Genre Analysis: What Is The Use Of The Artist Statement

In these growing times, genre awareness has been brought forward as our culture is constantly developing. As a young adult easing into the professional world I find myself needing to be aware of more genres than I ever expected. Students in the past have solely come out of school with knowledge of the formal writing styles such as the research paper, literary analysis, the essay, etc. As a young professional coming out of college, the familiarity of multiple genres is crucial to be able to transition into the working world. As a young person coming out of college during a struggling job market knowing different writing genres and styles will only enhance my chances in being successful in the job force. When writing in a specific genre you need to know what kind of writing is expected, whom youre writing to, and how the piece coincides with other writing from that discourse community. In this investigation I want to understand fully the relationship between the personal experience and the fundamental theories of art and how they overlap in the artist statement. Im interested in finding out which elements of the statements are most effective and why. The art genre is constantly confused with styles of art. Styles or movements in the art world tend to get mixed up with different genres in art. Genres in art are not movements like surrealism, impressionism, abstraction, dada or rococo. When I talk about genre in this investigation Im looking at what types of writing genres exist in the working artists community. Such genres may include editorial, promotional, and personal kinds of writing. In this inquiry I want

to solely focus on what the artist statements offers as a type of writing genre. In the art world the artist statement can be crucial when complementing an art piece or series. Although some artists choose to not use the artist statements, I believe as a young artist its important for promoting yourself, your ideas, and giving yourself some sort of name amongst an always progressing competitive field. The art community is constantly evolving with new concepts and contemporary ideas. Its more than just making a pretty piece. Every component of a work is analyzed and critiqued to find deeper meanings about the world we inhabit and the individual human experience. The people who will be judging and trying to uncover these ideas in a piece includes numerous opinionated people such as critics, collectors, dealers, art directors, artists, curators, and many others that will have a lot to say about an artists exploration. Artist statements at times can be tricky. The purpose of an artist statement is to guide a person into their concept and focus behind their work. The statement helps the reader to try and decode whats happening visually to find greater meaning within the concepts behind the piece. From personal experience I have found both understanding and confusion when reading them. Even with fresh knowledge about art, from being in the school, they can still be difficult to decipher. Artist statements are as much for the discourse community as they are for the artist themselves. Being able to identify with the rest of the artist discourse community is really important especially if you want to be noticed or the statement to be read. The function of the statement is to give guidance to the audience in order to show them who they are and what they are trying to achieve as an artist. It could

almost confuse with a personal statement. When communicating with an audience that doesnt have a lot of experience with art and the language that is apart of art can be challenging. An important thing about writing in the art field is to be able to communicate with lots of demographics. Depending on whose statement, they can be read from many others than just members of the art community. Being able to connect with others through your writing is both helpful for the piece as well as for the public. For example not everyone is going to understand language that goes along with the formal and classical elements of painting. Although a situation like that could be confusing, its important to intertwine other elements of the art piece that include current ideals and culture within the larger art community. With those elements in the statement the message youre trying to convey should be clear. The first artist statement that I want to examine is by Jenny Morgan. Jenny is a young painter that has already had major success in the U.S. and has had international exhibits. What I really pick up within her statement is her use of the first person to get across the challenges and transformations that she faced while finding herself in her art. It has taken me years to break through walls that were developed when I was younger- ideals about the tradition of painting and the preciousness of realism (Morgan). She uses clear and direct language to get her ideas across with little to no ambiguities. The most intensely exciting portraits for me to paint as of late have been the people in my life that I know personally, but not intimately- if there is a spark of mystery to our relationship it leaves room for me to explore them on canvas (Morgan). I really responded to how she connects the progression shes made between classical paining and whats shes learned through

her own experience. She brings together formal and personal elements to identify with her audience. The next artist statement that I was looking at was a sample from random art student. They focused on how their artwork applies to themselves and their own views and interpretations of the culture we live in. They explain how their work and process ties together with current world issues and how they see and respond to them. My artwork takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues. In my work, I deconstruct the American dream, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and lullabies that are part of our childhood and adult culture. Having engaged subjects as diverse as the civil rights movement, southern rock music and modernist architecture, my work reproduces familiar visual signs, arranging them into new conceptually layered pieces (Dough). Not only is it important for the artist to understand what is happening on a personal level but having the knowledge of what is going on in the larger art community, art theories, and how their work ties into our evolving culture. When understanding the genre of artist statement multiple factors are brought forward. Its important to be able to write about the personal process as well as touch upon other elements of the genre like connecting the piece with its relevance to our current culture. Having a put together statement will help to establish yourself among other members of this discourse community. Artist

statements are personal manifestations of what has been created between who the artist is and how their own art relates to broader spectrum of the art world and contemporary society. With those elements present in the artist statement the statement will fully function correctly to communicate with multiple discourse communities.

Works Cited Dough, Jonathan H. "Sample Artist Statement." Art School Information. Canada Art Schools, 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. Rev. of Jenny Morgan Artist Statement. Web log post. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013.