4.1.2. What Is an Artist Statement

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25:03:50:51

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• 12/18: Unit 4 Review
• 12/20: Unit 4 Test
• A catch-up plan is posted in the announcements.
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Reminders

5.1.1.

• The importance of a portfolio
• Different types of portfolios
• Factors to consider when creating a portfolio
• Using different layouts to display images in a portfolio

Recap

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4.1.2.

What Is an Artist Statement

Vocab: Artist Statement

• Identify the purpose of an artist's statement.
• Identify the essential information to be included in an artist's statement.
• Analyze an example of an artist's statement.

Learners can:

Michael Kirchoff is a Los Angeles-based fine art, commercial, advertising, travel, and editorial photographer. When composing a photograph, Michael Kirchoff tries to view things in a "less literal way" and considers the elements and variables. In the same way, what do you think about or consider when composing a photograph? The beauty of art is that it is a subjective medium of expression. Every individual can interpret art in their way. Artists use art to express their personal style, thoughts, and experiences. They want viewers to interpret their work as they intended. In today's lesson, you will see how artists use an artist statement to communicate their ideas on their art, how the art was created, and what thoughts and experiences went into creating the work.

Michael Kirchoff

Michael Kirchoff spoke about his subjects, his thought process while photographing those subjects, and the equipment he uses to capture his photographs. What he spoke about is called an artist statement.

Artist Statement

Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist best known for her Depression-era work. Look at her photograph of Migrant Mother, one of her most well-known images.

Artist Statement

Dorothea Lange

"I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There she sat in that lean-to tent with her children huddled around her and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it." - Dorothea Lange

Artist Statement

In photography, an artist statement is a write-up by the photographer about a particular photograph they took or their entire body of work. The purpose of an artist statement is to explain how and why a work was created and what message the photographer wants to convey through the work. The length of the artist statement can vary based on the work to which it relates. An artist statement written for a single photograph would usually be brief, while a statement written for an entire body of work can be lengthy and detailed.

It would be impossible for artists to be present at every place their work is displayed to speak about each piece of art, so they use artist statements to serve this purpose. Such situations include online portfolios, international exhibitions, and photography programs. In these situations, artist statements express what the photographers want to say about their work. They explain the photographer's perspective toward a specific photograph or an entire body of work. Photographers can design their artist statements in style, providing basic information about their work. The depth of details they provide in the statement is entirely up to them. However, to facilitate easy learning, this lesson will focus only on the basic components commonly present in most artist statements.

Components of an Artist Statement

• An opening
• The creative thought and process behind the work
• Inspiration for creating the artwork
• Image selection
• Closing

🔥Components of an Artist Statement

The Opening is the "What" and provides a hook.The opening of the statement should provide an overview of the work in two or three sentences or a short paragraph. For example, "Through my art, I bring the outside in. Death Valley at sunset pays tribute to the natural world." In this section, the photographer should include:

• The title of the work
• The subject, or theme, of the work
• Hook the viewers in with a short story

🔥Opening

The creative process is the "how", how the artist created the art.Next, the photographer should introduce the creative intent of their work, the creative thought process that was involved, and the challenges they faced while producing the work. For example, "Looking past the obvious, I scrutinize the deep details of my subject. My process is close observation and inspection."

🔥The Creative Process

In the creative-process section, the photographer should add a brief description about:

• The creative thought process behind the body of work
• The challenges faced during the creation of the work
• How they overcame those challenges
• Which photography equipment or creative methods were used

🔥The Creative Process

The photographer should also include information about what inspired them to create the particular work. For example, "Capturing the light is everything! Its fleeting quality often transforms a subject instantaneously. The light is my inspiration."

🔥Inspiration

They can include details such as:

• the idea behind the work(s)
• Who or what inspired them
• A particular societal issue or emotion that was evoked

🔥Inspiration

Next, the photographer should talk about why they selected a particular subject, lighting, or theme. The photographer should also talk about the type of photographic experiences that a viewer will have while navigating through the work. For example, "The images in the 'Lines' collection explore peace and calm. The vertical lines shown in the fence posts represent tranquility."

🔥Image Selection

In this section, the photographer can talk about why a particular subject matter, theme, lighting, or color combination was chosen.

• What elements were included or excluded?
• How did their selections help them in achieving the final piece of work?

🔥Image Selection

The photographer should close their artist statement with some final thoughts on the entire work. Here, they can express their feelings toward the subject and the work as a whole. For example, "Intuition guides my subject selection. The subjects and the stories they tell organically unfold around me."

🔥Closing

The photographer can conclude the artist statement by talking about the following:

• What did they learn through the process of producing the work?
• What message does the work convey to the viewers?
• Does the work influence any further work?
• Did the work help the photographer improve their skills in any way?

🔥Closing

An artist statement is a means of communication between artists and their viewers. Therefore, it is important for the photographer to ensure that the artist statement does not read like a book.

• Write in the first person (use “I” and “my”).
• Use the active voice.
• Write concisely, using simple words.
• Grab your reader’s attention from the first sentence.
• Avoid using too many technical terms, such as what photo-editing software you used or at what aperture the photograph was clicked, because your audience might not be photography-savvy.
• Do not include details about your name, education, profession, accomplishments, or honors (these details will form part of your artist bio).

Tips...

4.1.2.

summary

In today's lesson, you learned about:

• The purpose of an artist's statement
• The components and the essential information to be included in an artist's statement
• How to analyze other photographers' artist statementsIn the next part of today's lesson, you will complete a project on writing an artist statement.

In an upcoming lesson, you will learn about the importance of customer service in the photography business.

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Questions?