Artist Statement, Short Biography, Annotated Bibliography and Resume/CV
Due Thursday, March 30, 2006

The Artist's Statement and Short Bio should be on one page (together) using Arial 11 point type, single-spaced. The Artist Resume/CV is an independent document.

The above documents must be written in clear, grammatically correct English. If needed, students should take advantage of the services offered by the Writing Resource Center (located in the basement of 141 W. 21 Street.) The Writing Resource Center was established for exactly this purpose: To assist all students with writing papers and research.

Artist's Statement (100-150 words)
The Artist's Statement expresses your personal vision of your art practice. It will be used to introduce people to your ideas and your approach to making art. The Artist's Statement and Bio can be used in catalogs for exhibitions, as a promotional statement or introductory text in galleries, for grant applications, or as part of a press kit or other means of introducing yourself in professional situations. The Artist's Statement should be a 100-150 word summary describing your creative philosophy and creative work.

Tips to help you write a personal Artist's Statement
Source: Boddy-Evans, Marion, "How to Write an Artist's Statement," About.com. Retrieved 3/14/06 from http://painting.about.com/cs/careerdevelopment/a/statementartist.htm.

An artist's statement is a short piece written by the artist to accompany a particular painting or group of paintings. An artist's statement shouldn't be dismissed as insignificant or dashed out in a hurry as it's a vital selling tool, promoting and explaining your work to people looking at your paintings, whether they're potential buyers, exhibition curators, critics, fellow artists, or casual browsers.

At its best, an artist's statement reads easily, is informative, and adds to your understanding of the artist and the painting. At its worse, an artist's statement is difficult to understand or rambles on, is pretentious, and irritates rather than informs (or, even, provokes laughter).

How Long Should an Artist's Statement Be?
Rather make an artist's statement too short than too long - most people simply won't have the patience to read a lengthy treatise and many will be put off before they've even started. Aim at around 100 words or three short paragraphs.

What Should an Artist's Statement Say? An artist's statement should be an explanation of your art style/practices and subjects or themes. Add a bit about your approach or philosophy if you wish. Mention your education, specifically if you've studied art (the closer you are to the date you left art college, the more relevant this is), which artists (living and dead) have influenced you. Mention any significant awards you have won, exhibitions you have participated in, collections your paintings appear in or significant sales you may have made, and painting organizations or societies you belong to. Remember, though, you're aiming to create professional credibility by highlighting your achievements, not providing a full resume.

Help, I Find It Impossible to Describe My Work in Words!
It can often be difficult to explain something visual in words - and after all, you're an artist not a writer! But, as with painting, practice makes it easier and perseverance is essential. You're unlikely to produce a polished artist's statement the first time you try, so be prepared to rework it several times.

Think about how you would describe your work to someone who didn't know you, what other people have said about your work, what you are aiming to achieve in your paintings, your outlook on life. Ask a friend for comments on what you've written (but pick someone you know will give you an honest answer, this is no time for "that's lovely" comments). Write your artist's statement in first person ("I work ..."), not third person ("Mary works ...").

Examples of Artist's Statements
John Baldessari: http://www.eai.org/eai/biography.jsp?artistID=356
First 3 paragraphs of this example are an Artist's Statement. The final paragraph is the bio.

Martha Rosler: http://home.earthlink.net/~navva/about/
Paragraphs 2 and 3 are the artist statement. Paragraphs 1, 4 and 5 are the bio.

Hayao Miyazaki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki
This is an Artist's Statement (first 4 paragraphs) with a Short Bio below.

Resource sites for step by step instructions on writing an Artist's Statement:
http://www.mollygordon.com/resources/marketingresources/artstatemt/

Short Biography (75-100 words)
Your Bio should be a brief description of who you are and what you have done in 75-100 words.

Examples of Short Bios
Roy Lichtenstein (pdf)
Dominic McGill (pdf)
Thomas Struth http://www.kettererkunst.com/bio/ThomasStruth-1954.shtml
Russet Lederman http://www.russetlederman.com/bio.html

Annotated Bibliography
Ammend your Research Paper and Creative Essay/Expanded Analysis to include an annotated bibliography. "An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about [30-50] words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited."

Source: "How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography," Cornell University Library. Retrieved 3/15/06 from http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm.

Artist Resume/CV (Optional)
It is optional to also include in your final thesis packet a complete Artist Resume/CV. This should be a complete listing of your full educational background, grants/awards, group and solo exhibitions, screenings, festivals, publications, bibliography and employment. Use the guidelines indicated on the College Art Association web site:

http://www.collegeart.org/guidelines/resume.html

Example of an Artist Resume/CV
Louise Bourgeois http://www.cheimread.com/bourgeoisbio.htm
Dominic McGill http://www.derekeller.com/dominicmcgill_biography.html