Friday 12 October 2012
An artist statement
An artist statement is a necessary component of any professional artists' portfolio or promotional packet.
When writing your artist statement, DO:
* Write in the first person. It is a statement, after all.
* Be brief, 2-3 paragraphs at most. Always err on the side of brevity. You can write more, but why would you want to? People have short attention spans these days. Load as much punch into the delivery as you can. Combine sentences and delete ones that aren't vital. As Henri Matisse said in his treatise on painting, "All that is not useful to the picture is detrimental." The same could be said of your statement.
* Describe the current direction of your work and your approach, particularly what is unique about your methods and materials.
* Sit on it for a few days and come back to it with a fresh mindset.Most artists, in my opinion, hate their statements because they rushed them in preparation for an exhibit and didn't care to spend any more time on them. How do you expect it to be any good if you don't work at it?
* Consider more than one statement if you are trying to discuss more than one body of work. If you try to get too much into a single statement, you run the risk of saying nothing and trying to be everything to all people. This is bad marketing/bad promotions.
* Allow your artist statement to grow, change, and mature along with your work. Don't let it sit on a shelf and collect dust. It should be organic and you shouldn't be afraid to change it and make it better.
* Make sure your statement passes the litmus test. Above all, viewers should be compelled to put the statement away and look back at the work. Your statement isn't successful if people read the words on the page, and then put them down and go on to the next artist.
When writing your artist statement, DO NOT:
* Use too many personal pronouns. Yes, I said to write in first person, but try to severely limit the number of "I"s, "me"s and "my"s that are used. You'll be amazed at how many other ways there are to phrase things. You want people to relate to your words and to your art. Too many personal pronouns will put up an unnecessary a barrier.
* Tell your life story. You can keep that for your bio (as long as it's interesting). Your artist statement is only about the current direction of your work.
* Quote or refer to anyone else by name. Keep the focus on you and your art. Mentioning another name shifts the readers' attention from your art to the other person.
* Forget to use spell check and ask someone else to read it over for you.
View the time to write your artist statement as an opportunity to clarify your thoughts. A well-written statement, approached deliberately and thoughtfully, can be a boon to your self-promotion efforts. You'll use the language on your Web site and in grant applications, press releases, brochures, and much more.
When writing your artist statement, DO:
* Write in the first person. It is a statement, after all.
* Be brief, 2-3 paragraphs at most. Always err on the side of brevity. You can write more, but why would you want to? People have short attention spans these days. Load as much punch into the delivery as you can. Combine sentences and delete ones that aren't vital. As Henri Matisse said in his treatise on painting, "All that is not useful to the picture is detrimental." The same could be said of your statement.
* Describe the current direction of your work and your approach, particularly what is unique about your methods and materials.
* Sit on it for a few days and come back to it with a fresh mindset.Most artists, in my opinion, hate their statements because they rushed them in preparation for an exhibit and didn't care to spend any more time on them. How do you expect it to be any good if you don't work at it?
* Consider more than one statement if you are trying to discuss more than one body of work. If you try to get too much into a single statement, you run the risk of saying nothing and trying to be everything to all people. This is bad marketing/bad promotions.
* Allow your artist statement to grow, change, and mature along with your work. Don't let it sit on a shelf and collect dust. It should be organic and you shouldn't be afraid to change it and make it better.
* Make sure your statement passes the litmus test. Above all, viewers should be compelled to put the statement away and look back at the work. Your statement isn't successful if people read the words on the page, and then put them down and go on to the next artist.
When writing your artist statement, DO NOT:
* Use too many personal pronouns. Yes, I said to write in first person, but try to severely limit the number of "I"s, "me"s and "my"s that are used. You'll be amazed at how many other ways there are to phrase things. You want people to relate to your words and to your art. Too many personal pronouns will put up an unnecessary a barrier.
* Tell your life story. You can keep that for your bio (as long as it's interesting). Your artist statement is only about the current direction of your work.
* Quote or refer to anyone else by name. Keep the focus on you and your art. Mentioning another name shifts the readers' attention from your art to the other person.
