AXIS Artist Statements with Louisa Buck

On 5th June 2014 I went to an AXIS roadshow held at Chisenhale Gallery E3.

AXIS, now Axisweb, is a curated artists site with opportunities and information. I do underuse it as yet, but have a profile there.

http://www.axisweb.org/

https://www.axisweb.org/p/eleanormacfarlane/

Caroline has a good profile there:

https://www.axisweb.org/p/carolinewright/

The roadshow was a networking workshop, and Louisa Buck was looking at artists statements.

Louisa Buck is an art critic and writer, has been on the jury of the Turner prize, and has read hundreds of statements in a professional capacity. She's quite loquacious and entertaining, and has a healthy dislike of art bollocks.

Out of about 30 people, I was one of 6 who had volunteered their statement for scrutiny. As you'd expect, the statements were very diverse in approach and about diverse practice. I had sent my long version, which I would never use in entirety, but choose bits from according to need and word count.

Main points gleaned from all:

Statement can be quite blunt and clear, but don't describe the work
Perhaps use a choice quote
Leave space for the viewer to interpret
Don't over analyse or justify
Be personal but not confessional
First paragraph - what, who, subject
Main statement - bald, not fussy
Inform not entertain, but not dreary
Precise, clear, from the heart
People don't want full confessional
Balance art/intellect
Explain terms or key words used
Be reference light
Concentrate on sections of work and practice
Statements can be offputting and contaminating to the work - like script on walls of exhibition
Artworld - strange level of endorsement
Make statement enhancement of work
Get copy approval for exhibition material
Context - edits, etc
The look of the statement - font, etc
Look at gallery websites design and font
Don't give too much information, the crown jewels of practice
Paint a picture then build on
Watch out for redundancy
Less a collection of paragraphs - more a narrative
Tell a story
Pose questions - not too many
Avoid being too definitive and emphatic
Research/investigation
What then why
Not too much about what the viewer might feel

It certainly was interesting to discuss the statements - there's always something to learn from other people's approach. I think soon I will tackle my statement again, and edit away a few things. It's been useful to have a collection of paragraphs to chop and change, but I really did like the more narrative format.

Another point about the event was made to me by an artist after the statement session - she regretted not sending her statement in, and that she had held back out of some sort of shyness. Of course it was a safe environment to reveal such things amongst other artists. Also, Louisa had prepared thoroughly, and had looked at the artists websites. She had clearly looked at my work, and she said that it was interesting and complicated, and that I had managed to convey elements of its abstract nature in my statement very successfully. It's good to be at least on someone's radar.

9th June 2014

Links from the workshop:

Top Ten Words I Am Sick of Seeing on Artists Statements - Andrea Liu
http://e-flux.com/aup/project/andrea-liu-top-ten-words-i-am-sick-of-seeing-on-artists-statements/

Artists' statement generator, as satirical project by Belgium artist Jasper Rigole
http://www.500letters.org/

International Art English: On the rise - and the space - of the art-world press release
by Alix Rule & David Levine
http://canopycanopycanopy.com/issues/16/contents/international_art_english

Gallery wall text article by Tom Morton
http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/the_wrong_words/

6th July 2014