"What do I Write For an Artist Statement?!"

So... you want to know what to write for an artist statement?

www.davidlesserdesigns.com

 It is an incredibly difficult task to describe your own work without sounding arrogant or self-absorbed.
Here are some tips I go by when writing an artist statement for displaying work:

1. Start with the basics

Jot down some basic information about the photos included in this collection. Are they color? Do they have a common theme? Were they all taken in a similar location? Having a short list of details will help later when you are trying to tie everything together.

2. Try not to get too technical

Nobody reading the statement will care if you shot with a Canon 5D or if Photoshop is your post-processing software of choice. If there are some truly unique elements involved in the work (printed on a special material or you shot through a hand-crafted lens, for example), feel free to include that information. Otherwise, leave out the details about your gear.

3. What would you like someone else to say of this work?

This is possibly the best way to get to the heart of why you took these photos. If you would love for someone to say “these photos bring sunshine to my home”, then you already have a pretty good starting point for your statement. Lead off with something like “I have done my job as an artist if these photos bring happiness and warmth to your home”.

4. Share your background and history

All too often, artist’s statements are all about the art and don’t go into any detail about the artist. How long have you been doing this kind of art? Why did you start? Why do you enjoy it?

5. Try not to pat yourself on the back too much

It is fine to say you are proud of this body of work, but try not to go overboard with the self praise. I have seen statements that say things like “an expert of her craft, this photographer captures beauty in a way that nobody else has”. I understand the value of confidence and selling yourself, but these kinds of descriptions will be a turnoff to a lot of people.

6. Does it have to be a traditional artist’s statement?

A friend once suggested that I do a haiku for my statement, which I thought was a genius idea. Different venues will have their own requirements, but take the opportunity to do something out of the norm if you can.
And if you would like an example of an Artist’s Statement, this is the one I went with for that local shop:

If these photos have a mission, it is this: capture rarely viewed scenes and environments and present them in an interesting way.
It may be a lonesome tree on an isolated hill or the dark interior of an abandoned building. Whatever the locale, on the best of days these images will stir up unexpected feelings and thoughts in the viewer.
Studio Tempura is based out of Baltimore, MD and has been creating photographs for over a decade.

Chris Folsom is a photographer based in Baltimore, MD. You can view more of his photos at Flickr or follow his photographic endeavors on Twitter.

Click on the following helpful sites for writing about your art. You will need to do this for every assignment, so start now!

Art Business

Where to Even Begin

Assignment: Portrait Series

© www.darlingdexter.com

Portrait Series:

Using what you have learned in about composition, lighting and backgrounds, take a series of portraits.  You will be turning in 4 portraits; they should be part of a series, which means they are thematically related to each other in subject matter and/or compositional style.  For example if your theme is self portraiture, make sure the photos you take for this project and the 4 you turn in are all self portraits.  If your theme is a composition style like lighting, make sure all of the portraits you take for this project have interesting/dramatic lighting.  Perhaps you want to dress up in some way or you want to take portraits of in action.  There are many ways to approach creating a theme for this project.  You cannot complete this assignment until you have taken at least 15-25 portraits on the digital camera– the more pictures you take, the better results you will get.  You will be turning in your 4 BEST portraits for this assignment on one composition.



"Nik Jung Shaved"                       © Nik Jung

Rubric

1.      Create a series of portraits (at LEAST 4)

2.      All photos that you use for this assignment MUST be originals of yours that you took with a digital camera or phone this semester. Background should be minimal and a solid color, hang a sheet or shoot against blank wall.

3.      Your 4 portraits must be part of a series and have a theme (either compositional style or subject matter or both.)

4.  Do NOT take a picture of you in a mirror, UNLESS, it is the most amazing, creative, compositionally dynamic image I have ever seen.

5.      Always save your images in your Weblocker or upload in class YOU CAN NOT USE A flash drive.

6.      SAVE TWO VERSIONS OF YOUR FINAL BY FRIDAY. 1 flatten JPEG and 1 Tiff file. Please approve your final with me before flatten so that I may suggest editing options. SAVE both in H; drive labeled as follows:  LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_PORTRAITS in MAJOR Folder

AND

      POST the Jpeg version. Title: Potrait Series. Include an artist statement that is at least one paragraph (3-5 sentences)

 

 

PHOTOS FOR ASSIGNMENT WILL BE DUE MONDAY 2.25.13

A COMPLETED COMPOSITION WILL BE DUE FRIDAY 3.1.13

Assignment: Composition Book

R. Friedman © 2009

READ ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT. For creating your Composition Book, you'll need a camera (or camera phone) to find at least one example of the following types of composition (see below). Be sure to include the whole photo images, do not cut out part of the photo or reshape it by cutting it. SHOOT TO FRAME (We'll talk about what this means). Use only real photographs, no digitally altered or animated collages. No photographs that are really images of paintings or drawings. Craftsmanship is an important part of your grade, so be neat and do label each photo with its composition type. The final product will be a 18 page spread (1 image per page) and should be SAVED IN THE CORRECT FOLDER.  This is a two part assignment, the first, is to create the 18 page document in Microsoft Word, the second is to POST this assignment with the title: Photography Composition. Spelling and grammar will count. You may view today's PowerPoint presentation from the G: drive if you missed anything during the class's lecture, it is titled Photo Composition.


