February 3, 2015
Recently, I went on a journey of self-discovery in the arts. I learned a mandatory requirement at different galleries is having an art statement with your work. An artist statement is an artist’s written description of their work. The brief verbal representation is and in support of, his or her own work to give the viewer understanding. As such it aims to inform, connect with an art context, and present the basis for the work; it is therefore didactic, descriptive, or reflective in nature (from Wikipedia). The definition sounds very confusing to me and I am mostly self-taught. So what do you do if you are a gifted artist, but not so keen on the grammar and formality of it all? So I ventured to Winter Street Studios to see the How to Write a Great Artist Statement workshop hosted by Fresh Arts, & instructed by Elizabeth White-Olsen (founder of Writespace).
- I discovered, is that I am not alone with this problem. It was a large packed room of artists writing notes. And similar to college, we had a power point presentation as well as handouts to follow along with the instructor.
- We were able to see a few art professionals work, read aloud their statements, & discussing their flaws, and soon was able to discover my own. An artist took on the use of big words to describe all of their work, and by the end, it sounded like a jumbled artist soup, you understood where they wanted to go, but the message couldn't be fully delivered. And learned the best method to tackle this problem is to go basic, keep it in simplified vocabulary, and you will be able to deliver to any audience.
- The instructor delivered another interesting technique and concept. Imagine the audience blindfolded at your exhibit, unable to see your art work, and they could only follow along with what you wrote. So in a small paragraph, describe what made that painting come to life inside your head? Was this influenced by a family member, historical event, tragedy, etc? What was your main message you wanted other to know from this piece? Also what were the tools & mediums you used to bring your work to life? The class response was in deep silence, most of us became aware of how writing this process is not complicated or intimidating as we make it out to be. And Elizabeth (the instructor) took this a step further. In the middle of the presentation, when we were comfortable with each other. She broke us into small groups & were able to discuss and personalize our statements even further.
Overall, I heard a lot of buzz from others that this was an eye opening experience. In two hours, we were able to get a sample of what we needed to get done. My friends & I wished it could have been an all-day workshop, bringing a laptop, collection of our art work, breaking into the same teams, and coming out with completed statements to submit to the galleries the same day. However, I don’t think that’s the purpose of what the facilitators (Fresh Arts & Writespace) were trying to accomplish. This experience was just to get our feet wet & to think for ourselves. And also learned we can email Elizabeth our mission statements, & can schedule more workshops or a one-on-one art consultations for all aspects of written artist work (biographies, proposals, and more) And that what made the entire experience extremely helpful. Whitespace is founded by Elizabeth White-Olsen, it’s a creative arts non-profit group that offers onsite and online writing workshops, manuscript consultations, and editing services that started May of last year. And Fresh Arts is a non-profit group that hosts career-building art workshops, as well as exhibitions, performances, art salons and more.
I really enjoy learning about the most thriving artist environments, and always take notes on everything, which mostly goes unpublished until now. I discovered a new talent and that’s writing savvy art blogs on different adventures all over Houston. You see my reports monthly online on the Houston Arts Showcase website and also on WordPress (The Art of Angela) hope these post enlightens others who are also extremely artistic, but never know how to break through into the professional art business. May we grow on this journey together and never stop learning new skills (even if you reach the top). For now, signing off, take care and have a blessed week.
-Angela S.
Follow work on fb/twitter/instagram/wordpress: TheArtofAngela
Recently, I went on a journey of self-discovery in the arts. I learned a mandatory requirement at different galleries is having an art statement with your work. An artist statement is an artist’s written description of their work. The brief verbal representation is and in support of, his or her own work to give the viewer understanding. As such it aims to inform, connect with an art context, and present the basis for the work; it is therefore didactic, descriptive, or reflective in nature (from Wikipedia). The definition sounds very confusing to me and I am mostly self-taught. So what do you do if you are a gifted artist, but not so keen on the grammar and formality of it all? So I ventured to Winter Street Studios to see the How to Write a Great Artist Statement workshop hosted by Fresh Arts, & instructed by Elizabeth White-Olsen (founder of Writespace).- I discovered, is that I am not alone with this problem. It was a large packed room of artists writing notes. And similar to college, we had a power point presentation as well as handouts to follow along with the instructor.
- We were able to see a few art professionals work, read aloud their statements, & discussing their flaws, and soon was able to discover my own. An artist took on the use of big words to describe all of their work, and by the end, it sounded like a jumbled artist soup, you understood where they wanted to go, but the message couldn't be fully delivered. And learned the best method to tackle this problem is to go basic, keep it in simplified vocabulary, and you will be able to deliver to any audience.
- The instructor delivered another interesting technique and concept. Imagine the audience blindfolded at your exhibit, unable to see your art work, and they could only follow along with what you wrote. So in a small paragraph, describe what made that painting come to life inside your head? Was this influenced by a family member, historical event, tragedy, etc? What was your main message you wanted other to know from this piece? Also what were the tools & mediums you used to bring your work to life? The class response was in deep silence, most of us became aware of how writing this process is not complicated or intimidating as we make it out to be. And Elizabeth (the instructor) took this a step further. In the middle of the presentation, when we were comfortable with each other. She broke us into small groups & were able to discuss and personalize our statements even further.
Overall, I heard a lot of buzz from others that this was an eye opening experience. In two hours, we were able to get a sample of what we needed to get done. My friends & I wished it could have been an all-day workshop, bringing a laptop, collection of our art work, breaking into the same teams, and coming out with completed statements to submit to the galleries the same day. However, I don’t think that’s the purpose of what the facilitators (Fresh Arts & Writespace) were trying to accomplish. This experience was just to get our feet wet & to think for ourselves. And also learned we can email Elizabeth our mission statements, & can schedule more workshops or a one-on-one art consultations for all aspects of written artist work (biographies, proposals, and more) And that what made the entire experience extremely helpful. Whitespace is founded by Elizabeth White-Olsen, it’s a creative arts non-profit group that offers onsite and online writing workshops, manuscript consultations, and editing services that started May of last year. And Fresh Arts is a non-profit group that hosts career-building art workshops, as well as exhibitions, performances, art salons and more.
I really enjoy learning about the most thriving artist environments, and always take notes on everything, which mostly goes unpublished until now. I discovered a new talent and that’s writing savvy art blogs on different adventures all over Houston. You see my reports monthly online on the Houston Arts Showcase website and also on WordPress (The Art of Angela) hope these post enlightens others who are also extremely artistic, but never know how to break through into the professional art business. May we grow on this journey together and never stop learning new skills (even if you reach the top). For now, signing off, take care and have a blessed week.
-Angela S.
Follow work on fb/twitter/instagram/wordpress: TheArtofAngela
Follow work on fb/twitter/instagram/wordpress: TheArtofAngela
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