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Welcome to Part 2 of this two-part series asking why photographers are so afraid to talk about their work. In Part 1, I addressed some of the comments made on Facebook about the need to "Find your story and make it easy for us to understand."
In today's episode, I'm going to address the Twitter community who was brought into the conversation when the question was posed: Why is it that photographers are so resistant to talk about their work?
Being posed as a question, I thought the responses were much more personally revealing. And since Twitter allows for even less space to have conversations, I was excited to get back on the mic and give my totally subjective responses to the feedback.
The biggest things I want you to take away from this episode are:
1) Photographs speak in their own medium. But when you share your work, you step into a new medium that uses the language of Story.
2) Embrace the idea of "usefulness" in your photography and then in your artist statement. What would be useful for your audience to know or understand about you or your work?
3) Writing words doesn't have to be any more difficult than saying them out loud.
4) Your story, shared with words, helps create a more genuine connection with your audience than photographs alone.
5) Let your artist statement, the story you tell about your work, live and breathe alongside you as an artist. You are not done yet. Your statement is not final.
Important Links:
Unless it Moves the Human Heart by Roger Rosenblatt
Join the Facebook group: Know Your Narrative - Podcast
Join me on Instagram: @knowyournarrative
Find me on Twitter: @kyn_podcastYou can always reach out to me at:
Please drop a comment or give me a rating wherever you are listening. Help us grow so more people can join this movement to put the ARTIST back into the artist statement!
Thanks for listening :-)
BJ
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Why does it seem like photographers take particular offense when people ask them to talk about their photography? It's like there is this deep insecurity embedded within our DNA as photographers.
It's strange to me because when I'm proud of something I make, I'm happy to talk about to anyone who is kind enough to ask.
I have a theory that we are STILL afraid that people don't take photography seriously as an art form, so we get super defensive when anyone suggests that we "defend" our work. I honestly think it's a problem of what is being said versus what we hear.
This a long-standing problem that was recently put on display when a well-know, and well-liked, promoter of photographers shared his advice to: "Find that story and make it easy for us to understand."
His comment fueled some great discussions that spread from Facebook to the Twitter universe. So I decided to do a two-part series replying directly to some of the comments in opposition to the idea of photographers learning to share their stories.
No names are used, and I won't even mention the group name. My point is not to attack any person, only to confront some deeply held beliefs and fears that their comments represent.
While I feel very strongly about this topic, please understand that I actually LOVE having this conversation. My goal here is to help push us forward into something new. And I think it will be hard for us to move forward together if we're tether by our past fears and insecurities.
So buckle up for both of these episodes. I think it will be a lot of fun!
Key Takeaways:
1) Words are not a crutch. They are a natural and distinct part of the human experience. Fear of words is far more crippling.
2) Your story is not a fixed definition. It's just a way to connect with your audience by sharing what your work means FOR YOU.
3) Your audience doesn't owe you anything. The responsibility of your work starts with you. Don't demand they do something you are not willing to do yourself.
4) Tell your story so that you can start to build bridges with people, not dig more trenches. That's how you rise above the noise of all the millions of photographers out there vying for attention.
NOTES:
Join the Facebook group and help us expand this conversation:
Know Your Narrative - PodcastReach out to me if you don't feel comfortable expressing your thoughts, fears, frustrations, or questions in a group setting:
[email protected]You can also connect with me on Instagram:
Know Your NarrativeThanks for listening!
BJ
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Fehlende Folgen?
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For this first episode of 2019, I decided to abandon all my original plans and just talk openly with all of you. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of Dax Shepard's podcast Armchair Expert. He has become my new spirit animal. I love the attitude that he approaches life with, and I love how open and honest he is about the work he has had to do on himself to get to this point.
Dax's degree of vulnerability is a great example for every artist searching for their "authentic" voice. He's open without being rude. He's confident in his self-deprecation. And he just knows who he is at this point in life and embraces it.
One of the things I struggle with as an artist, and with this podcast, is trying to make things "perfect" before I send them out into the world. I get hung up on making sure my sentences are clean and not too repetitive, that I'm making a clear point, and that I sound smart enough and helpful enough that you will trust me.
