Young artists: make and conquer. Part 3
ARTinvestment.RU   17 апреля 2020

Why a personal Manifesto is important for the artist and how to prepare for writing?

In the previous material we explained why for career growth of the artist is important the collaboration with the gallery. Many will ask: today, in connection with the pandemic, the number of galleries is decreasing, changing how they work — how to change their approach to working with artists? Answer: you are right, will certainly change, but the main assets that should be possessed by the artist (in addition to education and talent), not only remain, but become even more important in the transition of the galleries online. Among them — website, social networking, resume and portfolio. But first on the list should be the justification of the creative goals of the artist, better known as Artist Statement.

the Word that accurately translates the English term Artist Statement in the Russian language there: it came into use with the arrival of understanding of the work of Western galleries and the international career development of the artist. The closest meaning is "manifest", but when applied to art it refers to a movement or trend, is created collectively and contains a set of views and a full programme of action. While Artist Statement — is a person of a particular artist, the element of his identity. Let's call it "a personal Manifesto of an artist".

international practice a personal Manifesto takes no more than three short paragraphs, and consists of a maximum of 200 words. Here are the main reasons why you need it artist:

• in summary: a personal Manifesto is to face the author reports gallery (art-дилеру the agent) that the attached work — is the result of not only random insight from above, but and thoughtfulness of the artist, dedicated work in the chosen direction. In other words, the manifest indicates whether seen written;

• on the website: any accompanying text makes the artist's vivid and understandable, is causing a sense of ownership, giving the visitor remain alone with bare works. For the media, which sooner or later will explore the artist's site, a personal Manifesto — is the ability to use his text for their materials. What they will look like, no problem, and success: better to about the artist all spoke the same than-разному;

• for the gallery: words from the personal Manifesto and she would speak with the collector — through publications, invitations, albums, and personal communication. From the point of view of the gallery, the simpler and clearer sounds the manifest, so it is easier to understand and remember the collector, which will increase the likelihood of a sale;

• for the collector: in the case of acquisition collector will have to answer the questions of friends and acquaintances: that it hangs in his room? The shorter and more accessible will sound manifest, the easier the owner will get this question to answer. In practice, when making decisions about buying collector weighs in mind not only the marketing activity of the modern artist and behind them the gallery, but also the accessibility of its language.

in Other words, a personal Manifesto — is a bridge with multiple supports, in the end, connecting artist and collector. However, its first Manifesto, the artist creates in order to reachthe gallery, and that, if necessary, adjust it with the drawn art-критика or supervisor. In the Internet you can find hundreds of materials with recommendations for drafting a personal Manifesto: most of them duplicate each other, some are made up disappointed in life by the artists, and imbued with slight envy to those who will ultimately succeed. Highlight five, in our opinion, the most sensible approaches that incrementally, with examples that will help you to write the text —, it is sufficient to follow the links to the resources Hyperallergic, Format, Artspace, Artwork Archive and Agora. You should also pay attention to the language level: a useful article on how the concept of "international English" is often interpreted by artists, can be found here. If the painter is not free to assimilate information, you may visit the new webinar-йоркского curator and art-критика paddy Johnson: the next course on writing the Artist Statement starts 22 APR 2020.

We would like to focus on another: the actions of a young artist to the writing of the Manifesto, which can not only facilitate its creation, but also to have a positive impact on domestic growth. This is a very simple exercise that is recommended to do annually, and then to compare the obtained results. It consists of two stages:

1. Take a sheet of paper and honestly answer four questions:

• what do you do best?

• what do you do well?

• what would you like to know the result and be able to?

• what excites you in this world and in his work?

2. Turn over the written sheet and choose which of four options most accurate reflection of your art:

• technical skill;

• your personal statement;

• the aesthetic side of art;

• you as a person.

the Best outcome would be if the artist will turn the circle only one option, but steadily. Two — a little less scary, three and four — is bad. In Hollywood there is a saying: "the Cocktail of love, death, money, and revenge Oscar not see." The nature of perception (including visual arts) is based on the fact that to dominate in a successful work should only one side — the rest can be background. The responses received are to go boldly to the references that we cited above, — written by you and will form the basis of your Manifesto.

In conclusion, I will share another personal observation: bad personal Manifesto is still better than its absence. Those who focus on your writing, I understand that the exposition of the ideas on paper more amenable to education, and the reluctance to move on the career ladder of art — no.

In the following article AI for young artists we will talk about the main tasks and solutions to create a personal website.

Denys Belkevych, AI