Art

Writing About Art | Writing Artist Statements | Citing using Chicago Manual of Style | Citing using MLA Style | Citing Images

Writing an artist statement? Here are some resources from around the web that you may find useful:

• Artist Statement, from ArtStudy.org
• Writing an Artist Statement, from The Writing Centre at Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Here are some writings on the topic that are available through the library's databases:

• Adamson, G. (2012). When artists write about their work. American Craft, 72(3), 22-23.
• Dailey, J. (2013). What Do They Want from Me and What Do I Want for Myself?. n.p.: ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing.
• Goodwin, A. (1999). Writing an artist's statement. Ceramics Monthly, 47(5), 39-40.

Citation Guides

The Chicago Manual of Style is commonly used in the arts and humanities to create bibliographies and citations.  It is available in print in the library and online.   

• MLA Style Center - Search FAQs or ask the experts at MLA a question
• Citing Museum Exhibit in MLA
• Citing Artwork from an Exhibit in MLA
• How-to-Guide: Image Citation from Academy of Art University Library

Richard Misrach, Submerged Lampost, Salton Sea, 1985, printed 2005. Chromogenic print from a digital file. Art Institute Chicago. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/191453/submerged-lamppost-salton-sea?q=photography&page=2

The main components to note when citing artworks are:

• Artist's name
• Title of work
• Date of composition
• Medium
• Name and location of owning institution
• Where you found the image

Chicago Manual of Style image citations

For Chicago Manual of Style image citations, consult the following sections of the manual:

• 14.235: Citing paintings, photographs, sculpture
• 14.235 Citing exhibition catalogs

MLA image citations

For MLA image citations, the general MLA image citation format should look like this:

Last Name, First Name. Title. Date, Institution, Location. Medium.

For images of artwork in a website, treat the book or website as a container.  For instance:

Misrach, Richard. Submerged Lamppost, Salton Sea. 1985, printed 2005, Art Institute Chicago. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/191453/submerged-lamppost-salton-sea?q=photography&page=2. Chromogenic print from a digital file.

Consult the MLA citation style guide for more information.