But this gets me in trouble because, with my limited time, I end up trashing perfectly good audio clips, starting over and over again, and often going to bed at midnight with nothing to show for it.So for this episode, I felt really compelled to just get behind the mic and talk. Just talk. I wanted to practice being more vulnerable with you, if for no other reason, to try to model what this can sound like. And you know what? It felt great!
You should try just opening a voice app on your phone and talking to yourself for an extended period of time. You might be surprised by what you hear yourself say out loud, in a good way.
I hope you enjoy this episode that I felt was "good enough" to put out into the world :-)
NOTES:
1) Jeff Goins' podcast The Portfolio Life
* HERE is the episode where he was reflecting on his latest conference
2) Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert
3) My current website for Cary On Photography in all it's basic, un-glamorous glory -
For this final episode of 2019, I wanted to share something I've used for several years now to help guide what I do going into a new year.
I've never been a big fan of resolutions. For some reason, they've just never resonated with me. Part of that is I think they feel like "fixed" goals that if I fail, I've derailed my entire year.
What has worked really well for me since 2014, was the use of a focus phrase. This is a word, or for me, a series of words that help me focus on what I need for the next year.You can use focus phrases to help guide your actions and even help clarify what to say in your artist statement.
So join me as I share my journey using focus phrases, and think about how they might help you going into 2019.
REFERENCES:
Know Your Narrative - Podcast (Facebook group)
Nebraska Roots artist statement
* click on "Read the full story" -
Welcome to episode three of the Know Your Narrative podcast!
In this episode, I am confronting the three most common complaints I hear people make against artist statements. Because these complaints actually represent some very deeply held beliefs that, while being serviceable defenses in the past, are only going to be obstacles for you moving forward.My purpose for doing this now is because I don't want any limiting beliefs to keep you from better engagement with your audience. Your artist statement is a more persona representation of your voice. This is why I think your artist statement is so valuable.
Your audience wants to connect with the person behind the art you make. Everyone knows artists (people) make art, and that takes a lot of courage. People want to connect with you because your courage to make art gives them hope.
So here are the top three complaints I hear:
1) Artist statements are too pretentious
2) Art should speak for itself/if you have to explain it with words then the art isn't good enough
3) I want people to have their own experience (this one drives me crazy!)
Listen to the episode to find out why I believe it's time to let these go. HINT: they're just not useful anymore. Because...
Join the Facebook group to keep the conversation going! Share with me your top complaints (if I haven't addressed them here), as well as what you actually like about your artist statement.
Let me know how I can help you so we all can move forward together and put the ARTIST back into your artist statement!
Facebook Group:
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Know Your NarrativeYou can also listen to this podcast at:
iTunes
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YouTubeThanks for listening!
~ BJ
Contact me:
[email protected] -
Everyone talks about Story, to the point where it's almost a cliché. The problem is that no one is really taking the time to tell you what a story actually is and how to use it.
Stories are like music: we know a good one when we hear it, but pressed to make our own, we don't know exactly how they work. Imagine being told to write a song without knowing basic notes and chords and how those things work together.
So in this episode, I want to share with you the basic framework that all stories have, the basic "chords" of story. So that you can start to use them to design your own story for your artist statements, and have fun designing a more authentic message about why your art matters to you.
Stories are not just facts about what happened. They are meaningful events that communicate why those facts matter and how they have affected you and your art.
Story is a great tool to communicate why your art matters to you. It gives your artist statement structure, clarity, and meaning. Your art was born directly from your story. That is why learning how to tell your story is the best way to tap into your authentic voice and have fun writing and talking about your work.
Book referenced:
Story - by Robert McKee
Join the conversation in the Know Your Narrative Facebook group:
Know Your Narrative - Podcast group
Feel free to email me with questions or to just give me your honest praise ;-):
Thanks for listening!
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Welcome to the first episode of the Know Your Narrative podcast. My name is BJ Cary, and I'll be your host on this journey towards putting the artist back into the artist statement. In this first episode, I'm going to introduce my starting goals, and what I envision this podcast becoming.
So if you are an artist who is frustrated, tired, and even angry about what artist statements are, then this podcast is for you. You deserve to enjoy this part of your craft. And that's my goal: helping you learn how to tell your own unique story, so that you can actually enjoy writing and talking about your work.
Help create the most dynamic conversation about artist statements online by joining the Facebook group here:
Know Your Narrative - Podcast group