* Forget to use spell check and ask someone else to read it over for you.
View the time to write your artist statement as an opportunity to clarify your thoughts. A well-written statement, approached deliberately and thoughtfully, can be a boon to your self-promotion efforts. You'll use the language on your Web site and in grant applications, press releases, brochures, and much more.
how to write an artist biography
How to Write an Artist Biography
What is an artist biography? A concise description would be the story of your life as it relates to your art. Before you put pen to paper, or start typing, do some research, looking at other artist biographies for reference. You should notice that no two biographies are alike in form or content. Likewise, your biography should be very unique to your life experience and your personal style.
How is a biography different from a statement or resumé? Detailed information about your work should be reserved for your artist statement(s). Your biography should include important items from your resume, but it should not repeat your resume line for line.
Evaluate and write for your audience. You should have one general biography that will work in almost all circumstances. At least once a year, and before submitting your biography for an exhibit, article, etc., review and update it as necessary. Three to four paragraphs should be sufficient, and it should be no longer than one page. Write in the third person singular, not first. If incorporating personal statements, these should be quoted in first person.
The purpose of your artist biography is to make a human connection with your audience. If your audience knows more about the person behind the art, the buying experience will become more personal to them. Always keep your language positive. Negative words can turn people away. Use active over passive voice. Do not assume your readers will have the same knowledge as yourself. Provide exact names and locations, and avoid acronyms. Be honest, but avoid over-revealing personal details of your life. Keep it professional.
The following are some questions to consider when writing your own biography. Answers do not have to be provided for all of them.
As for form, start here. Describe your work. How would you describe your style or method? What mediums do you work in? What subjects? Do you have a statement about your work that you would like to share?
Next, add some compelling details. What made you decide to become an artist? Was there a specific event or a series of events you can describe?
Add in some historical timeline. Have you had any important people who have mentored or influenced your growth? How long have you been pursuing your art? Any notable education?
Finish off with more compelling details and basic facts. What do you consider a breakthrough/turning point/major step in your career? Any notable awards or memberships? Where do you create your art work? Where do you currently sell your work? Is your work owned by any noteworthy collectors or part of a significant collection? Have you been influenced by an artist of the past that your audience can relate to? What are some goals for your work moving forward? Where do you currently reside?
When you think you are finished, read, reread, and have other people read your biography to check flow, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Put it aside for a few days and come back to it. Your biography will constantly evolve as you accept new challenges and pursue new directions in life and your work.
how to write an artist's CV
How to Write an Artist’s CV in 10 Steps
A CV or curriculum vitae is an overview of your artistic professional history and achievements. Although it looks similar to a resume, it contains different elements which are only related to your artistic professional practice.
One mistake emerging artists often make in writing their CVs is trying to oversell their work. Less is more. Your CV should be neatly organized, and only include information pertinent to your artistic career.
What should you include on a CV? Here is where how to compose one in 10 steps:
1. Personal details.
Often, more established artists will keep it simple. This is because their CV is usually referenced as a biography rather than a resume.
Damian Hirst (b. 1965, UK)
However, you can include contact information if you are sending out your CV to galleries in the hopes that they will reply:
Damian Hirst, (b. 1965, UK)
info@damianhirst.com | www.damianhirst.com | 604.555.1234
info@damianhirst.com | www.damianhirst.com | 604.555.1234
Either of these formats is appropriate for an artist’s CV. Just keep in mind that you should only include your website if it directly relates to your artistic practice.
2. Education.
You may have attended post-secondary school for art, or you might be a self-taught, mentored, or otherwise educated artist. Generally speaking, this section of a CV relates to institutional education specifically in the field of visual arts. If you do have post-secondary education in the arts field, include the school(s), the year(s) that you graduated, and the degree(s):
University of British Columbia, Master of Fine Arts, 2009
Emily Carr University, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 2005
Emily Carr University, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 2005
If you do not have a degree in the visual arts field, fear not. This section of the CV is not a pre-requisite for exhibitions or gallery representation. The only thing to note is that you should not put down any other type of education (high school graduation, degree in business management), unless it very directly relates to the artwork that you make. Leaving this section off of your CV is perfectly acceptable.
