Artist Statement

If you are fortunate enough to have your photographs displayed at a gallery on in a magazine (print or on-line), you will likely be asked to include an "Artist's Statement." This involves writing down your photographic goals, either specific to the show or a more general overview of your photographic intent. My "official" version is four paragraphs in length (www.chuckkirchner.zenfolio.com - About) but boils down to two sentences at it's essence:

Chuck’s photographs have the ability to capture the season, the sensations, the memories and, most importantly, the spirit of place and of life. The tools of the trade involve technical acumen, artistic vision, patience, good timing, and, of course, a bit (or lot) of serendipity.

In the July 2012 edition of Photo District News (PDN), several "outstanding and undiscovered fine-art photographers" are featured, each with a brief statement that are generally to the point. While I won't go into the photographer's names, quotes range from

When these items are rendered in a traditional black-and-white format, the information that remains is merely an abstraction of its previous form.

to 

These are not real photographs of real things.

to

When capturing the still recordable milieu I am examining the parallel of a general tendency and personal stories: as resilient humanity condensing into symbolic destinies takes shape in the face of mortality. 

I personally find the last one to be something I might expect from an academic or a critic from a major newspaper, rather than from a photographer.  I believe that we, as artists, need to be accessible to our viewers, and that includes our written word.