Ann Rea

I have yet to read an artist’s statement that doesn’t make me cringe.Why? The typical artist’s statement represents an artist’s unfortunate attempt to market their art but it’s such a massive fail.

Ann Rea

Artist & Mentor

Artists Statements Are Self-Involved

I have yet to read an artist’s statement that doesn’t make me cringe. Why? The typical artist’s statement represents an artist’s unfortunate attempt to market their art, but it’s such a massive fail. Why is this? 

  • The typical artist’s statement is devoid of benefits to the buyer.
  • It’s all about the artist and their creative process and or their inspiration, and most often, no one cares.

Now I’m not saying that the creative process or an artist’s inspiration is not interesting. It can be fascinating, sometimes. But just explaining your creative process and or your inspiration alone is not going to trigger someone to buy. The bottom line is, an artist’s statement is all about YOU. Marketing copy needs to be about THEM, the benefit’s to your target market.

When you make it about THEM, then it will be all about YOU.

So let’s have some fun! But first, let me make one thing very clear. This contest is not designed to hurt, humiliate, or insult anyone. This contest is designed to help us learn what’s not working so that we can fix it. Please note: I will not be publishing the name of the artist or their website. However, if you submit your artist’s statement, I cannot guarantee that it will remain anonymous. Why should you do this? Because if you send “The Very Best of the Very Worst Artist’s Statement” and you win, you will receive a free 50-minute private Monday phone consultation with me. “The Very Best of the Very Worst Artist’s Statement” will be scored on a scale of one to ten based upon the following five criteria. The statement that scores the most points wins!

  1. Obscure language
  2. Reaching for meaning that no one else can see or even imagine
  3. Self-involved
  4. Use of platitudes or clichés
  5. Length, the longer, the better

If you believe you have the worst artist’s statement. Great! Hand it over. 

As an added bonus, if you can find a good artist’s statement, I’d LOVE to read it.

If you can find this needle in the haystack, I’ll award a 50-minute phone consultation to you for finding it! “The Very Best Artist’s Statement” will be scored on a scale of one to ten based upon the following five criteria. The statement that scores the most points wins!

  1. Relatable language
  2. Clear benefits
  3. Customer-focused
  4. Brand focused
  5. Concise copy

If you believe you have the best artist’s statement. Please. Let me see it. 

One Response

  1. After struggling with the right word usemenus for my newer more betterer () Artist statement, reading this entry was a blast and a breath of fresh air. Ironic then that your article celebrating clarity and purpose has a contest where no publishing date is listed! I’m not sure if this is a current entry or if I stumbled across some thing from years ago.

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