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Overblown "Artist's Statements"
OK, we mustn't be rude, in public anyway, so we all have to make our own little PRIVATE lists. But I recently have noticed on some photographer's portfolios that the "About Me" sections is what amounts to a self-description of the work, telling me is it innovative, unique, artistic, sometimes even "edgy," but, all-in-all, it is blow-your-mind awesome. OK, so with great expectation, I click the avatar, get to the page and am so overwhelmed with boring photos my brain immediately shuts down in self-protection mode and I bruise my nose when my head falls forward onto the keyboard. My cat usually revives me. If you have to tell me your photographs are really, REALLY great, something is missing. Jan 16 06 11:29 am Link In my experience, it works the same way with "studio" names. The more pretentious the name, the more ordinary the images. If your images are good, you don't need some hokey name to suck people in. Eric Foltz Jan 16 06 11:39 am Link Overblown artists' statements are the norm. Do you expect people to say, "My work isn't all that good," when they're trying to sell prints in a gallery? Jan 16 06 11:39 am Link I am the most amazing Jan 16 06 11:40 am Link OH, and Brian, this is for you.....eueuwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!! and, in case anyone thought I was being serious, here is some oversmilification for you: Jan 16 06 11:41 am Link I like my new one the best. At least it's honest.... Jan 16 06 11:43 am Link Lapis wrote: Damn you for stealing my lines!! Jan 16 06 11:45 am Link Lapis wrote: The same goes for most women here ... just because they like to be admired and Jan 16 06 11:47 am Link Brian Diaz wrote: Sure. Here is mine. Jan 16 06 11:48 am Link Lapis wrote: Oh, Lapis. We already do. Jan 16 06 11:51 am Link Eric Muss-Barnes wrote: I like that. It has personality. Jan 16 06 11:52 am Link Eric Foltz wrote: DAMN. i hope this dont mean me!?! Jan 16 06 12:03 pm Link Brian Diaz wrote: Although I do like Eric Muss-Barnes' post, Mr. Diaz is correct and unfortunately hype and hyperbole have indeed become the norm, especially where a piece of trash is now called "found art" and given an incredibly pretentious name which then brings in big bucks by someone who wants to own an expensive piece of art...... (and I typed that all in one breath too!) Jan 16 06 12:11 pm Link I like the artist statement on my website... It simply states "Insert pretentious artist statement here." Jan 16 06 01:58 pm Link Eric Muss-Barnes wrote: I referred to myself once as a "painter" and got offers to do 3 houses, a couple of fences and a retail shop. Jan 16 06 02:06 pm Link ELAN IMAGE STUDIO wrote: This is perfect!!! Now click on the avatar and get babes in bikinis. Jan 16 06 02:33 pm Link Hey... bottom line... blow off all the pompous, arrogant, self-inflating comments made on the 'about me' page... just checkout their MM images and website content. The work should speak for itself. PS: And Lapis, when U need some more worshiping, let me know. U rock girlfren... Jan 16 06 02:39 pm Link I enjoy the fact that for the most part, my profile is a warning to models...about myself. I get too many newbies who think buying a cat-collar and a "hot topic" t-shirt makes them a "fetish" model. If anyone can think of things I can say to make myself seem more perverted and scary to newbies and wanabes, I'd certainly appreciate it. Jan 16 06 06:47 pm Link Dreams To Keep wrote: AHHH So *THAT'S* what I did wrong! Jan 16 06 08:23 pm Link Yeah sorry about that.... my work kind of sucks. -SB Ivan123 wrote: Jan 16 06 08:28 pm Link Brian Diaz wrote: We sooo wanted to put that in ours. Jan 16 06 08:34 pm Link Eric Foltz wrote: Uh oh, I guess I'm in trouble... Jan 16 06 08:45 pm Link Lapis wrote: With all your posting and the images on your site, you do live up to your muse status. Do you really want to limit yourself to "person"? Jan 16 06 10:23 pm Link Lapis wrote: With all your posting and the images on your site, you do live up to your muse status. Do you really want to limit yourself to "person"? Jan 16 06 10:28 pm Link Lapis wrote: With all your posting and the images on your site, you do live up to your muse status. Do you really want to limit yourself to "person"? Jan 16 06 10:29 pm Link Lapis wrote: OK, sounds fair enough Jan 16 06 10:37 pm Link Are we supposed to have artists' statements? Oops. -D Jan 16 06 10:50 pm Link When it comes to describing my work, I mostly make things up. Like being sincere, or loving humanity, or giving a crap... I use a fancy smanzy latin (not latino, although that would be cooler) name to impress people with my deep thinking. I once listed "6 time winner of the BuckEye NewsHawk Award" in my credits, but I don't think many of the members of Mayhem were alive when WKRP was on the air... I do enjoy reading long artist's statements...they're usually more enjoyable than the work they attempt to introduce. Jan 17 06 01:55 am Link I had to write an artist's statement for a gallery. I didn't want a pretensious one. It doesn't matter how fantastic you think you are if people see your work as crap. I just wrote about my "philosophy" towards my photography. There is a modified version on my portfolio - it sucks and someday I will have to tweak it. Jan 17 06 11:43 am Link Ivan123 wrote: how dare you ivan!...lol Babes in bikini's on my port? me? never,,, i got boobies tho!?! lol Jan 17 06 12:46 pm Link I hate writing statements. I'm always worried that I'll sound like an egocentric twit, but, at the same time, I don't want to have a artist statement that says "My work is crap. Go away." Jan 17 06 03:21 pm Link wirehead arts wrote: Although there is something to be said for simplicity Jan 17 06 03:50 pm Link Im da`shit. Jan 17 06 04:05 pm Link And here I thought the name spoke for itself. Huh who knew? Jan 17 06 04:07 pm Link =P Jan 17 06 04:10 pm Link =P Jan 17 06 04:13 pm Link =P Jan 17 06 04:14 pm Link wirehead arts wrote: Same here. But like someone said, it's marketing. Jan 17 06 05:06 pm Link oh i dont know... reading photog bios can be interesting.. from pompous 3rd person delusions of grandeur, to the pseudo-intellectual New Age psychoblabber mission statements of artistic sensitivity, to the tired laundry list of publications and 40 years experience... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... the fun part is reading how the photog has changed the world with his magical images and then after i wake from my nap, opening the port and saying to myself...... "WTF is this shit" ! ? p.s. dont forget the ever popular " i dont do TFP under any circumstances, but i will do TFP if an interesting idea is presented"..... hey numbnuts, which is it ? ya do or ya don't Jan 17 06 06:29 pm Link Writing about myself in the 3rd person is where I draw the line. I'm usually embarrassed by bios and, when they're not really integral to the work, I'm not big on artist statements. But they ask us to write one, and on the join page they even tell you that writing something more important than "my name is Joe and I like to take pictures/make money" is mandatory. So I wrote something. Talks a little bit about what I like. And then I lapse into general blog bs-ing. And it's pretty evident where that happens. No need to read that if my bs blogging doesn't keep you in rapt attention. Oh hell, just go look at the pictures. That's what you're here for, and that's what I've provided. It's the only thing that means anything on my page. In fact, it kinda makes the writing redundant, because there's nothing my writing says that my pictures don't say. Jan 17 06 08:24 pm Link |