1. +
Create an artist
statement, bio &
resume
by Alexandra Copley

2. +
what is an ARTIST STATEMENT?
 An artist's statement is a short document written by the artist
which provides a window into the artist's world. It
offers
insight into a single piece or an entire
body of work and by describing the
artist's creative
process, philosophy, vision, and passion.
It enlightens and engages while at the same time giving the
audience - potential buyers, exhibition curators, critics, fellow
artists, or casual browsers - the freedom to draw their own
conclusions. An artist's statement reads easily, is
informative, and adds to the understanding of the artist.

3. +
what isn't an Artist's Statement?
 Anartist's statement is not a resume, a
biography, a list of accomplishments and
awards, a summary of exhibitions, or a
catalogue of works. It is not insignificant and should not
be hastily written. It is not difficult to
understand, pretentious, irritating, or (gasp!) laughter-provoking.

4. +
why should you write an ARTIST
STATEMENT?
 People who love an artist's work generally want to know more
about the artist. Your statement will help your viewers answer
questions they may have about your art. When viewers have
answers, their delight in what you do increases, and they have
more reasons to take your work home with them. The
artist's statement is therefore an effective
marketing tool, building a bridge between
artist and audience. But the artist's statement isn't
just for them. In putting your art into words, you might find that
ideas and thoughts you once had become more concrete. Your
writing may open new channels in your mind and take you in
new artistic directions. You might discover more
about yourself.

5. +
what information should be
included?
 Why do you create art and what does it mean to you?
 How does the creation of art make you feel? What emotions do
you wish to convey?
 If the statement refers to a specific piece, why did you choose
to represent this piece in this way? What do you call the piece
and why? What materials did you use? What are the
dimensions of the piece?
 What inspires you? How are your inspirations expressed in
your work?
 What message are you trying to convey to the viewer?

6. +  How much time is spent creating your pieces?
 How is your work a reflection of you?
 What artists (living or dead) have influenced you?
 What is your vision/philosophy?
 What are your goals for the future?
 What are your techniques and style and how do these relate to
the medium?
 How do your techniques and style relate to your
vision/philosophy?

7. +
how long should it be?
 The answer to this question depends on what kind of person you
are. Are you the kind of person that gets right to the point, or do
you like to tell stories and paint images for people in words? The
key here is to express how you feel and create a statement that
stands on its own and makes you happy. Remember
that people usually don't have the
patience to spend a lot of time
reading, so it's better to err on the
shorter side. Several sources
recommend an artist's statement be
around three paragraphs (total of 100
words), and others say that a
statement of up to one page is
acceptable.

8. +
what kind of language should I use?
 Keep your statement clear and concise. Avoid
flowery language and "artspeak". This only lengthens and
weakens your statement. From a business perspective, the more
you can relate to your viewer, the better your chances are of
selling your work. Some specific terms you may
wish to mention in your statement are the
elements of art
(line, colour, shape, value, space, form, and
texture), and the principles of design
(balance, emphasis, movement, harmony/uni
ty, pattern, rhythm, proportion, and variety).
These terms have the advantage of being art-related without being
esoteric and pretentious. Use language that is comfortable to
you, and let your words flow.

9. +
AGAIN…
Some specific terms you may wish to
mention in your statement are the
elements of art
(line, colour, shape, value, space, form,
and texture), and the principles of
design
(balance, emphasis, movement, harmo
ny/unity, pattern, rhythm, proportion, an
d variety).

10. +
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.

11. +
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.

12. +
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‖.

13. +
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.

14. +
how do you deal with that blank
page?
 The more art you do, the better artist you
become. The more writing you do, the better
writer you become. Here are some
suggestions for eliminating that blank page.
Write every day if possible - it only needs
to take a few minutes, and there's nothing
lost. Any writing is writing practice.

15. +
exercises…
 Gather your favorite writing materials. Treat yourself to a new pen
and a spiral-bound notebook, or pour yourself a favorite hot drink
while you sit at the computer. You need to enjoy using your writing
materials in order to enjoy writing.
 Allow yourself some uninterrupted time. Turn the ringer off, and if
you're handwriting, turn off the computer. Create an environment
that is conducive to writing.
 Remove your internal editor. With your eyes closed, visualize your
internal editor, the person who censors your thoughts. With your
eyes still closed, tell them that you don't need them around, and
escort them out the door or lock them in a closet. Come back in the
room and open your eyes. Be watchful - your editor will try to sneak
back in and whisper their unwelcome commentary. Remind them to
go away while you write.

