"Crit Wall"
I've decided to move forward with an experiment that I've been contemplating for some time, which I'm calling "Crit Wall." For the next few weeks I'm going to offer online critiques of individual art pieces on my blog. I'll write a comprehensive critique for each work.
To submit, send me a link to one image by commenting here, or by emailing me the link at clara(at)claralieu.com.
Everyone in art school hates critiques, but that doesn't mean that once you've got your paws on a BFA (or dropped out) that you should be done with asking others to look critically at your work. External input helps break the potentially deadly feedback-loop that many studio artists get stuck in from time to time. Even when you don't agree with the critiquer's response to your stuff, it opens up a whole exciting world of asking, "Why didn't I get the response I wanted? What can I do better?"
For a limited time, Clara Lieu is offering up a "Crit Wall" on her blog, where she will post and critique a selection of submitted works, one per person. She's an adjunct professor at the Rhode Island School of Design and (of course) a visual artist. Check out her blog post for more details. I think it's a great and generous idea.
Book Review: Art-Write by Vicki Krohn Amorose
I was perusing the Charles Voorhies Library at PNCA last week, looking for something that might help me write a grant proposal, when I came across Art-Write: The Writing Guide for Visual Artists by Vicki Krohn Amorose. I highly recommend it, whether or not you feel like you struggle when it comes to writing about your art; Amorose drops serious knowledge in friendly, bite-sized chunks. She had me at page 14, where she writes:
What an artist statement is NOT
An artist statement is not art. It is not a full translation of a visual statement into a verbal statement. The writing does not need to encapsulate all of your creative striving and complexities. It does not need to be entirely original or brilliant, and say everything you want to say to the world.
What an artist statement IS
An artist statement is a concise arrangement of words that acts as a bridge to connect your audience to your art.
I agree so heartily with what she says that I started nodding like an idiot while reading this on the MAX train. I’m an artist and I was the communications designer for Chambers@916 Gallery (may that beloved entity rest in peace), which gave me wonderful insight into how what an artist writes about her work actually gets used. Let me tell you: it often gets used verbatim, which is why a chunk of my job involved editing and rewriting for press releases, website content, and social media.
Most artists, even those who are good at writing in general, are not very good at writing about their own work. They get hung up on “art-speak”, say the same thing three different ways, and try to sabotage their own ideas (sometimes consciously but often not) by making statements that are too general or so personal that it’s uncomfortable to read. Amorose approaches these problems with intelligence and sympathy, and I strongly believe that almost every artist out there would benefit from reading her book. Amorose does recommend having someone else proof your work, regardless of your experience with writing – someone competent, of course, which could but does not necessarily include your friends.
In the Art-Write chapters titled “Exercise:…”, Amorose includes a series of prompts, many of which are similar to the ones I use in my interview process (more on that in the next paragraph). She leaves blanks in her book, where one might write in answers to these prompts, but I think recording verbal responses for later playback is more helpful, if one is able to do this.
I offer a writing and editing service specifically for artists. My fees that include an interview are calculated with writing from scratch in mind ($50 fee plus $0.25 per word after the first 50 words). Experience taught me that artists are much better at talking about their work than they are at writing about it. In addition, listening to how an artists speaks allows me to retain a sense of the artist in what I write. I believe that if artists record themselves discussing their work casually, and write their statements from that, that egregious forms of art-speak would never make it to paper.
If you want to give my service a shot, I’ll charge you a flat $50 if you can tell me Amorose’s Three Rules You Won’t Follow.
Happy making.
Printmaking 101: Lithography Revisited
We have written an earlier printmaking 101 post about lithography, which you may have read. However, if a picture is worth a thousand words, this video, put together by MoMA in conjunction with the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop is worth 10,000! If you're still having trouble visualizing how a lithograph is made, check it out!
Disappointments and Rewards
I’ve let my “Calls & Contests” page lapse the last couple of months – but I did just finish updating it, so there are a bunch of opportunities listed there that are actually upcoming and not recently lapsed. Sorry about that! I created that page because I wanted a comprehensive list of opportunities for printmakers and couldn’t find one. It bothers me that I didn’t have time to keep it updated these last few months, but, well… I didn’t have the time.
The owner of the gallery where I worked never loved the business side of running the place and wanted to just be an artist again. Who can blame him? The director/curator has an opportunity to work more intensely with new media (her particular field of interest) in Bordeaux, France. Who wouldn’t want to try that? So I no longer work at a gallery, and it was a sad day when I relinquished my key.
I received a job offer almost at the same moment that I found out about the decision to close the gallery. I couldn’t turn it down, knowing that my gallery job was ending. I also couldn’t leave the gallery with only two months left; there was a lot to do that fell under my jurisdiction: press releases and e-mails to write, mailings to design and send, social media to manage, the website to update. I wanted those things done right, particularly because it was the end. So I took the new job offer, and I kept working at the gallery. I may have spread myself a bit thin. It was emotional and exhausting.
I hope that, now that the physical gallery is closed and the work I have left to do marginal, I will have time once again to work on my art, update my blog, and keep my calls and contests current.
Working at a gallery, and being an artist in general, requires that you ask people to spend money on objects that are in no way necessary for life. Art feeds the soul, and shapes human culture (no small thing, that!), but it does not feed bellies or build houses. I do believe that the buying of original art is important, even if the “gallery system” is pretty badly flawed and, let’s be honest, out-of-date. It’s easier and more accessible to buy art than most people realize.
It’s something we talked a lot about toward the end, as the date of closure got closer and closer. Our last show, the grand finale, consisted of process murals painted throughout the exhibition directly on the gallery walls. The work was the work in progress, unfinished until the last two days. It could not leave the space and would end as we left. We let that be our final note. Interpret it as you will.
From all this work work work the last few months, I managed to earn some extra money, and I bought myself something quite nice. If you’ve already guessed that it’s a work of art, you’re right. I bought it off the wall of a store specializing in mid-century modern furniture, and I’m very pleased with it. It’s one of those things that I had to have, that I was afraid I’d think of longingly and regretfully forever if I didn’t buy it. (There is another work of art I had a similar reaction to that I did not buy, and I do indeed still think of it.)
Untitled figure by Leonard Baskin
Leonard Baskin is one of my favorite artists. His art books have had a huge influence on me. Look at this print (try to ignore the glare from the glass): isn’t it wonderful? I love it. It’s hanging on my wall, to my left when I’m sitting on my bed. Owning it feels like a small triumph.
Final Prototype: Ordinary People, volume one
After a lag due to busy schedules, wc williams and I have finally produced the final prototype for Ordinary People, volume one. It went to the printer earlier today, and we will start collating and binding early in the week. So keep a look out – these will likely be available for purchase soon.
This little gem is filled with black and white observational drawings by wc williams from 2012.
National Small Works 2013
WPG's 16th Annual call for entries to the National Small Works exhibition is now live! As always, this exhibition is open to printmakers who are:
- 18 years of age or older
- residing in the Continental US
- creating hand-pulled, traditional prints (sorry, no digital or photographic works) under 170 square inches.
This year's juror is Philippa Hughes. Ms. Hughes left law practice to evangelize the power of art and transform lives, and is now the Chief Creative Contrarian of Pink Line Project.
Now Available: Fortuna’s Hands
So you weren’t part of the “Lucky” print exchange but you still want one of my seductively deep blue prints? I have good news: I printed a much larger edition than the exchange required, and those prints are now available via my Smidgeon Press shop on Etsy. Go check it out now.
