WHAT IS AN ARTIST STATEMENT?

An artist's statement (or artist statement) is a brief verbal

representation (didactic, descriptive, or reflective in nature) created
by the artist about his or her own work.

CONTENT
It is a text composed by an artist and intended to explain, justify, extend,
and/or contextualize his or her body of work. Artists often write a short
(50-100 word) and/or a long (500-1000 word) version of the same
statement, and they may maintain and revise these statements
throughout their careers.

BREIF
WHO AM I?
ARTIST STATEMENT An artists statement (or artist statement) is a
brief statement of an artists intention through their work. It is a text
composed by an artist and intended to explain, justify, and
contextualize his or her body of work.
by Wikipedia.

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
Prior to writing your own statement, you will research about one
artist/designer you would like to know and understand the basic
structure of the statement. Once the ground work is completed, then
you will create a personal mind-map in order to fully explore who
you are and capture your artist vision as a professional
artist/designer. This will assist you to write your statement based on
how you translate the world of art and design as of now, what the
source of your inspirations are, what area of art/design you intent to
work on, and finally what your dreams and visions are.








WRITING AN ARTIST STATEMENT
You want to write your artist statement by reflecting on who you are
(want to be) as an artists/designer, what inspires you, how you explore
your passion and curiosity through art and design, and what are your
plans for your professional development.

So what is your story?
Its always good to have a story to tell. Start making notes,
this process will assist you as you write your statement.
There is no one right way to write an artist statement but here are
some general guidelines.

Spend a few minutes looking at the statements below and write
true/false/maybe/why - next to each of them:

01) An artist statement should be written in the present tense.
02) An artist statement should be written in the first person.
03) The audience for an artist statement is a potential buyer.
04) An artist statement should be about 100 words long.
05) An artist statement does not change much overtime.
06) An artist statement should include what other people
have said about your work.
07) An artist statement should be written in the most complicated and
impressive language you can come up with.
08) An artist statement should tell the truth.
09) Artist statements are a waste of time because people should be able to
understand my art just by looking at it.
10) An artist statement is closer to a poem than a novel.
11) An artist statement should give too little rather than too much.
12) An artist statement should leave the reader wanting to know more.
13) An artist statement should tell people how they should react to your art.










An Artist Statement:
A very personal reflection on what, why, how,
you do what you do from your perspectives.

Why do you need to wri te one?

It provides a window into your art for your audience. It
provides a bridge between you and your audience. It
should be completely honest, just as your relationship
with your art is completely honest.

A clearly written statement will make your name stick in
peoples memories longer. It will be part of the process
of branding you as an artist, and it will also help you in
the same way as defining a goal. It can help you to know
that you are headed in the right direction- whatever
that may be for you.

The process of writing it can help you crystallize what it
is that you striving for in your art/design/career.

Think now about the resources that you have available
to you to help you write your artist statement. Jot them
down in the space below.











YOUR DESIGN PROCESS

Personal Mind Map + Artist/Designer Research + Artist Statement.

Topics | Identity, Interdisciplinary, Connectivity, Inspiration,
Meaning Process | Research > Design + Development > Upload >
Presentation > Submission

STEP 1 | WHO AM I MIND MAP
Start with a Self Brainstorming writing out some of your personal
attributes, characteristics, inspiration, exploration, and contribution. Add
your artist research information here as well after completing step 2.
Create Your Mind-Map with Key Words, Matters, Interests, Passion, and
dreams with your work Develop with your own style of your personal
visual map Try to identify an image and look and feel of your map, which
will provide you an art direction for your portfolio design later.

STEP 2 | STUDY ARTIST/DESIGNERS ESSAY
You are going to look into bibliography, artist-statement, essay, etc. of
other artists/designers about their works. You will understand their works
in terms of how they capture, translate, uncover, and contribute to their
particular field of art/design.

STEP 3 | YOUR ARTIST/DESIGNER STATEMENT
Your 300-500 words statement should include 4 points below.
1) Your Translation: Introduction to your Art/Design world
2) Your Inspiration: Artists, Objects, People, Event/Movement, etc.
3) Your Exploration: Interests in movements, techniques, issues,
social impacts, etc.
4) Your Contribution: Vision/Direction


Translate: What does the world look like to you? How does this vision appear
in your work? What connects you to your work? What dreams are in your work?
Inspire: What/who inspires you? Artists- alive or dead? Other people? Role
models? Why do you do what you do?
Explore: How do you explore your passion/curiosity through art and design?
How to best describe your creative process? What patterns emerge in work?
Contribute: What are your goals? How do you believe your work will contribute
to the future of world of art and design, or others in the world?



ARTIST STATEMENT SAMPLE #1

ALIA JASSIM / GRAPHIC DESIGN / CITIZEN DESIGNER

[INTRODUCTION] Like confessions you might find in diaries, I confess
through my artwork. Art is not only something I do, it is my friend who
listens to me and interacts with me, a well where my thoughts can echo
without any disruption.

[TRANSLATION] Everywhere I look around me I see inspiration, an old
man walking in the street, a bird soaring in the vast sky, or something as
simple as a piece of furniture. Seeing a childs smile can lighten up my
day and make the world seem so beautiful, and through using bright
colors on a canvas, visual illustrations that represent innocence, and the
soft strokes of a paintbrush, I can translate that experience into an
attractive, inviting visual artwork.

[INSPIRATION] The most influential inspirations are the two factors that
made me who I am; my religion and my country. Building an identity that
relates to both my cultural background and my global character is
challenging, since I need to learn how to balance them. And through
practicing my work and looking at other peoples work like AbdulQader
AlRayes, and young, emerging local artists such as Reem AlGhaith, I
see that identity more clearly and I begin to understand it better.

[EXPLORATION] I dont set out to practice one field of art; I am
interested in printmaking, drawing, painting, photography, fashion
design, graphic design, and interior design. Practicing all these kinds of
arts is very important to me since each one can influence the other as
well as encouraging me to learn new skills. I also try my best to learn
new skills and research new breakthroughs in the art field. Awareness of
whats happening around me can benefit my style greatly. Through my
art, I aim to convey my beliefs, me feelings, and my thoughts. I also try to
reflect upon other individuals and nations around me and aim to
articulate what they are experiencing. Through these visual illustrations, I
hope that the viewers will be able to experience whatever feelings Im
trying to communicate. I try not to talk about the confessions in painting,
and instead leave it to the viewer to decide. I take interest in seeing what
other people understand from my work, even if our reflections might vary
greatly.

[CONTRIBUTION] Art has opened my eyes; I now pay attention to
details more than I used to. Everything and everyone seems more
significant than ever, not only visually, but also concept wise. And with
that, my way of think has changed and still is everyday.

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