16. +  Talk to yourself. Each time you start working on your art, tell yourself, "I will
listen to my inner thoughts and capture them in my conscious mind". Ask
yourself while you’re working, "What am I thinking at this moment?‖
 The alien exercise. If an alien were to land in your studio, how would you
explain to him/her/it what you do?
 The desert island. You are being sent away to live alone on a desert island. You
are allowed to bring all your art supplies. They're a given. But what else will you
bring for inspiration? You can only paint so many sunsets and weave so many
baskets before you become cocoNUTS. Make a list of 15 things that will
inspire you.
 Sentence sentence. Write down words that come into your head.
They don't need to be in the form of sentences until the last stage
of writing, when you unlock your personal editor from the closet.
 When you finish a piece, write down one positive thought about
the creation of the piece, one negative thought about the
creation of the piece, and one interesting (hmmm) thought you
had while creating the piece.

17. +
can an ARTIST STATEMENT
change?
Yes! An artist's statement is a living document
that should change because you change. Your
statement could be updated at about the same rate that you
might update a resume, in the least. At the most, review your
statement each time you create a new piece, to see if your
thoughts still have meaning for you. Review your statement
when you experience profound events that alter your creative
vision.

18. +
EXAMPLES….
 Jonathan H. Dough - Artist Statement My artwork takes a critical view of social, political
and cultural issues. In my work, I deconstruct the American dream, fairy tales, nursery
rhymes, and lullabies that are part of our childhood and adult culture. Having engaged
subjects as diverse as the civil rights movement, southern rock music and modernist
architecture, my work reproduces familiar visual signs, arranging them into new
conceptually layered pieces.
 Often times these themes are combined into installations that feature mundane domestic
objects painted blue, juxtaposed with whimsical objects, and often embellished with
stenciled text. The color blue establishes a dream-like surreal quality, suggests notions of
calmness and safety, and formally unifies the disparate objects in each installation. The
texts provide clues to content and interpretation.
 While I use a variety of materials and processes in each project my methodology is
consistent. Although there may not always be material similarities between the different
projects they are linked by recurring formal concerns and through the subject matter. The
subject matter of each body of work determines the materials and the forms of the work.
 Each project often consists of multiple works, often in a range of different media, grouped
around specific themes and meanings. During research and production new areas of
interest arise and lead to the next body of work.

19. +  LAUREN GREENFIELD
 From Girl Culture (Chronicle Books, 2002)
 Girl Culture has been my journey as a photographer, as an observer of culture, as part of
the media, as a media critic, as a woman, as a girl.The photographs in this book and
exhibition are both very personal and very public. They are about what is private and what
is public and where the line that divides the two lies, when that line exists at all anymore.
They are about the popular culture that we share and the way the culture leaves its imprint
on individuals in their most public and private moments. They are about the girls I
photographed. They are also about me.
 I cannot say exactly when I began this project. I was enmeshed in girl culture before I was
a photographer, and I was photographing girl culture before I realized I was working on Girl
Culture. The first part of this process was making sense of what I had been drawn to for
years in my photography, the themes and subject matter I visited again and again. Unlike
other projects I’ve worked on, this one was less like building with blocks and more like
deciphering code. The elements were all there, almost from the beginning. I simply needed
to identify them, understand their importance, find the connections, and look for the big
picture.
 Though my nature is cerebral and controlling, the process of making these photographs
was intuitive and associative. It was less narrative and intellectual than my usual
journalistic approach – which somehow made it feel truer, as though it was coming froma
place deeper than the mind. Of course, its truth is a subjective one, as true as one’s
perception of oneself in the mirror.

20. +
 Alexandra Copley (Fields to Factory)
 A cultural convergence is happening between Mexico and America. The
combination of traditions and language is evident in every town from north to
south. Weaving of culture and ideas is a way of visualizing the notion of
transculturalism, the movement of culture over borders and over time. The
origins of Mexican migrant customs in America lie in agriculture and manifest in
the social and physical landscape of both nations. The resulting hybridity of
cultures creates an intricate, woven layer in my mind.
 I live in a community where the nearest grocery store is a Mexican Super-Mart.
There is a taqueria on the corner of my block and the landscapers who mow my
lawn are all from Morelia, Mexico. I have become an observer and participant of
this weave of people and ideas resulting in a fluidity and resilience of cultural
meaning that becomes imprinted on society through migratory immigrants from
Mexico.
 This series of work incorporates photographic and video imagery that represents
social movement, exchange, migration and the subtle scenes of life weaving in
and out of our consciousness. These images reveal the emerging cultural
impacts of migrant workers in American and Mexican societies whileconsidering
nationalism, territories, and belonging. It is a documentation of those who are
changing American life influenced by the ideas of transculturalism and
transnationalism that exist in the American and Mexican landscape.

21. +
what is an ARTIST BIOGRAPHY?
Your professional artist bio is kind
of like your résumé in paragraph
form (but less boring). It highlights
your top accomplishments —
usually with the most recent and
most important at top.

