Having Trouble Writing Your Artist Statement?

Writing an artist statement can be a difficult task for some people, myself included. I always asked the question, why do I need to write about my photographs? If I wanted to write I would have been a writer, and I'm sure many of you have felt this way too.

This semester I have been asked to write an artist statement about my recipe book. The dreaded artist statement, where do I even begin.?

Well, I finally received a "template" for an artist statement which consists of four (4) questions. The answers to these questions form your artist statement.

1. Describe what the final piece will look like, being as literal as possible. For example, you might start by saying "This is a photograph of my family on Thanksgiving. My mom, sister, and I are sitting around the table. The image is printed as a cyanotype and placed into a hand-constructed book."

2. Using the above description, elaborate on how the elements in your photographs come together to communicate your idea. For example, you might say, "Thanksgiving is a family ritual that has deep meaning and significance in American culture. My images examine the contemporary American family, abundance at the dinner table or domesticity. I have constructed my book to look like a family photo album to reflect the tradition of preserving memories from significant family events."

3.What is the relationship between the materials, tools, and processes that you are using and the meaning of your work? (This question is optional depending on the technique that you use. You may want to use this if your technique/process is not very popular.)

4. How do the ideas within your work relate to broader cultural concerns or human experiences?

If these questions are answered in complete sentences, you have a pretty good start to your artist statement.

A HUGE thank you to Lily Mayfield who supplied me with this "template".
Check out Lily's work here.

For more tips on writing an artist statement, click here.