3. Exhibitions
Beginning with your most recent, you should list your exhibitions in a manner similar to this:
2011 Title of Show, Museum of Modern Art, NY
2010 I’ve been showing a lot lately, Galerie Espace, Montréal
2010 I’ve been showing a lot lately, Galerie Espace, Montréal
If you have a large number of exhibitions, you can split them into two or more categories: solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, and even duo exhibitions. This helps define in what capacity your work was shown (you don’t want to undersell your solo show at the MoMA.)
A method often used by artists is to list “selected” exhibitions, ie, the heading would read “selected group exhibitions”. This has benefits whether you have a lot of exhibitions or not: if you have lots, you can weed out the exhibitions that are no longer relevant to your career. If you don’t have a lot of exhibitions, you are assuring the reader that they are not looking at a short list, but rather your most relevant history.
4. Bibliography
In this section of your CV, you can include any articles in which you or your art appeared. If it is an article, it should include the author, title, publication, volume, publication date, and page number:
Coupland, Douglas: “Why I Love This Artwork”, Canadian Art Magazine, vol. 12, February 2011, p. 55-60
If your work appeared on the cover of a publication, you can format your information like this:
Canadian Art Magazine, Cover, vol. 12, February 2011
If writing about your artwork or your artwork itself appears in a book, the formatting should read:
Schwabsky, Barry (Compiler), Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting, Phiadon Press 2004, p. 78
For further information and other examples of MLA format, there any many resources online. As an example, here is SFU’s citation guide for MLA style.
5. Collections
Once I entered a competition to paint banners for a small city’s Christmas celebration. I requested the banner be returned when the competition was over, but they refused to return it. Now I put “City of _____” under the public collections section of my CV. We both win!
Generally, the “collections” portion of your CV is to list public institutions which own your artwork. This could be museums, corporate collections, or even municipalities or agencies. They can simply be listed under the heading collections:
The Vancouver Art Gallery
The Canada Council Art Bank
The Colart Collection
The Canada Council Art Bank
The Colart Collection
If you only have artwork in private collections and you wish to include this section on your CV, you should not list the name of the collector unless 1. they are well-known as important collectors of art, and 2. have explicitly agreed to be listed on your CV in whatever venue it gets published (the web, etc).
If several people own your artwork in private collections and you would like to note that, you can list them like this:
Private collection, Calgary AB
Private collection, Vancouver, BC
Private collection, Vancouver, BC
Just don’t go to overboard with the list– if you really have lots, you’ll look more understated and impressive by inserting something like this:
Works held in private collections in Canada, the United States, Germany, and New Zealand.
6. Texts
If you have any published writing relating to either your own practice or that of others, you can list it here in proper MLA format:
“This Artwork is Awesome”, Awesome exhibition catalogue, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2006.
The above points are the most common and usually the most notable elements which artists include on their CVs. However, depending on your practice, there may be a number of other professional and artistic points of interest to list. Here are some examples:
7. Teaching
This is a space to list any teaching positions you may have had, either as a faculty member or as a guest lecturer or speaker. You should only include those related specifically to your practice or to visual arts:
2009, Guest lecturer, Emily Carr University
2007, Sessional instructor, SFU
2007, Sessional instructor, SFU
8. Curatorial projects
If, as well as being an artist you have also undertaken curatorial projects (as so many artists seem to do now), you can list them simply as the exhibition itself, or, add on a briefexplaination:
2011, “Drawings”, Richmond Art Gallery
2010, “Paintings”, Or Gallery, co-curated by Damian Hirst
2010, “Paintings”, Or Gallery, co-curated by Damian Hirst
9. Awards and Grants
Some artists choose to list awards and / or grants they have received. If you decide to include this, the list should all be specifically related to your artistic practice, unless it is extremely notable, such as the Nobel Peace Prize:
2011, Canada Council grant
2010, BC Arts Council grant
2010, BC Arts Council grant
10. Residencies
Artist’s residencies you may have attended are good to include on your CV as they show a dedication to your practice and to your professional development:
2010, Studio residency, School of Visual Arts, New York
Tuesday 18 September 2012
PROJECT A:- fifth process(final)
Fifth process:
this is my final mind map:-
My project about mind map.. I added many informations about mind map such as , definition, principles, inspirations, guidelines, invented, style, uses, process, benefits, structure and how to create mind map.. For design I decided to use brain x-ray because its related to mind map.. Mind map help the brain to memorize , remember and imagination..