1. The Pictures you need to take: You may shoot in class or in the hallway outside of class, as well as at home. Pictures should be shot by Wednesday so you can upload and put together document and post by Friday.

Leading Line – a line that leads you visually to an object or that leads into the distance creating depth. (1)
Rhythm – Objects repeating in a picture creating a feeling of depth or emphasis. (1)
Framing – shooting through something to get the main subject behind it. The subject is “framed” by something in the foreground. (1)
Horizontal – picture is wider than it is tall. (1)
Vertical – picture is taller than it is wide. (1)
Informal Balance – different things catch your eye, not just one. (multiple objects – tends to be asymmetrical.) (1)
Formal Balance – both sides of the picture are similar (symmetrical.) (1)
High Key – bright, intense, active. (1)
Low key – dark, less intense, inactive. (1)
Silhouette – The lighting comes from behind the subject in your picture. (1)
Angle – up, down, straight. Find one of each. (3)
Distance – close, medium, far. Find one of each. (3)
Focus – soft and sharp. Find one of each. (2) 

2. The Microsoft Word document you'll create:
1 image per page, centered (yes, you may edit in Photoshop quickly if needed)
1 definition, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, explaining what element the image represents
1 paragraph (3-5 sentences) explaining WHY this image works.

Example of a finished page:

SAVE AS: Last_First_BK #_CompositionBook in MAJOR folder on your H: Drive by Friday February 22, 2013

3. Part II: The POST. You must post you top 5 examples of your imagery in one post by Friday February 22, 2013

1. Title Post: Photography Composition
2. Insert 5 of your choice of  images
3. Caption each image with a title, artist name (you) and year (2013)
4. Include your definition and explanation (just copy what you wrote in Word). Spell everything correctly, points will be deducted.
5.PREVIEW your post, make sure it looks good, it's legible, and is aesthetically pleasing.
6. Publish your post. Many of you are creating posts and not publishing them, which is not finishing the assignment because it does not show up on your blog.

Making a Press Pass

As part of the digital photography class, you will often be out of the room using your camera. This pass will allow you access to do so (with some restrictions!) First, you need to create one!

What you'll need:
-A photograph of yourself
-Photoshop

Directions:

Open Photoshop
File>Open G: Drive> Press Pass

Open an image of yourself (a portrait, not a full length image)

Insert the image of yourself into the blank box on your press pass. You can use the crop tool, to get the size. Cut or Ctrl X will remove your photo and PASTE or Ctrl V to insert it where it needs to go.

Add your FULL NAME and Grade in box below photograph.

Add ROOM 106 to side of press pass (USE TEXT TOOL T)

Layer> Flatten Layers when you are happy with the Press Pass

INSTRUCTIONS TO SAVE:

File > Save As > LastName_FirstName_PP  in MINOR folder
AND BE SURE YOU HAVE JPEG AS A FILE TYPE

This window will pop up:

Be sure to save as MEDIUM quality.

Photoshop Tutorial: Changing Eye Color

Today, you'll be following a step by step guide to change eye color in Photoshop. This will not only introduce you to some of the common tools you'll want to use in Photoshop, but also teach you skills you can apply to your own images.

 

A copy of the tutorial will be available on eBoard if you are not in class or if you would like to try this at home if you have the Photoshop software.

Assignment: My Life

JOURNAL: MY LIFE Due Thursday 2.14.13

Your first JOURNAL assignment, that you will take an image of yourself in your element. Find a place that describes your place, where you feel most comfortable. Create an image (a photograph) that is staged in such a way that the viewer can learn something about you just by looking at it. Much like the American Express Ad's we viewed in class.
See designate folder PHOTO ASSIGNMENTS-->MY LIFE  for examples as well as the written portion.

To get full credit for assignment you must:

1. POST image on your blog, including text (answered questions)
2. PRINT and place in your binder or journal that you are using for this class.

Re-type questions onto Word and answer them according to YOU. See below for my final Journal entry example and over the weekend you will be photographing your own!

When you POST your assignment to your blog title it: MY LIFE. This must be printed by Friday Feb.15th, and posted to your blog either from class or from home. (USE Homenet instructions to access any work done in class from home) 

SAVE AS:    LastName_FirstName_MyLife   in MINOR folder

If you would like to see examples of this assignment's final look, click on Kerry or Millena 

Creating Your own Blog

Today you'll be creating your own blog using the email you made for class yesterday. As always, see the 'Do Now' page first, and then we'll talk about Blogging.

 

1. Open H: Drive

2. Open Do Now Folder

3. Open Document titled "How to Create..."

We'll start blogging together, but if you need the instructions, you can email them to yourself, and continue this process at home.

 

ADD YOUR BLOG URL to white half sheet of paper.

Email your blog address to Instructor rachael.friedman@woodbridge.k12.nj.us

Subject: Your Name, Block

Message: (example) www.JoesPhotography.blogspot.com

 

 

Hello and Welcome to Digital Photography! I love this class and I'm excited to have so many of you interested in this art and science of photography! We are all beginners here, so those of you that know what you that have experience, great, I look forward to learning from you too and for those of you that are new to the craft, not to worry! Spring is a wonderful time for photographs so we'll be busy! I hope you are ready to learn and better yet, ready to start shooting photographs today!