In all honesty I’d rather write cryptic, drunk, ramblings (the kind I write in my notebook when drunk) on my website portfolio. However I often hear the argument that my writing comes of cryptic and unclear. With that said, maybe I need to become a better writer or better convince people that my writing is fine the way it is!
Anyway, I’m interested in any broad, general tips that might apply to an artists portfolio. An artist statement is one thing but most people don’t read those things anyway. I need short sentences but can’t decide if I’m allowed to be poetic or more prosaic.
The big one here, I think, is remember your audience. In a portfolio, you’re trying to sell yourself to someone (a client, a University, other artists, etc.) - so you should try and write something that they’re going to understand (or at least appreciate).
What sort of things do you need to write? Are we talking about a bio, explaining who you are, and what you do? Or are we talking about snippets of text as part of artistic works?
If in doubt: find yourself a copy editor and get some help. Knowing your limits and knowing how to work around them is pure gold.
I suppose I’m not sure what to write (if anything) regarding specific works of mine. I’d like to let the images speak for themselves (which is probably vague and dark). However I’m not sure if my audience expects/wants a bit of copy to accompany the works. I may need to know my audience better.
Is it to tell us who you are? If part of that job is to convey that you rather enjoy being a drunken rambler with a notebook (an occupation I heartily endorse btw), then that style suits your goals.
But if your portfolio forms part of your a grant application process or is intended to help you sell works online, you might need to tone that down.
I just want to sell my work and show in galleries. At least that’s the goal of my artist portfolio. I suspect being a drunken rambler shouldn’t hurt my ability to show in galleries, no?
I believe there is a great precedent for artists being allowed, if not encouraged, to be drunken ramblers.
If your works are vague and dark, I see no harm in making your commentary (if any!) be vague and dark to suit. When I’ve been to art galleries, I’ve seldom seen anything more than a name and maybe a small caption for most works, unless there was a really great story behind a given work that added something to it.
Personally, I’d keep it short and sweet - one to four words, or a title, that get people thinking about the work. ‘Silhouette of a Shadow - oil pant on canvas, 22/11/09’ or something similar.
Well, I’ve been to a few openings where drunken rambling is the order of the day.
I’m not in the habit of selling art, so I don’t know for sure. But I imagine that potential purchasers would really be more interested in your work and such than your personality, to be honest. So I wouldn’t go too out there!
That said, it’s an important part of what makes you and your work unique, so it’s not as if you have to make it super boring ecommerce style.
