Sources for Writing Artist's Statements
BOOKS
Art recollection : artists' interviews and statements in the
nineties / edited by Gabriele Detterer
Published New York : Distributed in the U.S. by D.A.P., 1999.
2nd ed.
Includes writings by John Baldessari,
Matthew Barney, Dan Graham, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Bill
Viola, Rachel Whiteread & others
Modern
Arts Criticism: a biographical and critical guide to painters,
sculptors, photographers and architects from the beginning of the
modern era to the present / edited by Joann Prosyniuk
Published Detroit : Gale Research, 1991. 4 volumes.
M.A.C. includes examples of artist
statements from all phases of an artist's career. At the end of
each entry a Further Reading
section lists supplemental writings by the
artist.
A Short Guide to Writing About Art / Sylvan Barnet
Published New York : Longman, 2003.
Offers several approaches to organizing
one's ideas when writing art criticism
Twentieth-century artists on art : an index to writings,
statements, and interviews by
artists, architects, and designers / Jack S. Robertson
Published New York : G.K. Hall ; London : Prentice Hall
International, c1996. 2nd ed.
An international index to artist
writings which covers 5,000 artists
Visual Literacy: Writing about Art
Visual Literacy acquaints readers with the critical issues that shape the discipline of art and teaches them to write about art from a variety of scholarly and rhetorical perspectives. Includes tips on how to approach assignments such as, the formal analysis of a work of art, the contextual analysis of a work of art, and an analysis of an exhibition.
Words Fail Me : what everyone who writes should know about
writing / Patricia T. O'Connor
Published New York : Harcourt Brace, c1999.
A very readable guide to the process of
writing. Topics include: defining one's subject & audience,
getting organized, making revisions, finishing.
World Artists 1950-1980 Editor: Marks, Claude. New York :
H.W. Wilson, 1984.
World Artists 1980-1990 Editor: Marks, Claude. New York :
H.W. Wilson, 1991.
These two volumes include biographical
/critical essays on renowned artists along with excerpts from
artist statements.
ARTICLES
"Artists' Statements". 12 Digital Artist's Statements from the 9th New York Digital Salon
Leonardo, Volume 34, Number 5, October 2001, pp. 523-526.
Goodwin, A. "Writing an Artist's Statement" Ceramics Monthly, vol.47 no.5 pp.39-40 May '99
Miller, Joe. "How to Write an Artist's Statement" Art
Papers, vol.21 p.35 Sept/Oct 1997
Schreiber, Barbara. "The War of the Words" Art Papers,
vol.25 no.2 p.10 March/April 2001
* These last three articles are available in their entirety in Art Full Text. Search "artist's statement" as title words or search by individual authors.
DICTIONARIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, THESAURI
Getty Art &
Architecture Thesaurus
Provides terminology and other
information about the objects, concepts, artists, and places
important to various disciplines that specialize in these
subjects - Begin with a combined scope note and term search.
Artlex
An online arts dictionary which
gives visual examples in addition to textual definitions
Artspeak
: a guide to contemporary ideas, movements, and buzzwords, 1945
to the present / Robert Atkins
Published New York : Abbeville Press, 1997. 2nd ed.
More than 115 entries explain the who,
what, when, and where of art since 1945. Some entries deal with
concepts, such as formalism, multiculturalism, and the picture
plane; some discuss specific movements, such as Abstract
Expressionism and Fluxus; some describe various ways of making
art, such as collage, performance, and video. Together they
provide an invaluable key to the specialized, often baffling
vocabulary so often used in today's art world.
Encyclopedia of aesthetics / Michael
Kelly, editor in chief
Published New York : Oxford University Press, 1998. 4
volumes.
Surveys the full breadth of critical thought on art, culture,
and society--from classical philosophy to contemporary critical
theory - Featuring 600 original articles, it is a comprehensive
survey of major concepts, thinkers, and debates about the
meaning, uses, and value of all the arts.
Grove
Dictionary of Art Online
A comprehensive and authoritative guide
with extensive surveys and in-depth articles on the history of
art. This online version of the Grove Dictionary of Art provides
external image links to museums, galleries, & art
collections around the world.
Merriam-Webster Online Collegiate Dictionary and
Thesaurus
Oxford English
Dictionary Online
Each entry includes a pronunciation
key, variant spellings, etymology, quotations, & date
chart.
WRITING FORMATS - STYLE MANUALS
Citing
Online Sources according to MLA, Chicago Style, etc.
MLA handbook for writers of research papers, theses, and
dissertations / Joseph Gibaldi
Published New York : Modern Language Association of America,
1999. 5th ed.
The New York Public Library writer's guide to style and
usage
Published New York : HarperCollins, c1994, 1st ed.

