This means my drawings will be out in public. Which means people will talk about them. Which means I will have to talk about them.
Blech.
Let's be real. Talking about your art is a nightmare for most artists.
We are an introverted, solitary people. Ideas are often moving around in our heads so fast it's hard to pin them down. Things are rarely explainable in an "elevator pitch" which is what most people want to hear. Expressing our ideas can be messy, non-linear, amorphous. This is why we make art to begin with, to do as critic Roberta Smith writes, "Embed thought in material." As artists, our thoughts arrive as drawings, sculptures, etc. It makes sense that it's hard to then translate those thoughts back into words.
If talking about your work is a challenge for you, here's an exercise to get you started:
1. Listen to an artist you love talk about their work. Go on youtube. Find an artist talk. Listen and take notes.
2. Examine what they're saying. How do they describe what they're making? How do they describe what motivates them? (i.e. why they make)
3. List out the images you hear. Ex: Body. Fluid. Spirit. Ruin. Fragments. Do you these images arrive in your work?
4. Pay attention to language. What kind of language is this artist using? Does it resonate with you? Personally, if an artist uses a lot of inaccessible jargon, I'm not interested. Listen to the voices that you feel are cutting through the bullshit and speaking directly to YOU. If it has an impact, ask why. If it doesn't, cast it aside.
5. Examine your own work, following their model. Describe what you're making. Describe why it's interesting to you. Call forward images. Don't use bullshit language. Be clear, direct, and look to make an impact.
It's not easy and takes practice. Take it slow and don't feel like you have to puff yourself up using fancy "art speak" to be taken seriously. Write what you know your work is about right now. Be specific. It's OK for it to change.
