High School Artist Statement Lesson

I worked with students to write their own personal artist statements. We read Leonardo da Vinci’s resumé and talked about what might appear on a resumé to get a job in comparison with an artist’s resumé. We also reviewed artist statements from multiple sources; one famous artist, one of my own, and a sample artist statement from an arts college. We talked about artist statements being unique and explaining what we want our art to do for the viewer and that they could explain one’s artistic process.

Sample section from student artist statement:

“I could say that when I’m creating something I lose myself in my thoughts and enter the world of my mind, but I’m already there. I never leave the world in my head, I am never not lost in my own thoughts. I pay more attention to what’s going on in my head than to the rest of the world because I don’t want to miss a thought that might lead to an idea.”