ARTISTS' STATEMENTS: Insightful Entry-Points Into The Work, or Pro-Forma Exercises?

Section, stone retaining wall, rectory,
St. Peter's R.C. Church, St. Marks Place,
St. George

DO ARTISTS WRITE STATEMENTS
BECAUSE THEY WANT TO,
OR BECAUSE THEY THINK
THEY HAVE TO?

DOES ANYBODY
 ACTUALLY READ THEM?

I guffawed recently when a friend described me as an intellectual. It wasn't one of those situations when you scoff at what's being said but secretly agree with it. I thought immediately of my own often very ill-informed responses to art--and how I like it that way.

NO SHAME

Yes, it's true. I have no shame. I persist in being ill-informed because I'm afraid of knowing too much. Afraid that if I know too much, my kischkes (Yiddish for 'gut') won't kick in when I see an artwork. Because that's what I'm after. I'm afraid that if I introduce too much information into the process, my kischkes will go into retreat and I'll lose the very thing that makes me want to look at art in the first place.

But what I want to learn, by bringing the matter to the blog, is what WIT readers think.


WHAT'S THE PLACE OF ARTISTS' STATEMENTS TODAY?

If you're an artist, do you find such statements help you to organize, analyze and articulate your thinking about how you approach your work and why? Or do you consider these statements part of a tool kit you need in order to find an audience for your work? Or does an artist's statement serve some other, more personal purpose for you? Or not?

If you're not personally involved in art production but appreciate what artists produce, do you find such statements helpful to appreciation? Do you think these statements help you to see the work more accurately, more deeply, or simply in a way that's more in keeping with the artist's intent?

If you'd like to respond, you're welcome to do so in the comments section, below. If you would like to put your comments into a longer form, perhaps a post on WIT, I'd certainly welcome the opportunity to share your thoughts with WIT readers.

Thank you.