Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Learn from Others

When you’re working on your own artist statement, you can learn a lot from how other people answer the main questions to see what resonates for you.

Easy Research

There are lots of ways to find other artists’ statements. Here are just a few:

  • Visit a gallery or a museum and look at the exhibiting artist statements.
  • Listen to a gallery talk by an artist whose work is on exhibit.
  • Peruse viewing drawers. Some galleries have viewing drawers of prints from artists and include the artist’s resume and statement. For example, Blue Sky has the Pacific Northwest Photography Viewing Drawers to promote the work of regional artists.
  • Listen to an artist being interviewed on a podcast like Keep the Channel Open or The Modern Art Notes Podcast to hear what they say about their work and their driving force.
  • Watch artists classes on e-learning platforms like CreativeLive or Lynda.com.
  • Talk to or interview an artist to understand what they think.

Sources are everywhere. Here are some things I’ve learned so far by seeking out other artist statements.

How Matters

Artists who include the backstory of how the current body of work came about are more engaging.

  • Photographer Lauren Hare relates that she started in portraiture but began incorporating flora into the portraits until one day the flora became equal in importance.
  • Photographer Deb Stoner shares her progression from composing entirely in camera to composing entirely on the scanner until she found through extensive research that artist Karl Blossfeldt composed many of his amazing images by cutting up different prints and reassembling them into a new whole.

Motivation

What motivates you? Do you like to do the same style or do you like to vary it? What brings you energy about your work? Children’s book illustrator and author Ed Emberley says:

“I don’t like to work the same way all the time. I would prefer to experiment with different materials. I find that when I am challenged the challenge brings me energy and fun….If I have fun I can pass the fun on.”

“It’s very important that people succeed [viewing and using my work].”

Ed Emberley

I like what Ed says applied to artist statements as well. Your artist statement should help people succeed in understanding something about your work while viewing it.