22. +
how does the artist BIO differ from
the artist STATEMENT?
Your artist statement is about your
art, not about you. More to the point,
it’s about the current direction of
your work, not a history of how you
got to this point
Your artist statement is written in the
1st person. After all, it is a statement

23. +
Your bio gets to the point. It’s
not a place for you to share
everything you’ve ever done or
get into your personal life.
Yourbio is written in 3rd person
unless it’s an autobiography, in
which case you’d use the 1st
person.

24. + Your biography is the hint at the story
of your life, not so much your art, but
YOU. Where and when were you
born, who are your parents (were they
artists?), where and how did you grow
up? What led you to an artistic path?
Some artists do not want to share
personal information with the public.
How much you do is YOUR CHOICE!

25. +
So what is the purpose of the artist's
BIO?
 It is to help the artist make a human connection to potential
buyers. People connect with one another in many ways, but
sometimes it is simply, "Oh, you are from St. Paul? My parents
grew up there!" or "You are one of 6 kids? Me, too!" or "You
grew up as a military brat? Well, I have traveled a lot, too."
Your bio need not to be long;
bonus points for relevancy to your
art career.

26. +
try this…
 (Full
name) is a (state)-based
photographer(profession or verb+er) who
specializes in (list of two adjectives/types of
photography). She is currently (verb+ing) a
(noun) that will be (published/exhibited/for
sale) in (date). You may contact (first name)
at (website or email address)

27. +
example…
 Jean Campbell is a portrait photographer
living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She
photographs a variety of subjects and also
publishes a weekly blog at
www.photographydaily.com. She also
teaches photography workshops throughout
the United States. Visit Jean’s website at
jeancampbell link.com.

28. +
things to consider…
 Where you are from
 When you were born
 What you are creating
 Your background in this medium (schooling, past
projects, shows, awards…)
 What you are working on currently (themes, projects, ideas…)
 Where you live now
 Written in the 3rd person
 Cool picture

29. +
examples…
 -Standard short bio
 Born in 1967 in Mexico City, Ortega is the leading Mexican artist of the generation that emerged in the
wake of the influence of Gabriel Orozco and Francis Alÿs. Ortega studied with Orozco in the informal
studio class established in the older artist’s atelier in the late 1980s. There, he absorbed the acute
attention to form associated with Orozco’s sculpture and photography, subsequently refining his own
visual and conceptual vocabulary that emerged through his focus on the points of intersection between
architecture, sculpture, and spatial analysis.
 Ortega’s work can be found in myriad of public and private art collections both in the United States and
abroad, and has been seen in numerous exhibitions worldwide. He currently lives and works in
Berlin, Germany, and Mexico City.
 R.H. Quaytman is a painter living and work in New York City. She was born in 1961. Her B.A. in Painting
was received from Bard College. Subsequent to that she attended the Post-Graduate program in
painting at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, Ireland. In 1989 she was invited to the Institut
Hautes Etudes en Arts Plastiques, Paris, France, where she studied with Daniel Buren and Pontus
Hulton. She was also a recipient of the Rome Prize Fellowship in 1992. She was a founding member
and the Director of a cooperative gallery in Manhattan’s Lower East Side called Orchard. Her work is
represented by Miguel Abreu Gallery and Vilma Gold Gallery in London. She is currently on the faculty
of the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College.
 Recent group exhibitions include Painting Now and Forever Part II, Greene Naftali Gallery, New York;
The Man Whose Shoes Squeaked, Richard Telles, Los Angeles; Crossing the Line, Queens Museum of
Art, Queens; Lódz Biennial, Poland; Denial is a River, at the Sculpture Center, Queens; and From One
O to the Other at Orchard, New York. Recent solo exhibitions were held at Miguel Abreu Gallery in
Manhattan and Vilma Gold Gallery in London. Her book Allegorical Decoys was recently published by
MER Press.

30. +  Example of a short Biography
The Wade Brothers - photography / directing / creative
support.
The Wade Brothers are David Lindsey Wade and sibling
Lyndon Wade who are each recognized as one of the top
lifestyle, fashion and advertising photographers in the
world. They have received worldwide acclaim and
exposure for their work in all forms of media. Additionally
their work appears in galleries around the world.
Development of CONTENT is the beginning of all
communication. We imagine a sense of place and
sensation, and create images and videos that tell a
cohesive story whether for film or print.

