Kim Aldis
@kim_aldis18 Jul
Artist's statements
What are people's thoughts on artist's statements? I often hear that they're essential, particularly for submissions to galleries or publications but I find them problematic. They can feel awfully pretentious and personally, especially for street photography I’d prefer to let the images speak for themselves and let viewers take their own thoughts away from the viewing. And often I come away from reading another's artist's statement wondering where it all came from.
I agree. I have been asked to give a few and they often have felt a little uncomfortable for me to write. I invariably feel like I write them at least a little for the intended audience. I am with you I would rather the image speak for itself.
It annoys me a. bit; I'm either going to be penalised for not writing a statement or I'm compromising the work by adding something that the work either doesn’t need or shouldn't have.
Here is mine, I put it on my Flickr account a while back now as move one a joke...
My work explores the relationship between Pre-raphaelite tenets and UFO sightings.
With influences as diverse as Nietzsche and Buckminster Fuller, new variations are distilled from both opaque and transparent textures.
Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by the ephemeral nature of the human condition. What starts out as vision soon becomes debased into a cacophony of power, leaving only a sense of dread, some bread and the inevitability of a new reality.
As subtle forms become transformed through studious and personal practice, the viewer is left with an insight into the outposts of existential blurb.
edited
A lot of artist statements get an eye roll from me. Even bios on Instagram, etc.
I quit being an advertising writer to be a journalist, so I may have an overactive bullshit detector. But lot of people really do fluff themselves up with aggrandizing phrases like "chasing light," "visual poetry," and my all-time fave: storyteller.
It's as tacky and over-done as a photo watermarked with a logo in a frilly, scripty font.
Worse: The obviously AI-generated statements.
Advice from journalism: Be brief. Short sentences. No fancy words. Just talk about your work like you would to a curious 14-year-old. Or a grandmother who doesn't know anything about photography.
Know: You can use AI to help size up your work and help write a statement. Then write it yourself (dictate it in your own words to AI if that's helpful).
If that's too hard and you do cut and paste, at least replace the chatbot's em dashes (—) with commas so slightly less obvious.
If a photograph or project requires context then I'll write something descriptive and grounded. I have a project in progress for which I was badgered into writing something. I've put it up on my website while I consider whether the words are worth keeping. At the moment I'm leaning towards not, replacing the statement with something real world but I'd appreciate thoughts.