Artist's Statements. Resumes. Bios

Transcription

1 Artist's Statements Resumes Bios

2 What they should look like: Clean and easy to read Consistent with your other materials in terms of: color font style Printable & viewable on a variety of screens How will it look printed in color? Black and white? How will it look on someone else s computer? (Word documents can lose format)

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4 Your Artist's Statement What it is & what it does It s your voice when you re not there and a chance to communicate why you create the kind of art you do. It should enrich the viewer's experience of your work and give them the tools to dig a little deeper into your process. It s a tool for gallery directors, reviewers, teachers, and curators to understand and evaluate your body of work.

5 Artist s statement basics It's short. Four to five sentences. It s simple and direct. It is current and up-to-date. Unlike a bio, it s written in the first person (i.e. I, me, my). It doesn t contain information about exhibits, education, collections, awards, etc. Those belong in your resume/cv & sometimes bio.

6 Example Artists have always been interested in recording nature since the first cave paintings. I, too, find environmental events and our human interaction with nature significant and fascinating. I use the materials and tools of natural and urban environments dangerous plants, soils, water, sunshine, wallpapers, oilcloths, paint, tattoos, hands, sticks, and horses to trace this intertwining of nature and human history. The process of being and working outdoors, whether in an urban or rural setting, provides me the opportunity to experience the topography, climate, time, and space in a physical way..

7 Getting started Just start writing. Ramble without being self-critical and edit later. Questions to get you going: Why have you chosen your particular imagery? What materials do you use? Is there anything unusual about the way you apply them? What are the key themes & issues of your work? How would you like viewers to respond to your work? Is there something a viewer might not be able to tell about your work from looking at it?

8 Tips Non artists will be reading this so avoid jargon and clichés. Cut out the words really, totally, completely, etc. Try talking to a friend about your work and have them take notes about the main points they identify. This may help focus you. Read other artists statements before looking at their work. Can you conjure a mental image of their work? Is your mental image accurate?

9 CVs & Resumes contents and uses

10 Artist Resumes A resume should be a digest of your accomplishments as an artist. It's short. Limit to one page two if you re quite advanced in your career. It s simple and direct. Stay focused on the essential information. It is up-to-date (that goes for CVs too).

11 What to include in your resume: Heading with contact information including your name, address, phone number, website and address. You must be easy to reach! Education: College level and selected workshops if they are relevant.

12 More resume stuff to include Exhibitions: You can separate group and solo exhibitions or keep them chronological. It is better to have a short list of gallery exhibitions than a long list of cafes, so be picky when presenting yourself. Include each exhibit s dates, title, location and the curator or juror. Professional experience: You can list your day job here if you want, especially if it is in the arts. But do not include job descriptions or more than a few listings.

13 More resume stuff to include Awards and honors: Professional & art-related only! Grants/Fellowships Collections: A list of corporations or individuals who own at least one piece of your work. Write the list from most prestigious to the least. Gallery representation and affiliations. List organizations, collaboratives, special projects.

14 Even more resume stuff to include News/Publications: list any reviews of your work or exhibitions with the publication name, article title and date. If you are in catalogs or books, list these here with publication name and date and author/editor Web-sites to which you are associated: Only list these if they show a major portion of your work, or your personal site that is related solely to your work. Limit or eliminate: skills, hobbies, job descriptions (unless you are looking for commissions or teaching gigs).

15 Artist CVs A curriculum vitae (CV) should be a detailed synopsis of your accomplishments as an artist. It's longer than a resume. At least two pages, covering your academic background as well as teaching experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations and other details. Grants, fellowships & academia. Most of the time, a resume is all you ll need, but CVs are usually more appropriate for academic jobs, grants & fellowships.

16 CVs include everything a resume does, but more so. For example: Under education, list not only the degree earned but also any honors. List every place you ve studied art, not just where you earned a degree. With curated/juried exhibits, list both the juror/ curator s name and the name of the gallery/ museum/ they are associated with. Check out this comprehensive CV guide:

17 Biographies

18 Biographies are Short. The ideal length is one-two paragraphs. Simple and direct. Avoid talking about wifty notions like passion and expression. Your bio should show your commitment to the arts through your achievements and activities. Written in the third person (i.e. no "I," "me," "my"). Include: exhibitions, education, collections, awards and so-on in a narrative form. Select only the most important information. Current and up-to-date. (do you see a theme forming here?)

19 Biography - sample Sarah Powers is an artist based in Raleigh, North Carolina whose mixed media work focuses on industrial and rural landscapes and landscape details. Her work has been featured in galleries across the U.S. including Rhode Island s risd l works, The Sarah Doyle Gallery at Brown University and The Mahler Gallery, The Collectors Gallery, Long View Gallery, Rebus Works, Vision Gallery, The Greenhilll Center and Artspace in North Carolina. Powers is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design. She is a past recipient of a United Arts Council Project Grant and a former Chair of the Raleigh Arts Commission.

20 edit, edit, edit Have artists and non-artist friends read your statement, resume and bio. Typos and grammatical errors make terrible impressions on readers so make sure to proof read! Keep out the fluff. Aim for short and sweet. Make your documents look clean and organized. Use spacing effectively and avoid distracting typefaces (ie, papyrus, comic sans, curlz, etc.) No pictures!

21 lather, rinse, repeat Your artist s statement, resume and bio will be perpetual works in progress. As you grow and change artistically your artist statement should reflect this. You should be reviewing and reworking your statement at least four times a year.

22 Resources: The Practical Handbook for the Emerging Artist College Art Association