For the Birds: Who needs a surface?

Thoughts on publishing + Struggling toward an Artist's Statement (Part two)

Thanks for reading For the Birds! I publish this newsletter for free twice a month, always with the goal of enacting my own artistry while supporting you in yours.

Today’s letter is written for my paid subscribers, but I’m sharing a preview below. You can gain full access *and* support the labor of writing by upgrading your subscription:

Read part one of “Struggling toward an Artist’s Statement” here.

With gratitude to V for capturing a moment <3

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Here’s a question that’s been rattling around in my brain: When we send out our work for hopeful publication, is the cover letter also an opportunity for an Artist’s Statement?

Standing in the Laurie Anderson room—entitled Four Talks—at the Hirshhorn.

When wandering through the Hirshhorn Museum this past October, I found just as many artworks that were boosted by their beautifully crafted statements as I did ones that felt dragged down by a too-strong loyalty to explanation.¹

With this disparity fresh in mind, the only answer I can imagine is this one: Context matters. When does the artist statement, whether hung in a gallery or housed by a small textbox inside my Submittable account, provide nuance, and when does it squish everything flat?

I’ve answered my own question with a better, stickier one. This is often how it goes!

Let’s see what else we can dig up through this line of thinking…