“Sam,” pastel drawing by "S", Grade 6
Artist’s statement:
“The pink is beauty
The purple is the darkness
The light blue is how far you can go
The dark blue is how short you can go
The green is how many stories you have!”
How do artists judge their own work? What do they have to say about their work when it is done? What do artists hope the viewer will know, or see or feel?
In the CBMS art studio, it is the artist who decides whether or not their work will be displayed. Artwork prepared for display is accompanied by an “Artist’s Statement,” which is created by the artist to “tell the viewer something they wouldn’t know just by looking.”
Artist statements provide an opportunity for young artists to reflect about their work and to further communicate with their viewers. Questions answered in artist’s statements might include: How did you make this piece? Why did you make it? What inspired it? What did it teach you? What inspired it? What does it mean? What “worked” What next? What if?
Sometimes artist’s statements are poems, or questions or challenges to the viewer. Next time you are at an art museum, fine art gallery or school hall display, look around for the artist’s statement, it can give you a window into the artist’s head and a new way to view their work.