31. +  One Page Biography: Camille Utterback, interactive media, new media
Camille Utterback is a pioneering artist and programmer in the field of interactive installation.
Her work has been exhibited at galleries, festivals, and museums internationally including The New Museum of
Contemporary Art, The American Museum of the Moving Image, New York; The NTT InterCommunication
Center, Tokyo; The Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Netherlands Institute for Media Art; The Taipei Museum
of Contemporary Art; The Center for Contemporary Art, Kiev, Ukraine; and the Ars Electronica Center, Austria.
Utterback's work is in private and public collections including The La Caixa Foundation in Barcelona, Spain.
Awards include a Transmediale International Media Art Festival Award (2005), a Rockefeller Foundation New Media
Fellowship (2002) and a commission from the Whitney Museum for the CODeDOC project on their ArtPort website
(2002). Utterback holds a US patent for a video tracking system she developed while working as a research fellow
at New York University (2004). She was selected as a member of the 'TR100 - the top 100 innovators of the year
under 35' by MIT's Technology Review (2002) and by Res Magazine as artist pick of the year for their "Annual Res
10 - Ten people who are making a difference in their field" (2000). Her work has been featured in Art in America
(October, 2004), Wired Magazine (February 2004), The New York Times (2003, 2002, 2001), ARTnews (2001) and
many other publications. It is also included in Thames & Hudson's 'World of Art - Digital Art' book (2003) by
Christiane Paul.
In addition to creating her own artwork, Utterback develops long term and permanent installations for commercial
and museum settings via her company Creative Nerve, Inc. Creative Nerve commissions include work for The
American Museum of Natural History in New York, The Pittsburgh Children's Museum, The Manhattan Children's
Museum, Herman Miller, Shiseido Cosmetics, and other private corporations. Her work has helped clients win
industry awards including Best Showroom at Neocon, 2001 (Herman Miller), and a Communication Arts Exhibit
Design award, 2002 (American Museum of Natural History).
Utterback holds a BA in Art from Williams College, and a Masters degree from The Interactive Telecommunications
Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Camille has also taught in the MFA Design of Technology department at the Parsons School of Design, and the
Interactive Telecommunication Program at New York University, both in New York City.

32. +
What is an ARTIST RESUME?
 Think of your resumé as your art job history. This
includes any education that you have, especially as
it pertains to your art (or general intelligence); your
art exhibits; TV, radio, or newspaper interviews;
professional art jobs, commissions, or projects;
membership in art organizations; or charities you
have donated art to; and important
(museum, corporate or private) collections your work
is in.

33. +
Donot be intimidated if you do not
have a long list of art-related
accomplishments. Everyone starts somewhere.
Most viewers just want an idea of where you are in your artistic
path. And those with long lists need not list EVERY event, just
highlight the important ones.

34. +
An ART resume should include the
following…
 Name and Contact Information
 In this section, first you have to mention your full name at the top of page and it
should be larger in font size than the remaining information presented in the
resume. Then you need to write your mailing address, email address, phone
number, fax number and Website (if any).
 Education
 After providing your personal information, list all the honors received and
academic degrees earned. Mention schools, colleges, and universities you
attended. You can also list the additional classes or workshops you attended
and the notable teachers or artists you have studied with.
 Honors and Awards/Grants
 Mention all your merits, prizes won by you, grants received, exhibitions
held, competitions, scholarships, fellowships and other recognitions.

35. +  Bibliography
 Under this category, mention all articles on your work, television and radio
interviews, reviews in magazines, books, catalogues and newspapers who
have published your art work.
 Exhibitions
 In the exhibition section, list the exhibitions you have made, along with
their details likes name, place, space etc. Also, you can divide this section
into separate categories such as; group shows, solo shows, invitational
exhibitions, exhibitions etc.
 Collections
 This section can be divided into corporate collections, private collections
and permanent public collections. Seek permissions before mentioning the
name of the private owner of your work in the resume.
 Professional Affiliations
 Mention professional organizations, local, regional and national to which
you belong. If you have served as a volunteer or held a position within the
organization, then mention this information as well.

36. +
 Related Work Experience / Professional Experience
In this field, artists may write about the experiences that they feel
are relevant to their profession and making career. This may
include:
 teaching art
 technical experience related to their artistic discipline
 jobs held in their field
 workshops, lectures and presentations given by them as an
artist.
 REFERENCES BY REQUEST

37. +
BORING WAY
TO PRESENT
YOUR ARTIST
RESUME…

38. +

39. +
FUN &
CREATIVE
WAYS TO
PRESENT YOUR
RESUME…

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47. +
Resume online…
 Don’t forget to post your resume/CV on your website
 Link to cool free templates..
 http://speckyboy.com/2010/05/05/10-free-professional-html-
and-css-templates/

48. +
Curriculum Vitae vs. Resume?
 The primary differences between a resume and a
curriculum vitae (CV) are the length, what is
included and what each is used for
 A CV is at least a two page summary of your
skills, experience and education and more detailed
synopsis
 While
a resume is brief and concise - no more than
a page or two

49. +
CV
 A curriculum vitae includes a summary of
your educational and academic backgrounds
as well as teaching and research
experience, publications, presentations, awar
ds, honors, affiliations, software knowledge
and other details.
 link

50. + Link…

51. +
end.