Statement time again. Writing a statement isn’t on my list of Things I Most Love To Do.
I have decided to try to write it now for a couple of reasons: one, because my current statement (and its variations, when required) is no longer relevant; and two, I’m not currently under any pressure to provide one for something specific. The latter, it seems to me, may be the best reason of all to go for it now. This is why:
I ask myself: who does a statement benefit? No, who does a statement really benefit? Perhaps, in that ideal other world, the artist should benefit first and foremost. It is an opportunity for the artist to privately reflect on their own practice, to put it into some kind of context, to explain why his or her work issues from them in the manner it does, and so on.
I imagine that a few artists genuinely need to go through that process, perhaps a handful know instinctively what they are all about, and are able to capture that succinctly, but I suspect that the majority write something only because it is asked of them.
Most statements I have seen patently fall into that category, mine included, and they are absolute nonsensical drivel. The product of the minimum of an afternoon, most likely much longer, in the company of Roget. Complicated, meaningless, often gibberish. The most artfully constructed (and disingenuous) are those which say nothing at all, just vague enough, twaddle to suit all eventualities.
So now we come to the next potential beneficiaries: curators, galleries, judges, et al. Whilst there are those that deliberately ignore statements, there are those that fully expect a statement. I would imagine that most worth their salt will be pretty adept at seeing through the something-and-nothing variety. Which suggests that if one is going to write a statement, it will only have real value if it is genuine. In other words, some serious thought has to go into it. At the same time, and in the same vein, I question the validity of producing a statement tailored to suit a particular purpose, because by inference it cannot be accurate. Equally, surely any potential judge of such a statement must also acknowledge that?
I don’t feel a personal desire for a statement, but I do expect to be asked again in the future. I will try to make both the process and the end result as useful as I am able. Or I might go into the studio.
