artist's statements

[Firefly]

ah, the dreaded artist statement.  many of my friends who are artists struggle terribly with how to best present their work.  how can you capture the soul of your brush strokes with words?  it's a big problem for many.

i think it would be fun to look at artist statements and discuss whether they are useful or valuable.

first, i wanted to point out two fragments of artist statements from this site.  they are about as different as one could imagine.  i won't attach names to the statements, for the sake of sparing feelings.

here's the first...

She brings a gracefully formulated sense of drama to her compositions, extending upon the subterranean mysteries of her archetypal reflections in cyclical concentrations.

here's second...

My statement is, "I breathe, circulate, sweat and make art -- one process."

at first glance, the first fragment might seem to be nonsensical.  what exactly are 'archetypal reflections in cyclical concentrations?'  does the sentence really have any meaning, or is it trying to create meaning where there is none?  however, breaking the sentence into parts gives it bit more traction.  'subterranean mysteries' is a manageable concept, 'archetypal reflections' has meaning, although it's more obscure, and 'cyclical concentrations' is a bit of a mind-bender, and makes me think of washing machine detergent.  in short, i can get a sense of what the author is trying to get at here, but it's not particularly clear.

the second fragment expresses exactly how many of my artist friends feel.  they don't need to explain their art.  it's at the very core of their being.  and furthermore, many don't believe their art can be explained neatly in words. 

is either statement useful?  should artists even bother with statements?  who are they for?  the artist?  the critics?  the viewers?  is an artist's statement analogous to a writer trying to summarize his or her work with a painting?  the notion seems absurd...

i've babbled on long enough.  any thoughts?

[Samantha]

I would have to align myself more with the second statement.  I mean, gee, artists often paint or sculpt precisely because that's how they're most capable of expressing themselves.  Perhaps they have unusual written skills as well, but why should we expect them to be able to describe what they're trying to accomplish visually with boring old words. 

While I like the work of the artist whose statement you mentioned first, I think the particular phrase you picked is a bit overboard.  I once read an interesting article on graduate school type psycho babble infiltrating other aspects of life.  Just say what you mean.  I'm a simple girl, but still.......   

[Givens]

I'm no art critic, just a fan.  And my schooling with regard to art is limited to an art history class in high school.  Now that I've put that disclaimer in place, I'll get to the point.  I don't find artist's statements nearly as useful as artist's biographies, and if I'm not mistaken, they are two different things.  The bio provides useful context about the artist's life, where he or she is from, the mediums that have worked in, influences in their own lives, etc.  An artist's statement talks about the work itself, which is a very difficult task.  Every trade or profession has lingo that is used to describe an end product, as well as the process used to create the end product.  In my mind, though, art happens to be one profession in which the end product, as well as the process, can be virtually impossible to describe adequately.  So I don't find artist's statements particularly useful, and I also think it is rather cruel to force artists to condense hours, days, months, or even years of often subconscious thinking into a paragraph or two.  I do enjoy reading bios, though.