I saw a beautiful exhibit of photography recently, featuring the work of three talented artists. At first I had no interest in seeing the work, but the person I was with dashed on ahead. So I followed.
And I was entranced by the work. It was compelling, intriguing.
After losing myself in the exhibit for awhile, I had many questions. What drove each artist to do this? What led them to create THIS body of work, at THIS time in their life? What linked them emotionally to these subjects? Where did the passion come from?
I came across the artists' statements. Aha! Now I'll know why these projects were so meaningful to them.
Alas, even in this prestigious venue, with beautiful work and a captivated audience (me), I found the same old bland, ill-written garden-variety artist statements.
One was so poorly written, the artist practically rewrote the same sentence three times. I found myself skipping through, a sure sign the writing is poor and rambling. The others were more intellectually interesting. But there was nothing that made me do more than nod my head and say, "hmmmm....interesting."
And this is the sign of a bad artist statement--it does not engage you.
It makes you skip ahead, trying to find the "point". It rambles. It drops big words and high-falutin' phrases. But it does not grab your heart.
And ultimately, you really know nothing of the artist's heart, either.
IMHO, an artist statement should leave you a little breathless. It should have a hook. It should be to the point--no rambling sentences and obtuse phrases. After all, its purpose is not to impress you with the artist's intelligence, but the artist's PASSION.
It should not read like a synopsis for a graduate level art history class. It should not read like a resume. Most of all, it shouldn't be whiney. Please, no more about struggling in your day job. We've all endured the surly waiter who really wants to be an actor.
That may be a little interesting. But it will not compel me to buy your work.
If anything, an artist's statement should read like a haiku.
Figuratively, of course--you probably need more than fifteen syllables. But it should connect you instantly to the artist and to the work. In fact, recently I read somewhere (lost the citation, will post if I find it) that reading an artist statement should compel you to look at the work.
It should change INTEREST on the part of your audience, into something that resonates with them. It should create a shared experience.
Because in the artist statement, you should find the fire that drove this particular person to create this particular body of work, whether you like the work, the artist, or not.
And you should feel compelled to warm yourself at this fire. And maybe even take it home with you, so it can brighten your heart forever.
