Cindy Strnad on sun 14 may 00
Hi, Becky.
Writing an artist's statement intimidates most of us, myself included. Here
are a few suggestions.
First, yes it's okay that you have no interest in incorporating the natural
world into your art. However, it's best to make positive statements instead
of negative ones. Don't say, "I'm not trying to capture nature." Instead,
say, "The colorful milieu of human creativity energizes my art from without
and from within." . . . Well, you get the idea. I'll work on it.
Keep it to 300-500 words. It should fit on one page in easily readable print
while still leaving plenty of white space. Your statement can't communicate
with a reader who has yawned and turned away without completing it.
Keep it in one point of view. If you start out saying "I, me, my", then
stick with this throughout the statement. Nothing is more distracting than
shifting point of view in such a short piece of writing.
Use words that evoke pictures. Instead of weak adverbs such as very, rather,
quite, etc., use a stronger, more specific adjective, or a metaphor or
simile. For example, would you prefer: "Moorish architecture is very
exciting to explore.", or "Moorish architecture jangles my senses with
energy that seems to vibrate from the walls." This second sentence contains
only one adjective (Moorish), yet manages to paint a picture capable of
capturing a reader's imagination.
Use strong, interesting verbs. (See above example.) We need the "to be"
verbs, but we tend to depend on them when more specific verbs would work
better. Only use a "be" verb in a piece of creative writing when nothing
else will do.
Stick to one point. An artist's statement will never paint a complete
picture of one's inner being. It can, at best, give the reader a glimpse
into a small part of your unique world, so choose the most important thing
and say that.
Be who you are. You may not consider yourself an interesting or glamorous or
romantic person, but your reader's perception differs from yours. She sees
you as an artist and for most people, that means mysterious, special,
different. She knows, intellectually, that you're an ordinary mortal, but in
her imagination, if she's like the majority of us, she sees you as belonging
to a species apart from her own.
Finish where you started. Most stories go full circle. That's not to say
they have to, and some of the best take another path, but the "full circle"
method is the easiest, and usually the best for a short piece. If you
started out talking about the oriental rug in your aunt's parlor, then bring
your reader back to Aunt Mae's parlor in the last paragraph. This gives a
sense of completion to your writing. It leaves the reader feeling that
you've told her something coherent and interesting.
Last, but indispensable--let your statement ripen for a week or so and then
go back and re-read it. You will, I guarantee it, find things you want to
change. Places where you've used the same unusual word twice in a short
space, unfortunate and unintentional rhymes, incorrect grammar. There's
always something, and these things are difficult to see when you're tired of
staring at the same words.
So, Becky. There you have it--way more than you asked for, but this has been
on my mind lately and I thought it might be of use to others as well.
Cindy Strnad
earthenv@gwtc.net
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
Gregory D Lamont on tue 16 may 00
At 10:31 PM 5/14/00 -0600, you wrote:
>Hi, Becky.
>
>Writing an artist's statement intimidates most of us, myself included. Here
>are a few suggestions.
>
>First, yes it's okay that you have no interest in incorporating the natural
>world into your art. However, it's best to make positive statements instead
>of negative ones. Don't say, "I'm not trying to capture nature." Instead,
>say, "The colorful milieu of human creativity energizes my art from without
>and from within." . . . Well, you get the idea. I'll work on it.
>
>(Snipped for brevity)
>Last, but indispensable--let your statement ripen for a week or so and then
>go back and re-read it. You will, I guarantee it, find things you want to
>change. Places where you've used the same unusual word twice in a short
>space, unfortunate and unintentional rhymes, incorrect grammar. There's
>always something, and these things are difficult to see when you're tired of
>staring at the same words.
>
>So, Becky. There you have it--way more than you asked for, but this has been
>on my mind lately and I thought it might be of use to others as well.
>
>Cindy Strnad
>earthenv@gwtc.net
>Earthen Vessels Pottery
>RR 1, Box 51
>Custer, SD 57730
>______________________________________________________________________________
Cindy,
Thanks, Cindy, for giving me a better explanation of crafting a good artist
statement than any of my university art profs ever did--and in many fewer
words.
I--and I'm sure many others on the list--will benefit from tyour
suggestions. I still will likely "sweat blood" each time I have to write
one, though!
Greg
E-mail address:
gdlamont@isunet.net
Pottery Web Page:
http://www.ourwebpage.net/greglamont/
Mailing address and Phone:
Greg Lamont
3011 Northwood Drive
Ames, IA 50010-4750
(515) 233-3442
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