back to schedule

ART 425 Artist in Context

 

Artist Statement Assignment

              

An artist's statement is a short writing that offers insight into artistÕs body of work by describing the artist's creative process, philosophy, vision, and motivation. Its goal is to enlighten and engage. Therefore an artist's statement should read easily, be informative, and pique the readerÕs interest. What a statement includes, how long it is, and the level to which it addresses art issues can  depend on how it will be used. Each use has it own particular needs and it is common for artists to have different versions of their statement for different occasions. Some of the most common content might include:

 

  • What your work is about and what motivates that:
    • What issues are you exploring and why?
    • What concepts, themes or convictions underpin your work?
    • How do your life experiences influence your work
    • How does your personality influence your work?
    • How have your ideas developed?
  • The techniques and materials you use:
    •  How and why did you choose them?
    • Do you have a particular process of working? Does that process contribute or participate in the workÕs content?
    • Do you intend to explore other techniques or materials?
  • How you contextualize your work:
    • Where do you feel you fit into the contemporary art world?
    • What artists create works that share similar concerns? How?
    • Have you appropriated or referred to the work of others?
  • Your goals and aspirations and to what extent you have realized them.

 

 

 

Content Development Phase:

 

Step 1. Define critical issues

Step 2. Develop initial content

 

 

 

Step 1. Identify no less than 4 critical issues and summarize each (2.5 or more pages)

 

Rather then beginning locally as we have for our first two writings, we will begin with an exercise that will help you explore the broader concerns guiding your art making. A Ôcritical issueÕ is my term for the broader dialog an artwork implicitly joins because of its content and context.

 

Example: Say an artist paints landscapes. The direct content of the work is the natural scene the artist chooses to paint. As we have already discussed, the workÕs content isnÕt just the subject matter (a view of the waterfront) it is also the attitude the artist brings to that subject matter as indicated by all the decisions they make about how to create their painted image. Lets say that this painter of landscapes makes their decisions based on the general intention of replicating what they consider to be the beauty found in nature. But this intention is only the tip of the iceberg, with any intention comes many related issues. For instance, does the painter in question present an image of natural beauty that we recognize as Ōtraditional?Ķ If so, a central critical issue of this work has to do with culturally formed notions of the beauty and how they have come into being and the cultural attitudes that they indicate. Maybe this landscape painting includes or does not include signs of human presence.  This might engage the issue of the various ways humans form relationships with nature. Besides the issues surrounding beauty and nature maybe there are also issues implicit in the goal of replication.  Is representation based on perceptual processes or photographic information?  Does this lead to questions about what is real and how we know our world?

 

 Remember an artwork might engage an issue explicitly (through overt subject matter), implicitly (through tangible inferences present in the work), or tacitly (through background activities such as process and research). In identifying your workÕs issues you should consider all types including personal issues, art form/ style issues, and broader cultural issues. An artworkÕs issues often stem from the artistÕs direct intentions and the workÕs meanings but they also often go beyond what is obvious. When you write try to be as specific as possible and probe. DonÕt just stop at a summary statement and donÕt just describe your work and its immediate concerns. This

 

SEE SAMPLE OF CRITICAL ISSUES WRITING



Step 2. Develop a list of initial content

 

Complete initial brainstorming for your statement by writing out a list of things that you think your statement should include. I recommend beginning with more than less and then figuring out what is less essential and or ways you can coherently combine content.  Rework, restate, add, subtract and combine content ultimately arrive at a solid rough outline your ideas to move onto the next step.

 

 

 

Initial Writing Phase:

This time we will get the writing into a rough draft faster.

 

Step 1. Outline: Take your initial list of content for your statement and work it into a full sentence outline.  Going paragraph by paragraph each paragraph write the following:

 

1.       A summary of the purpose the PP serves in the essay

2.       A summary of what you want to say in the PP.

3.       A full topic sentence that would lead off such a PP

4.       A list of component ideas that would need to be included in the PP to substantiate and or illustrate the point that the PP is making.

 

Step 2. Rough draft to 1st draft

A. Write a rough draft 

B. Write a self-assessment using the prompts from the Intention Statement Assignment. Include in your assessment a summary of your findings (problems) w/ specific revision goals (solutions).

C. Revise outline and write a 1st draft

D. Submit to writing center and Lisa as a single document titled yourlastname_artstate1.doc that includes critical issues, full outline (most up to date version), rough draft, assessment, and 1st draft)

 

SEE SAMPLE OF ENTIRE PROCESS

 

 

 

Final Writing Phase:

 

Step 1. 1st draft to final draft

A. Get feedback (from Lisa and writing center)

B. Write a summary of those meetings w/ specific ideas for revisions (problems/solutions)

C. Revise outline if necessary and write a 2nd draft

D. Submit assessment, outline and final draft to Lisa

back to schedule