Amul Kumar, Photographer

Matt Siber is having my class write Artist’s Statements. It’s another one of those strange moments where I find myself simultaneously ahead and behind the class because I’ve ventured into this territory on my own, unguided. Guides are nice, though, especially when you’re walking through the woods you always get lost in.
Here’s the new version. Please give me your input:

I am frequently frustrated by the prevailing myth of photography as a form of truth. My imagery consists of lies and fictions, sometimes depicting the misconceptions we develop about relationships, and other times crafting works that are wholly fiction for the sake of fiction. Perhaps it can be said that there are subtler truths to be found in the sweet desolation of children’s playgrounds at night, and maybe I successfully connect to something universal in those soft, sensual nudes which depict women in ways we’re taught not to look for. At a minimum, my photography usually revels in the masks we wear, and so the only truth you can find in my images are the kind heard when we shout our lies from bell towers and roof tops.

In case anybody stumbles across this while working on their own, here are a few of his pointers that I found particularly helpful:

• No details in your first sentence! Remember your basic writing rules, start with a broad description of concept and then specify later. Your first sentence or two needs to broadly describe your concept and get the viewer interested.
• Questions you may want to answer in your artist’s statement:
  • What is your motivation for making the work?
  • What issues or ideas are most important to you?
  • What kind of questions does your work raise?
  • Who is your audience? (Why is your work interesting to them?)
  • Who are your influences?
• Terms like Abstraction, Documentary, Fashion, and Landscape describe your style or approach rather than the ideas and concepts you’re interested in. Be sure to discuss your concept as well as your style.
• Avoid phrases that could apply to many photographers. Eg, “Capturing a moment in time,” “exploring issues that are important to me.”
• There’s no reason to glorify or get nostalgic about your photography in your statement, unless these concepts are present in your work.
• Try to show that you have a realistic understanding of photography’s streenths and weaknesses.
• Your statement is intended to accompany your work, not stand in for it.
• Avoid technical discussions of your photography. Say everything in terms that non-photographers can understand.
• Try starting by looking at all the work you’ve done so far, and spend some time looking at them as a whole, seeking common themes and threads. Look for common subject matter and ideas. Ask a friend to look at your work and tell you what they see.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006 at 11:37 pm and is filed under Photographic Philosophy, Project, Website, Writing Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.