The importance of writing an artist's statement has been the topic of discussion several times recently. The last night I was in Valdosta, the four of us, Harry, Zane, Mikhail, & I sat around after dinner and helped Mikhail write his artist's statement.
We each gave him a bit of advice as he was scribbling intensely on a yellow lined pad. Zane suggested he use the word "portal" as a clue to the function of his paintings. He seemed glad that Zane saw it as a portal but decided it was not his own meaning. Harry & I suggested he be sincere and earnest, as in "the importance of being earnest". Mik was hesitant at first to write a statement because he viewed it as something like a publicity tool and pretty much just artsy bs. But when Harry explained that he assigns his students to repeatedly write & rewrite their artist's statements throughout their painting careers, as a way to clarify their painting intentions, Mik took the prod & went for it.
So there he is scribbling on this pad looking quite vulnerable & stressed. Then he shyly reads what he has written to us:
Mikhail Ally - ARTISTS STATEMENT
"why do you paint?
maybe its just seeing other paintings that's the catalyst. i'm most inspired through music and other paintings. i'm compelled to speak a similar language with artists, and speak it BETTER. it's inspiring to see that someone else is speaking the language so intensely and beautifully. i eat good artists for breakfast.
painting is a reaction to my life, it is escapism, it is the creation of a state of mind. i am obsessed with painting. once i start it's hard to stop, i lose track of time and i'm stuck in my studio, smiling at a piece of wood or canvas. my interaction with the canvas is the creation of an experience. it becomes a documentation of the experience. i love the process of reflecting my mind through a conversation with physical material. im blowing my brain up and allowing it to play.
I just don't think I have anything more to say about that except I am looking forward to reading his statements as he rewrites them thru the years, oh yeah, and seeing the paintings that come from it.
Oh yeah and here is a photo of Harry and me at Alabama Art Colony:
