Communicating your commitment to self-generated personal projects, whether presenting your work in person, via print mailers or online, is fundamental to your success as an artist. In this third and final article in the Fine Art series, I share insights into making a strong first impression and establishing successful relationships with industry professionals.
Your Portfolio
Your fine art portfolio should strongly convey your artistic vision. It should be superbly crafted utilizing materials, and printed to a scale, that best interprets your vision.
When artists are presenting their work in person to a gallery or museum, I always advise that they share examples of the final prints they would be representing and would like to see on display in the space. Photographs of previous exhibitions ("installation views") can help convey scale, as well as underscore value in the collectible marketplace.
If you have the opportunity to present your work at a venue where the potential for an exhibition and even representation is at hand, curators and gallery directors will most likely want to see multiple examples to confirm consistency of vision and craft.
If participating in a portfolio review event - given the time constraints and size limitations - you would be wise to bring several examples of your final prints and share the larger body of work via smaller, easily portable prints. Do not present via a laptop: show your actual prints.
The presentation tools should match your artistic style. Select a case or box that will easily display the photographs and that will protect your work from damage. You need not spend a lot of money for such a box; the fine art community does not expect custom, hand-embossed leather cases. A simple box of prints allows the works to be seen as individual objects without distraction.
After presenting your portfolio, plan to leave behind a small visual sample as a reminder of you and your work. This can be a small print, a laser printout of samples of your project, a print-on-demand booklet, a CD or a USB drive (see "Create a Digital Portfolio", below). If there are multiple components to the materials you wish to leave behind, be sure to include an envelope (that will fit in a letter-size filing cabinet) with your branding and contact details on the outside.
Present Personal Work On Your Website
Without question, the first point of contact for many, if not most, individuals is www.yourname.com. You should invest in an efficient website to present your personal work in a tasteful, clean manner that underscores the value of the work.
If you wish people to exhibit and acquire your work, then depict the work in its final presentation format on a wall. Show a group of your images in the size you prefer, with scale clearly implied. Accompanying language should follow standards of the collectible art market when describing titles, materials and edition size(s).
Indicate on your website whether you are open to being commissioned or participating in a creative collaboration. Similarly, if you would consider licensing your personal images in appropriate commercial placement, that too could be noted on your website.
Create A Digital Portfolio
It is best to first use your digital portfolio as a way to introduce your work to a gallery or museum and ask if you may follow it up with a presentation of your physical portfolio. Some galleries prefer an email with a link to your website, or submission of a portfolio of work in digital format. You can create a digital version of your portfolio on a CD, a DVD or USB drive, which is easier to send to prospective galleries, museums and curators than your printed portfolio.
When you create a PDF file of your images, you will have a consistent presentation in the sequence you prefer and you can easily drop in text pages with your cover letter, artist (or project) statement and further information about your creative process and more. Never send images in "loose" jpeg format to be randomly viewed; keep the individual images in context via groupings and folders for ease in viewing.
Write An Artist Or Project Statement
It is essential for you to write a short statement about the body of work you are presenting in your portfolio. This provides those viewing your portfolio - whether in person, when judging a competition, or on your website - with important insights into your work.
Create short (one sentence), medium (one paragraph) and long (one page) versions of your statement. This will give you enough material to work with in a broad number of circumstances, from the home page of your website to a cover letter to a gallery or exhibition/publication proposal.
Prepare Your Artistic Resume
Creating a biographical resume relating to your artistic accomplishments is similar to preparing any sort of professional resume. It should list the vital elements of your fine art career to provide interested gallery directors, corporate art consultants and museum curators with your achievements and credentials in the art field. You can divide information into the following categories (use only those that apply to you):
- Exhibitions
- Collections
- Commissions
- Publications
- Industry Awards and Honors
- Teaching, Lecturing, Public Speaking and/or Workshops
- Professional Affiliations
- Education
If you are just beginning to show your personal work, you will not have a lengthy list of exhibitions, so plan on summarizing your experience. I prefer to read this information in paragraph format when it's placed on a website or within a printed document.
Many artists choose to have several informative paragraphs related to their work and experience ("About the Artist" or "Bio"), followed by a link to a comprehensive resume/CV available in PDF format. Those who are interested will take the time to read, but few will wade through numerous pages on any website. Be mindful of your own habits when "reading" websites: Keep the copy about your artwork short and to the point.
Stay Committed To Your Vision
Photography is our universal language and it is no surprise that photographs permeate our lives and culture. While cameras are more affordable than ever, and sharing images between friends and family is a routine of daily life, exceptional work still rises to the top and the best artists never stop making new work.
Be committed to pursuing your vision and improving your craft. I encourage all photographers and illustrators to strive to find the most engaging dialogue possible, be that via showing your work in private residences, on the walls of hotels and public buildings, in corporate offices, airports, galleries and/or museums. I wish for all artists to find an audience for their work that respects the art, allowing visual art to inform and teach us about the world, and that deeply enriches our lives.
Article © 2010 Mary Virginia Swanson