primary purposes of an artist statement is to draw the audience into your artworks and lead them to explore your art further. A sloppy artist statement puts a reader off, departing them with less interest or no interest in art at all. Inconsistency in writing, typos, and spelling errors might turn a viewer away.
You can use tools like Grammarly to avoid small grammatical mistakes. A well-punctuated, typo-free, artist statement is a joy to read.
Here's a simple list of do's and don'ts to sum everything up. You can use this as your artist statement format:
Do get feedback about your artist statement from your friends, peers, and mentors, before you start using it. Make sure that you get at least three people to proofread it for you. A good practice is to have a friend read the artist statement aloud to you. Hearing it out loud can help you identify mistakes and assess the statement objectively.
Make sure that your artist statement converses in a simple language that everyone understands.
Remember, your artist statement will not just represent your work on your artist portfolio. It will also serve as an example of your professionalism and expertise. An effective artist statement will draw more people to your work, enhance their experience, and help them appreciate it.
