Artist's Statements! The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

 

It's time to start working on your Artist's Statement. Your statement should go into detail with the motivations, meanings, and intentions of your artwork. It should be two long or three short paragraphs and have around 250 words. Try to address "why" questions. Yes, it might get a little bit philosophical. Remember that this is an exercise. Have fun. 

We will go deep into all of this next week.

Here are a couple of online resources:

500 Letters Artist Statement Generator. This generator, like the fake Michaelangelo statement, is meant to poke fun at the pretentious and BS language that some art writing can fall into. 

Three Hyperallergic Articles on Artist Statements. 

Words and Phrases to Avoid in Art Writing, by Rex Weil.

Examples of New and Emerging Artists' Brief Bios

 

"White Boys" was an exhibition at Haverford about a decade ago. The whole website is great, but I want to point you towards the brief bios at this link.  What do you think? Too casual? Not serious enough? Refreshingly human and real? 

My Ongoing Quest to Write the Worst Artist's Statement in History

 

Tips for writing a great short artist's biography

 

Good advice at Artsy: Writing a Bio

Features of a Great Narrative Essay

 These following "things" are features of a sharp and smart narrative essay:

==>Flow and Pace: start, middle, and end

==>Avoid repetition

==> Avoid too much I, I, I, I, I

==> Consistent style, sound makes meaning

==> Meaningful title 

==> Attention to emotion & feeling

==> Specific details

==> Good grammar

==> Showing it to someone else

Second Unit: Bio, Artist Statement, Resume

Every artist and designer needs to provide professional documents to represent themselves. These documents are invariably based on writing. 

In our next unit, we are going to walk through the process of writing a short biographical blurb (50-100 words), an artist's statement (300-500 words), and a one-page art-focused resume. The terms resume and CV (curriculum vitae) are roughly synonymous. CVs tend to be more detailed and are not restricted to a single page. 

This is not a recycling exercise. You must write and submit new content. In fact, these documents are rarely static and fixed. Throughout your life you will be writing tailored bios, artist statements, and resumes that "fit" particular jobs and opportunities.

Bio: Due Wednesday, January 31, 9:00 am. Upload to Populi.

Artist Statement: Draft (ungraded but required) due next Monday, February 5, 9:00 am. Upload to Populi. Final due next Wednesday, February 7, 9:00 am. Upload to Populi.

Resume: Draft (ungraded but required) due Monday, February 12, 9:00 am. Upload to Populi. Final due Wednesday, February 14, 9:00 am. Upload to Populi.

I will average these three components to calculate your final grade for this unit. You are free to revise and improve all three components until the final submission date, Wednesday, February 14. 

Questions?  csmith@dcad.edu

    

First Assignment: Why I Am an Artist

 

This children's book by Marta Altés, is a whimsical narrative about a young artist. Enjoy.

Your assignment is to write an autobiographical essay that addresses the question: What made you want to be an artist? Tell stories or maybe just one extended story. Did you have an influential teacher or family member? Did you see something on television or the internet? Did you find something in nature? Be as specific as possible. You can use slang and non-standard English. You can use foreign words, curse words, etc. You can be philosophical (focusing on the "why"), whimsical, humorous, or dead serious. Nothing is off-limits. That said, we will be sharing these essays in class, so make sure that you're OK with your classmates and me hearing what you have to say. 

Your essay should be single-spaced, in a 10-12 pt. serifed font. Times New Roman is boring, but it's a standard for academic writing. One full page is a good goal, but feel free to continue on a second page. Think of your essay as a collection of paragraphs with a start and an end.

Upload to Populi a finished but imperfect draft no later than the start of class on Monday, January 22. This will be ungraded, but required. Your final essay (revised & edited) is due no later than the start of class on Wednesday, January 24.

Here is a link to a former student's essay on this subject.

And here is a link to a dreadful essay "written" by Chat GPT on this subject.

Questions: csmith@dcad.edu

Welcome to the Blog of Casey Smith's Sections of Writing for the Arts

 Please bookmark this page. The URL is also listed on the syllabus and the dashboard of our Populi course page. 

I know that the design is ugly and the functionality is limited. Maybe someone can show me how to set it up so every time I make a new post, the link goes directly to your DCAD email address. This can't be that hard to figure out. 

Welcome to the class. We're going to have fun and in the process become better writers. 

I am always available at csmith@dcad.edu.