PROJECT A: forth process ( start working)
Forth process:
After sketching I changed my mind and I thinked to used a real x-ray and I used glue gun and electricity wire to show the branches.
After sketching I changed my mind and I thinked to used a real x-ray and I used glue gun and electricity wire to show the branches.
PRPJECT A: second process (inspirations)
second process :
I started to search for inspirations for my mind map design.. and I liked some pictures :-
I started to search for inspirations for my mind map design.. and I liked some pictures :-
Sunday 16 September 2012
Saturday 15 September 2012
project A : First process (searching)
MY PROCESS :
1- searching :
I start searching about my topic which is mind mapping , and I found many information then I collected them as a timetable :-
my references are :
2- http://litemind.com/what-is-mind-mapping/
my references are :
- internet:
2- http://litemind.com/what-is-mind-mapping/
- Online book:
link:
http://books.google.ae/books?id=6PUhuWoqss8C&pg=PA234&lpg=PA234&dq=mind+maps+reading+online+book&source=bl&ots=MCbK544czC&sig=Xtp53xSO-nonTdh-_J6Uexznmwc&hl=ar&sa=X&ei=v61OUMP8CarqmAWY44GgDA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=mind%20maps%20reading%20online%20book&f=false
- Typography Class:
First week
Week one summary for ART405:
Week 01 : introduction for the course and starting in project A.
1-introduction for the course :
The aim of this course is to make us familiar with the professional practices of designer and artists.
In this course we will discover our art and design world in terms of how we can create positive impacts to society through our profession. We have five project which are: Mind mapping, (artist CV,biography, statement &intro letter), manual process book, portfolio, and interview.
2-project A (MIND MAPPING):
Type of the project: information mapping(issues+people+projects+impact).
- After doing a research I found :
Week 01 : introduction for the course and starting in project A.
1-introduction for the course :
The aim of this course is to make us familiar with the professional practices of designer and artists.
In this course we will discover our art and design world in terms of how we can create positive impacts to society through our profession. We have five project which are: Mind mapping, (artist CV,biography, statement &intro letter), manual process book, portfolio, and interview.
2-project A (MIND MAPPING):
Type of the project: information mapping(issues+people+projects+impact).
- After doing a research I found :
- What is MIND MAPPING: Graphical technique for visualizing connections between several ideas or pieces of information. Each idea or fact is written down and then linked by lines or curves to its major or minor (or following or previous) idea or fact, thus creating a web of relationships. Developed by the UK researcher Tony Buzan in his 1972 book 'Use Your Head,' mind mapping is used in note taking, brainstorming, problem solving, and project planning. Like other mapping techniques its purpose is to focus attention, and to capture and frame knowledge to facilitate sharing of ideas and concepts.
Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/mind-mapping.html#ixzz26WwZA9Po - Mind map steps:
2-Place that topic in the center of the page. Ideally you want to draw this topic, writing the topic in bold letters should only be used for things without a visual form.
3-Start writing what comes to mind. As you generate thoughts, draw branches from the main topic. Keep it to as few words as possible. As you mind map more, try to continue to narrow the amount of words per branch. Print clearly.
4-Continue branching. Make more branches off of your main topic. Try to extend your thoughts from one idea to the next. Draw lines between thoughts to create lateral thinking.
5-As new ideas come forth, draw a different branch from your topic and expand as necessary.
6-Repeat branching until all your ideas appear on the map.
7-When you are finished mapping, carefully study the connections that you have made between your thoughts and ideas and try to relate them.
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