How To Better Talk About Your Art
If you're an artist looking for success, it's imperative that you put yourself and your artwork out there and talk to your audience and individuals.
Although, artist know their work much more intimately than anyone else on the planet, talking about their practice and articulating this feeling into words can be daunting.
Unfortunately, there is no magical, tip, trick, strategy, or hack capable of turning you into someone who talks confidently and clearly about your art overnight.
But if you want to learn how to talk better about your art, and be able to explain it, so it makes sense to your target audience, a few useful tips and tricks can help make it happen.
Here are a few simple tips that you can begin using immediately!
Understand Your Audience
The first step for an artist is understanding why their art is meaningful to them.
Only then is it possible to explain to others.
Try to figure out the one aspect of your art that you think is essential for other people to know. It must be something that if left out, would make your work seem like it had lost its meaning. Brainstorm about this essential element, and then sum it up in a crisp few sentences.
Next, figure out a way to explain this element to five different individuals.
The best choices are :
an artist friend
a non-artist friend
an art curator
a neighbour
someone from a completely different age bracket from you, such as your grandparents.
If you find yourself using the same explanation for all of them, then you need to fine-tune your description based on your exact audience.
Be Honest
A lot of artists find it challenging to put a finger on the 'why' for every decision made during the creative process of an artwork. And this is fine. Creating art is an intuitive and spontaneous process, and it is impossible to break down every element and analyze it to the T.
Being honest and upfront about not knowing why you made a particular choice makes you sound genuine and trustworthy. Rather than bluffing your way through aspects that you're unsure about, speak about the things that you do know. You will come across as informed, which is bound to boost your confidence as well.
Avoid Hyperbole And Sales Pitches
As an artist, you will make your living through your work. But, if you only attempt to sell your work every time you interact with an audience, you can quickly turn them off.
Art is incredibly subjective, and only people who feel an emotional connection to your artwork will purchase it. Talk about your art by providing insight into the work itself, and how you conceptualized the idea.
Also, avoid exaggerating your work by using overblown language while talking about it. It is easy to get carried away, and language that is meant to impress can make you sound pretentious. Use simple and comprehensible language that people can understand and appreciate. If the person or audience you are speaking to feel like they can connect with you or your work, you're guaranteed to find buyers!
Focus On Aspects Beyond Visual Appearance
Sometimes, when you are asked to speak about your work, it is tempting to state the obvious. These are usually the visually apparent aspects of your work, such as the texture, colours. And so forth. Merely pointing out what is in front of the viewer's eyes will not allow them to understand the bigger picture.
Try to give the viewer a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration that brought your work to life. Find a consistent point that you can always return to when you find yourself wanting to describe your work. For instance, if you are comfortable talking about your process, you can begin a conversation from there. If at any time you find yourself veering off-topic, remember to return to the process and you'll be back on track!
Pick Words With Benefits
Avoid using words such as aspiring or emerging when talking about you or your artwork. Aspiring only works if you are yet to create something. Once you have done it, you are an artist. End of story. Using words such as aspiring only tells people that you're new to your craft, and haven't been practising for too long.
Regardless of whether this is true or not, others don't need to know about it. It can also serve as an indicator that you don't charge too much money. Or that people needn't pay you too much for your work. You don't want to give either of these impressions. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by using aspiring or emerging anywhere while speaking.
Delve Into Your Process
Before you start talking about a specific work of art, you must describe the process that helped you get there.
What do you do for inspiration?
Where did you find the inspiration for a particular piece of artwork?
What were the factors that you considered before zeroing in on a specific medium?
What was going through your mind when a new idea struck you?
These are a few questions that the audience would be interested to know and understand. Think about similar questions, and be mentally prepared with a basic outline of your answer. Next time you're asked these questions, you can be confident of giving a satisfying and insightful answer!
Shine The Spotlight On Your Art Not Your Day Job
For a lot of upcoming artists, their artwork is not something that consistently pays the bills. Naturally, they have a different day job, which acts as the primary source of income. If someone asks you to describe yourself, don't mention your day job at all.
Saying that you're a 'sculptor and a data-entry analyst' might seem humble and more relatable. Your day job, however, is irrelevant and only distracts the person you are speaking to from your true passion, which is sculpting. Talk solely about your real talent instead, where you highlight your artwork and passion.
Practice Makes Perfect. Talking to people or crowds as an artist is never easy. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about it. The nature of your work is such that you have to get used to talking about your work. And like with anything else, the only way to get better at speaking about your work is consistent practice. Practising aloud is an excellent way to boost your confidence and put you at ease while talking about your artwork.
You can also practice in front of your friends and family, or in front of a mirror. Don't try to memorize a script to the dot, since it will seem less genuine and overly rehearsed. Plan out the main speaking points so that you can deliver it accurately, effortlessly, and confidently.
Avoid Speaking in Conditional Terms
Try to avoid discussing your art in conditional terms. These include saying that you work on art during the weekends, whenever you find time in between your day job, or once the kids are in bed. Of course, these situations are unavoidable, and they do exist in any artist's life. You must learn to either cherry-pick your moments to mention them or not speak about them at all.
There are two drawbacks to talking with conditions. First up, they make it sound as if art is relatively low in your list of priorities. Second, they have the potential to become the truth.
At some point, you may actually begin to believe these are hard-truths that you can't change and that you can only work on your passion under these conditions. Such a mindset will prevent you from thinking outside the box and finding new ways of thinking and working on your art.
Maintain Positivity
The necessity of having to speak about your work and think about the business side to art can make a lot of artists annoyed and flustered. In many cases, these artists end up speaking quite irately while explaining their work.
Naturally, such behaviour is likely to dissuade potential clients and impede your chances of selling your work. Although the idea of a 'difficult' artist has been ingrained into popular culture, such an attitude is not going to do you any favours.
Try to look at this side of art in a more positive light, and as a chance to network and connect with more people. In the long run, a positive attitude is likely to land you more opportunities with gallerists, curators, as well as clients.
Final Notes
Throughout the course of your career as an artist, there will be numerous occasions where you will be required to network and to talk about your work. With these simple tips, talking about your work can become a fulfilling and rewarding endeavour, rather than a frustrating or daunting one. With enough practice and consistency, you are guaranteed to be utterly confident while talking about your work to audiences of all sizes!