Research & Writing: Studio Practice Writing

Some types of writing that may be expected of artists include:

• Artist statement(s)
• Artist biography
• Grant proposals
• Residency applications
• Exhibition texts

Writing well is crucial - you need to be able to communicate clearly with your audience. Skillful writing also gives you a better chance of securing grants and/or artist residencies.

In general, you should use the following structure when writing a critique of an artwork:

• Describe what you see
  • Do not apply value judgments at this stage
• Analyze the work
  • Look at the composition and formal elements
• Interpret the work
  • Think about what the artist is trying to convey
• Evaluate the work
  • Establish clear criteria to reach a judgment of it
  • Make sure you have evidence to back up your judgment

In general, artist statements are written in the first person. Think about why you are writing an artist statement - who is your audience? How long should it be/how detailed? Is this about a specific work/series of works or is it about your practice more generally?

The following are questions to help you get started (keep in mind that this is a statement about your art, rather than a biography of you):

• Who are you?
• What in your background is relevant to your work?
• Who is your audience?
• What are your motivations for producing artwork?
• What materials do you use?
• Why do you use those materials?
• How do you make your work?
• What is the framework for your work (historical, theoretical, etc.)?

The handouts below provide information on how to write artist statements; to see examples of artist statements, search "artist statement" in Art & Architecture Source.