One of my goals for 2013 is pursuing gallery shows and other opportunities within the arts community. A necessary part of that is writing an artist’s statement. As an art consumer I’ve never found them particularly worthwhile, but everyone seems to require them, and I might as well go along with it. I read a lot of advice, and a bunch of photographers’ statements. It didn’t help much, though it did lead me to the Artist’s Statement Generator 2000. Going that route was tempting, but didn’t seem like a very good idea. So I started from scratch. Unlike a lot of the people I read, writing is something I can do, so why not go back to first principles?
I decided that I wanted something simple and straightforward, almost childlike. That my goal was to express my desire to inflict positivity on the world, hopefully in a way that would inflict a little positivity itself. And I wanted it to be short, because who wants to read any artist talking about himself at length? Six sentences seemed about right. This is what I ended up with:
The world today is an obstacle course of negative imagery. It’s easy to see misery around every corner. I use my photography to combat that, to remind you of the sense of wonder inherent in the things we see every day. There is no lack of joy in the world for those who can notice it in the shapes and details all around us.
Everyone finds that joy differently, but my work serves as a window into my experience, so that you can find some extra joy in my perspective, and perhaps be inspired to a closer relationship with your own.
I hope you will leave my work happier and more peaceful than when you came to it.
What do you think of it?