Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Artists Statements and Signature Beads

Oh you guys and your high-falutin' ways.  LOL!  I have never been a big fan of artist statements.  They are frequently written in the third person, as if some random admirer was doing a short biography of the artist when, most of the time, they are actually written by the artist about themselves.  Creepy.  There.  I've said it.  It's creepy.  And pretentious.  And don't get me started on people who proclaim a certain style of bead their "Signature bead".  Honestly, I don't know how people do this with a straight face.  You're either known for making a certain kind of bead or you're not.  Proclamations don't really make it so.  I've heard people say it at bead shows and I've seen it A LOT on websites. 

Why do I care?  Honestly, I don't really.  Other artists can do what they like and I am happy for them to do so.  I just have an opinion and I thought I would share it since I don't really have anything else to write about in my blog today.  Well, my back aches today and I am hopelessly addicted to deep, rich coffee but how many times can I write about that?  Not many.  I'd bore myself and you.

I think I would like us all to take ourselves just a little less seriously, especially when it comes to beads.  I've seen people rip each other apart in the name of territory, which is funny when you think about the fact that this is BEAD territory.  I've seen people claim to be the originator of designs that were most obviously not recently discovered.  But, because they made more than 5 of them, they've decided they now own the style and you'd better not step on their turf or there will be hell to pay.  I will never, in my life, understand this behavior.  I understand lots of people make their living selling their artwork and therefore it's their livelihood they are trying to protect but, really, their energy is wasted on trying to take a protectionist stance.  Use the energy to make and sell more beads.  One of my favorite phrases is, "Keep your eyes on your own paper."

And those are my thoughts for today...

6 comments:

Jane Perala said...

Well said Lori - I am with you all the way. Except I like chocolate in my coffee - lol!

Lori Peterson said...

Thank you Jane! I like chocolate in everything. Wait, except bacon. I didn't really like bacon in my chocolate. Strange, because I love them both, separately.

Hey, I actually found an exception to the rule... I love Jennifer Geldard's artist statement:

http://www.glassgirl.com/Jennifer_Geldard_-_Glass_Art/Artist_Statement.html

angelinabeadalina said...

Yep. Pretentious and often arrogant, this idea that one person, and only one, can possibly have thought of and executed a particular good idea.
On the other hand, when I'm involved in show and tells online, then I quickly get to the point where I can recognize people simply by their style of work. So, I do think we each have an artistic signature, but I do detest territorial wars!
As for the artists statements, I have fun reading them sometimes, but you're right about the "high falutin'" part, lol. They can be a good way to let people know basic background behind your work, though. I went to read Jennifer Geldard's, and her explanation about birds in her work does that.

Sharon Driscoll said...

Love this post Lori!

Palm Tree Queen Lampworks said...

Keep your eyes on your own paper......lol

Sweetpeas Glass Designs said...

Absolutely brilliant and so phenomenally accurate!