NEW MODULE Artist Statements: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

 

Most artists despise writing artist statements. Why? The answer is quite simple: They feel that their work speaks for itself and that attaching language to it indicates a sense of weakness, even betrayal. We have all read artist statements that take cringe to the next level. Here's Charlotte Young making fun of horrible and cliched artist statements. As we see with Calvin in the cartoon strip above, it's an easy target for ridicule. 

However, it's kind of like death and taxes: You can't opt out. If you want to be a successful artist or designer, you're going to need to articulate in written language what makes your work special and unique. You're also going to have to learn how to use spoken language to represent your art, but that's not the same as a formal artist statement. The term "artists statement" is relatively new; it doesn't appear in print before 1960.

Writing a good artist statement is hard. That's another reason people don't like writing them. One common misconception is that artists write one statement, and they use that same statement for every purpose.  Nope. Artists need to write new statements for new bodies of work. You can have a template that you modify as circumstances necessitate. That's smart and labor-saving. 

Your assignment for next Tuesday's class, March 1, is to upload a finished draft of a new artist statement. It needs to be around 250 words. This is the "Goldilocks" zone: If it's much shorter it will seem like you didn't try or care (the "refusal" approach"), and if it's much longer it will seem self-important and pompous. If you're a little under or a little over, that's OK. If you want guidance as to what I mean by "a little", please let me know.

Read these three articles from Hyperallergic. Which do you agree with and why? We'll discuss these issues on Tuesday and also share some of our drafts. This link will take you to the best critical writing on the subject that I have found. Good students will love it; bad students will find it tedious. 

Draft due no later than 1:00 pm on Tuesday, March 1. 

Final due no later than 1:00 pm on Thursday, March 3.

Upload to Populi.

Each part is worth 5 points. Don't blow off the draft. 

Here are some examples of what not to do. I call it "Eight Artist Statements that I Hate." They are too short, too whimsical, and too amateurish. And here are more examples, some better than others. 

Questions?  csmith@dcad.edu