Storytelling in Your Artist Statement
Use this Artist Statement in English for Art Students as one example of presenting the ideas and processes of an artwork.
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The Lost Shark
It’s been a couple of weeks since our English immersion holidays visited the Scottish region of Argaty and a farm that protects and feeds red kites (as well as several other protected Scottish species).
The red kite feed is spectacular.
Dozens of birds swooping down to snatch morsels of food away into the sky.
Other birds, preferring not to land attempt to steal their prizes away mid-air.
Argaty is a must for any visitors to Scotland interested in ecology, ornithology or wildlife photography.
Art Talk | Inspiration
Perhaps I only spotted the balloon in the sky because I had been birds watching so intently, but afterwards, driving towards Dunblane, there it was in the sky. The oddest of sights.
You don’t expect to glance up and see a shark flying above you. And certainly not a shark sporting a rakish gangster hat, but there it was, someone’s treat sucked into the sky and disappearing fast.
I parked up and snatched a few photos before it was too far away to find with my lens (with the naked eye, I could already only see it as a dot).
It Needs to Resonate
It’s not really a story is it? An escaping balloon.
Only as an artist, I know that objects in the wrong place can be incredibly powerful. (My installation art practice used to consist of it).
Something resonated with me about this, the stupidest of objects sharing the same sky as those timid, magnificent birds.
It actually felt shocking: my mind asks will the novelty balloon be as funny caught up in a tree for decades? Or sinking into the ocean to tangle up wildlife.
Our landscape needs fewer trashy objects and more chances to glimpse these magnificent birds surviving in the natural wilderness.
A second language needs to resonate too, to last.
We lose superficial vocabulary all the time, but if you feel a guttural connection to the spirit you felt in the language, it can last.
Artist Statement
When I uploaded the day’s photographs onto my computer, the two sets were side by side in my photo library.
I made this short film sketch to try to capture how sad I found the two juxtapositioned.
It’s a rough edit, but that’s how I want it.
I’m not offering any conclusions, just explaining how it felt at the time.
As an artist English teacher, I know how difficult explaining feelings can be, but that language is critical to building trusting respectful relationships.
Don’t skip it just because it is difficult.
Tune in to artists’ stories and you gain the language to tell your own.
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