The serious side and the funny side of language for an artist's statement
including "International Art Speak", "Art Bollocks" and "Art Twaddle"
Plus four videos which are worth watching and will keep you focused!

At the end of this page, there is a short review of the wider phenomenon of International Art English and Art Speak
in the wider art world which has had such a huge influence on the generation of nonsensical artist statements.
"#13 - try not to pat yourself on the back too much"
— from How to create a photography artist statement, bio, resume and CV by Alexandra Copley
"Words like ontology, epistemology and metaphysics have a meaning and a long and complicated history within philosophy. Likewise, prefixes such as meta-, post- and hyper- all mean something or other. But are they really necessary in your artist statement?"

— Daniel Blight - Guardian Culture Professionals Network - Writing an artist statement?

The Language of an Artist's Statement (Serious)
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It's VERY IMPORTANT that you make sure you are using the right terminology

You see an awful lot of artspeak in artist statements - and very often it's very apparent a word is being used because it sounds good rather than because the writer understands what it means

So look the word up and make sure you understand exactly what it means and use it in the right context.
  • ArtLex Art Dictionary (the old version)
    ArtLex provides great reference material relating to art, art history, art criticism, aesthetics, and art education. It includes definitions of thousands of terms, illustrations, quotations, and links to other resources. (NOTE: Link is to an Internet Archived version as the current reinvention of this site by the new owners is appalling)
  • Writing an artist statement? First ask yourself these four questions | Culture professionals network
    Academia is only one part of the art world, says Daniel Blight. To reach wider audiences, let's find an alternative to artspeak

Online Thesaurus for an Artist Statement
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Stuck for a word - but don't want to be guilty of "Artspeak"? Try an online thesaurus to get back on track. Remember - keep it simple!
It's very useful to review what George Orwell said in his very famous 1946 essay about Politics and the English Language which at the time was probably one of the most important statements ever on style.
One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails.

I think the following rules will cover most cases:
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  1. -  Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
  2. - Never use a long word where a short one will do.
  3. - If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
  4. - Never use the passive where you can use the active.
  5. - Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
  6. - Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

The Language of an Artist's Statement (Humour)
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....for when writing the Artist Statement all gets a bit too much

A more humorous perspective on the task of writing an Artist Statement - to be digested by those who have become overly verbose and/or can't think what to write and/or are otherwise in need of a humour transplant. Below you will out why the Artist Statement Generator is not the best idea since sliced bread.

VIDEO: Trying to write an artist statement...Uploaded by Jorg M. Colberg, 
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author of Conscientious a website dedicated to contemporary fine-art photography
VIDEO: Artsy Pretence overweans Musical commentary on artistic statements.

​Created for the 48 Hour Film Project, Philadelphia 2009.
VIDEO: How to translate an Artist's Statement

​An Artist's Statement from Charlotte Young © 2011
VIDEO: Artist's Statements of the Old Masters

​Artist's Statements of the Old Masters: Narrated by John Seed (Writing about Art and Artists).

Published in May 2014 prior to his article in the Huffington Post article listed under Art Speak, Art Bollocks & Art Twaddle below)

This is the video published in May 2014 which predates his articles in the Huffington Post and Hyperallergic and his book of the same name.
Artist's Statements of the Old Masters
by John Seed

This book is a parody on the type of language often used to describe contemporary art. It's a complete sendup of the ridiculous and pretentious language of postmodern theory. Examples of its contents are contained in articles in the Huffington Post and Hyperallergic also written by John Seed (and listed under Art Speak, Art Bollocks & Art Twaddle below)

The author is a a professor of art and art history at Mt. San Jacinto College in Southern California

Paperback: 40 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 24, 2015)
BUY THIS BOOK
To be successful as an artist in this day and age it is crucial that you justify your work as being contemporary. To be "contemporary" your work needs to be explained and justified in the language of postmodern theory.... Five hundred years ago, this wasn't a concern.
John Seed
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The Artist Statement Generator
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Artists have been known to fantasise about being able to feed in words and information about themselves at one end and out comes a fully fledged artist statement at the other! Find out all about the Artist Statement Generator!
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Art Speak, Art Bollocks & Art Twaddle 
otherwise known as "International Art English"

The tortured writing found in some artist statements stems from the equally tortured language found around the art world. To understand more about why it's better to make language more accessible in an artist statement it's useful to understand something of the context of art speak

The phrase International Art English stems from an article about an exercise by Alix Rule and David Levine which aimed to prove scientifically that the official language of art was pompous, tortured and linguistically meaningless.

This is their original article in Triple Canopy - international art english
In what follows, we examine some of the curious lexical, grammatical, and stylistic features of what we call International Art English. We consider IAE’s origins, and speculate about the future of this language through which contemporary art is created, promoted, sold, and understood. ​
More about International Art English a.k.a. Art Speak, Art Bollock and Art Twaddle

It's not just confined to the artist statement! 
  • Galleries: let's ditch the artspeak and artybollocks | The Guardian - If public galleries really want to be more accessible, they should listen to George Orwell and never use a long word where a short one will do
  • A user's guide to artspeak | The Guardian -  Why do so many galleries use such pompous, overblown prose to describe their exhibits? Well, there's now a name for it: International Art English. And you have to speak it to get on. Andy Beckett enters the world of waffle 
  • The Way We Talk about Art Shouldn’t Be Impossible to Understand | Artsy - Buying art has always been a sign of social status; so, it follows, is talking about art. Like a secret handshake or an old school tie, IAE unites a tiny, well-heeled minority and excludes the insufficiently dialectical masses.
Plus a lovely treat - an article in The Guardian about Grayson Perry poking fun in a comic art way at Art Twaddle - ​Tosh! Twaddle! Guff! Grayson Perry's comic take on the art world – in pictures

International Art Speak by Old Masters - and other hoaxes
By way of contrast.....DO READ 
An artist’s ability to give a Big Talk has been part of the job of the professional artist for years.....
​Good artists can inadvertently unsell themselves by attempting the confident and polished ‘performance’ when they would have been better off grunting for an hour. 
Should Artists Have to Talk About Their Work?