About the Artist

[adina]

So I'm working with a children's boutique. Going to be doing their ad work and have some prints up in the store. They wanted an "about the artist" blurb to put with them.

OH MY GOSH IS THIS DIFFICULT!

How do you write it without sounding like a dork? And make it interesting without sounding like an arrogant ass?

Well, I wrote up a little blurb which is what I am going to use. A sentence or two about how I got where I am, what I do that's different, blah blah blah.

Yikes.

adina

[Chunk]

I haven't had to do that yet but understand why you feel like that.

Some of those that you see are really rediculous and pretentious. The ones that I think best of are written in plain English without a bunch of 'Art Speak'. There was an article on artist's statements, artist's biographies, and resumes in one of the past couple issues of Artist's Magazine that I thought sounded pretty good.

So...are you going to share what you came up with?

[Gerry Widen]

I think that's why they are mostly written in 3rd person. Almost like someone else is writing these wonderful things about you. Try some searches to find other artist/photographer bio's for ideas. Galleries, museums usually include bio's on their sites.

[Lara]

Be yourself Adina, and Gerry's suggestion to write in the third person is very good advice. Bio's should never lead in or contain "I" ;)

Another idea is to have someone else write it for you, with your guidance of course. This definitely keeps the "I" out of the bio.

[Asylum Steve]

Bio's should never lead in or contain "I"...

My basic advice was also going to be the standard, "make it sound as if someone else wrote it"...

BTW, the exception to having your bio in the third person would be if you decide to quote yourself. For example:

Adina St. John began her photographic career blah blah blah blah, learning to use yada yada yada and like, whatever as part of an artistic vision that genuinely attempts to etc., etc., etc..

Says St. John, "I find photography TOTALLY B*TCHIN' and SUPER AWESOME!, and if I can make buckets of dough doing it, all the better...".

St. John's work has been published in Antarctic Vogue, Wisconsin Geographic, and Tiara World Magazine. Her cable access show, Making Children Pose can be seen every Sunday morning at 2am on WMAD, channel 256 (Madison Cablevision).

Of course, I'm being hypothetical here. You probably should write yours a little differently. But, feel free to use my ideas...

[Chunk]

That makes me want to buy something of hers already Steve.

[adina]

Darn it Steve, if I'd have seen that earlier I'd have copied it and took it in!

I did do it in third person, which made it sound even odder as I was reading it, but I think I did okay.

Chunk, I did dig up that magazine at the library, thanks for posting the link.

The store that I'm working with is in a gallery, so I wandered around a bit and read everyone elses. And then we went and saw the cheese carvings

Thanks

adina

[mtbbrian]

I'd suggest..
Take a look at the "Statement" (or whatever they may be calling it) page on the website of photographers you like.
I say make it in the first person because you are writing it and it's about you and your photography.
That is how I did it on my site.
Let us know what you come up with.
Good Luck!
Brian