Artist’s Statements

What is an Artist Statement? A short piece of writing Gives insight into a single piece or an entire body of artwork Describes the creative process, philosophy, and vision of the artist. It reads easily, is informative and adds to the understanding of the artist and their work

Artist Statement Requirements One paragraph (5-10 sentences) Include specific details to back up opinions (see examples) Grade-level writing mechanics - PROOF READ! Write in first person (I, me, my)

TIPS Be Brave! Say nice things about yourself! Read your Artist Statement out loud or have someone else read it. It should make sense to someone who isn’t in your class. Check for spelling / grammar errors. Revise if necessary.

What if I don’t know what to write What if I don’t know what to write? Choose a minimum of 5 questions to answer from below. MOST IMPORTANT: Why did you create this art piece and what does it mean to you? What emotions did you wish to convey? Did you achieve this? How? What is the title of the piece? Why? What materials did you use and why did you think they were appropriate for your vision? Were you familiar/experienced with your chosen medium or was it new ot you? What are the dimensions of the piece? Why did you choose this size? What inspired you? Did you use reference images? How is your work a reflection of you? What technique and style did you use? Why? What is the connection between your research and your final piece? Is the end result what you expected? Why or why not? Is the work connected to a previous piece? What technical challenges did you overcome or still need to overcome? What compositional strategies have you emphasized in your piece? Why did you choose those strategies?

Printing Your Artist Statement The top of your document should look like this: Your Name Title of Artwork - italicize your title Medium (Materials Used) Date Your artist statement should be in paragraph form and be 5-10 sentences. Remember your artist statement should tell us WHY and HOW you drew what you drew. Don’t forget to proofread your writing!

Displaying Your Artist Statement Trim the extra white space off the bottom of your printed artist statement. Tape the artist statement to the BACK of your artwork so it hangs under the artwork and the tape is not showing. Hang up your artwork.

Example I wanted my mask to show how I feel about music when I listen to it. I love music and I always listen to it when I’m in a bad mood. The blood on my mask represents my mood and the pain I sometimes feel. Music helps me calm down more or feel a little better when nothing else can. The musical notes are made out of wire and I liked how they turned out when I went over it with black paint. I tried hot gluing the wires to my mask but it was challenging without making the mask look sloppy with glue. I wish I would have thought of a easier way to glue on the musical notes but the wire was thin and I didn’t want to just draw the musical notes on, I wanted to use some sort of material since I didn’t have any. This artist clearly explains the meaning of their artwork and what it means to them. They reference specific parts of the project that they are proud of and also mention things they wish they could improve.

Artist Statement Activity Learning Targets We are learning write an artist statement. We will show that we can do this by creating an artist statement that gives insight into our artwork. To know how well we are learning this, we will write a 5-10 sentence paragraph that describes the creative process, philosophy and vision of the artist. It is important for us to be able to do this because an artist statement is informative and adds to the understanding of the artist and their work.

Success Criteria Your sentences contain explanations, not just statements. You used complete sentences. The questions you chose to answer help to give insight into the artwork, they are not just the easiest questions. Your artist statement is 5-10 sentences and contains complex sentences.

Questions Can you propose an alternative to any of your sentences that would make your statement stronger?