How to Make a Statement as a Modern Artist

As an artist, your statement will be like a giant intangible banner that faces the audience and is also carried by them in their way. It is the focal point of your entire presentation and everything is constructed around that particular idea.

Your audience will take it in and depending on how they receive it, they’ll be witnesses to your idea and may share it with others. So making a statement, is pretty important.

Why is a statement important for modern artists?

Your statement can be your identity, advocacy, current tribulation, or simply a whim of what you think is worth your time, it can be anything you want. The important thing is you deliver it well and it’s enjoyable for your audience. It also doesn’t matter if you’re a legend or an up-and-comer looking to receive the baton from an aging artist.

The rising band, Slydigs are quoted with “ express our obsessions through music…” which is an example of a strong statement that has carried them through their shows. They came out the gates roaring that their early performances left audiences to wonder who they were at the same time elated, in awe, and craving for more.  

The entertainment business dips its cup from the soul and imagination of artists. Modern artists of each generation are in a new landscape every time. It is their ability to understand and use the things around them to fill their canvass with their unique expression.

Modern artists nowadays lean towards creating a more global piece for international audiences while some promote their own cultural identity in the world stage of the internet and social media. So having a statement that caters to your target audience is the subtle strategy here.

Here are some steps into how you can make your statement through your artwork:

Reflect On It

You should start to look into yourself or to the idea that you hold important. Ask yourself what drives you into creating this piece? And how do you want people to feel when they experience your work? You may need to understand yourself and your work or you may need people to hear that you don’t understand the idea either.

People who express their issues through their work don’t have the answers to their problems but they can make their audiences relate to their struggles. This makes them popular among the masses. 

Be Inspired

This may come first but if you already have an idea of what you want to express, you may get stuck on how would you like to convey it. Being inspired means to fan the smolders of your creative mind. You can be inspired by literally everything but most artists look to their influences for guidance. These people who inspired you are a great source of knowledge for you.

Understand how were they able to draw that feeling from you and how can you do draw the same from your audience through your work. It’s not surprising that many of your work will manifest similarities to those that you hold in high esteem as your artistic influences.

Make It Simple

It doesn’t mean making your statement banal. It means you shouldn’t overcomplicate your situation that you’d get your audience lost in translation – unless that’s what you were gunning for. It’s should be simple in the sense that many if not all can enjoy your performance or artwork. 

Practice

This is important, artists spend countless hours honing their craft and they are sometimes their harshest critics. So take time to practice your medium or performance to be the best of who you are.

Michael Jordan is famous for being competitive and giving everything in the game every night. Because he thinks there’s somebody in the stands who haven’t seen him play before and would like to show that person who he is. So practice and make yourself known through your work. 

Enjoy Your Performance

Your performance is your expression and being able to express yourself is one of the marks of being free. Having an audience for your work is also a privilege that must be enjoyed and treasured. If you’ve done your part as a performer and worked hard for the show then the only thing left is to step up and show it.

The human mind is fascinating in ways we can’t yet comprehend. Our ability to connect with people beyond our immediate space, culture or even time is amazing in itself. We should learn to make a statement out there into the world because we don’t know how many lives we’ll be able to touch with our idea.