Below is a rough draft artist statement I am developing for this series. Does anyone have any thoughts about the words I have chosen?
What’s missing?
Today’s kids have been robbed of this priceless treasure.
But today, many more people lack a sense of soul which is nurtured by a crucial missing ingredient: imagination!
Without imagination, things are built methodically. We often live in a sterilized environment: the perfectly built house with the perfect color choice and the perfect décor. Today kindergarteners begin to learn the basics of reading and math, but what about the joy of finger painting?
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Jerry, personally, I would be very careful making generalised statements such as the ones I have quoted from you above. The wording tends to portray you as some sort of higher authority making moral judgments about all 'today's kids' and society....which is I'm sure not your intention.
When you refer to
'Today's kids', you must remember that your work and expression is seen all across the globe, and your generalisation may not apply worldwide. To strengthen your credibility of your observation and experience, it is necessary to narrow and quantify your observation by referencing to the community upon which you make your inference.
Stating that '
many more people lack a sense of soul which is nurtured by a crucial missing ingredient; imagination' are very strong words, and could be read as
'many more people lack a sense of soul', which is an extremely judgmental statement and will leave you open to criticism for arrogance.
"but what about the joy of finger painting?'...well we here still do finger painting and as an ex-teacher, imaginative and creative play is a very important part of early childhood curriculum in the Queensland education system, so for me... your generalised statement is not true and therefore weakens the premise for your work. If however you had narrowed it down to an observation of a particular community that you had been observing or researching, your premise would retain its' strength.
As an artist myself, I have given a great deal of consideration to the purpose of my art...and why I do it. I have been in the place where I have thought that I could somehow 'right the wrongs' of the world through my art, and try to '
encourage people to use their imagination', but I have been gently guided - and come to realise that it is not my place to judge what it is that another person needs. I now offer my experience and observations.... and leave to the viewer what is necessary for them to learn or experience from my work.
Therefore... my mission is not to
get people to do anything...just to offer.
Just some thoughts anyway, which may help with the creation of your artist statement and philosophy for your practice.
Julie