Linda Arbuckle on sun 10 sep 00
O.K., I'm in academia, so I might be biased. BUT, I think writing an
artist's statement is a very good thing to do. Probably better for the
artist than the audience in many cases. Yes, much work is about
intuition and a gestalt where the whole is greater than the sum of the
parts. Yes, it's hard to write about that. Having sat on thesis
committees and shepherded students through writing about MFA work, I've
seem many people make new connections about their intuitions and the
world, other parts of their personal philosophies, and have an "aha"
that was worth the price of admission (which seems to be a certain
amount of discomfort).
Artists are good at working in series in studio. Many, however, believe
that pearls of written wisdom just show up from one writing if you're
meant to write, or if writing is worth doing. Read Annie Dillards, "The
Writing Life" and replace "writing" with "studio". Same kind of
suffering to make a good product. Just like seeing bad ceramic work does
not mean that it's not worthwhile to make work, reading statements that
seem opaque, pretentious or superficial does not mean it isn't good to
work toward writing clearly about your work.
Although we are our own best audience, I think, (judging from the number
of works I see in most ceramists homes), we do have a substantial
audience who is not so art-savvy, and a potential audience who would
really like to know more about why and how we do what we do. Refusal to
try and explain while embracing the mysteriousness of artistic genius
doesn't help them much, and seems a cop-out to me on the part of the
artist. While there is much advice about not clouding intuition while
working by too much left-brained interference, I don't think reflection
on the finished object can hurt it any.
I'm in favor of grappling with the tough task of trying to write a
meaningful statement. Like your work, it's never over, and you outgrow
even a statement you once thought was a gem. It's a work in progress to
explain where you are, and YOU get more benefit from doing this than the
reader. Like studio, you have to live w/not getting it perfect the first
time, or the first 50 times, but you keep whittling away at it. If you
make "crappy work" (as someone said), it won't be saved by an
intellectualized statement. But who are we to say that you first have to
make REALLY great work to begin to engaging the problem of statement.
Geeze. You begin where you begin. Writing a statment can give insight
into the work for the writer. Perhaps if more people took an interest in
writing and the difficulties in making concrete statements about the
fruits of their intuitions , we'd have reading more insightful reading.
You have to do the bad ones to get to the good ones.
Linda
Heading for 2 months in Cardiff at the University of Wales, making pots!
--
Linda Arbuckle, Assoc. Prof.
Univ of FL
School of Art and Art History
P.O. Box 115801, Gainesville, FL 32611-5801
(352) 392-0201 x 219
e-mail: arbuck@ufl.edu
Diane Mead on sun 10 sep 00
Linda Arbuckle:
You, madam are no pedant. Your words are none of the following:
tiresome--dull--unnecessary--narrow. Your words are instructive and perfect
lessons for us.
I think you will replace Vince, since he has no need of becoming editor of
ArtForum or some of the other mags.
We cheer when we see great art. We are astounded when clear thinkers write
about it!! You get the job!
diane
(Remembering a time when I wrote a review of really stunning work once, long
long ago, and pleased the artist. Claimed I saw psychological insights into
those autobiographical landscapes. I'd taken a leap and wrote things that
struck chords in me. Turns out I was pretty close to right! That was in
1989... Thought those insights were plain as the noses on the faces in the
paintings!)
>From: Linda Arbuckle
>Reply-To: Ceramic Arts Discussion List
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Artist statement (long, pedantic)
>Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 14:18:14 -0400
>
>O.K., I'm in academia, so I might be biased. BUT, I think writing an
>artist's statement is a very good thing to do. Probably better for the
>artist than the audience in many cases. Yes, much work is about
>intuition and a gestalt where the whole is greater than the sum of the
>parts. Yes, it's hard to write about that. Having sat on thesis
>committees and shepherded students through writing about MFA work, I've
>seem many people make new connections about their intuitions and the
>world, other parts of their personal philosophies, and have an "aha"
>that was worth the price of admission (which seems to be a certain
>amount of discomfort).
>
>Artists are good at working in series in studio. Many, however, believe
>that pearls of written wisdom just show up from one writing if you're
>meant to write, or if writing is worth doing. Read Annie Dillards, "The
>Writing Life" and replace "writing" with "studio". Same kind of
>suffering to make a good product. Just like seeing bad ceramic work does
>not mean that it's not worthwhile to make work, reading statements that
>seem opaque, pretentious or superficial does not mean it isn't good to
>work toward writing clearly about your work.
>
>Although we are our own best audience, I think, (judging from the number
>of works I see in most ceramists homes), we do have a substantial
>audience who is not so art-savvy, and a potential audience who would
>really like to know more about why and how we do what we do. Refusal to
>try and explain while embracing the mysteriousness of artistic genius
>doesn't help them much, and seems a cop-out to me on the part of the
>artist. While there is much advice about not clouding intuition while
>working by too much left-brained interference, I don't think reflection
>on the finished object can hurt it any.
>
>I'm in favor of grappling with the tough task of trying to write a
>meaningful statement. Like your work, it's never over, and you outgrow
>even a statement you once thought was a gem. It's a work in progress to
>explain where you are, and YOU get more benefit from doing this than the
>reader. Like studio, you have to live w/not getting it perfect the first
>time, or the first 50 times, but you keep whittling away at it. If you
>make "crappy work" (as someone said), it won't be saved by an
>intellectualized statement. But who are we to say that you first have to
>make REALLY great work to begin to engaging the problem of statement.
>Geeze. You begin where you begin. Writing a statment can give insight
>into the work for the writer. Perhaps if more people took an interest in
>writing and the difficulties in making concrete statements about the
>fruits of their intuitions , we'd have reading more insightful reading.
>You have to do the bad ones to get to the good ones.
>
>Linda
>Heading for 2 months in Cardiff at the University of Wales, making pots!
>
>--
>Linda Arbuckle, Assoc. Prof.
>Univ of FL
>School of Art and Art History
> P.O. Box 115801, Gainesville, FL 32611-5801
>(352) 392-0201 x 219
>e-mail: arbuck@ufl.edu
>
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