In today’s art world an important part of being an artist is writing a good artist statement. Ugh! Writing is and always has been a struggle for me. I have to write, read, rewrite, read, rewrite and ask lots of those close to me to look at what I have written. And after all that I will still have typos and all kinds of grammatical errors. Last fall I worked on my artist statement for “Broken”. I have 3 statements for the piece; the first is less than 200 words, as many calls limit the statement to 200 words, the second is a a bit briefer and the third I will use when I use the piece to address the homeless problem in a more universal context other than just Greece. Here are the latest versions of my statements for “Broken”.

“Broken”193 words

The tone is set at the top. Negligent leadership turns a blind eye to the suffering of its most vulnerable.

Inspired by a vivid memory from my travels in Greece of a refugee/homeless man whose posture had physically changed from a lifetime of panhandling I walked by him several times, he always sat in a recessed doorway of a vacant retail space. The day I cannot forget he was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, he had fallen asleep. His head had fallen forward and sunk beneath his shoulders. His right arm was out stretched holding a spare change cup. His arm looked impossibly long from many years of stretching it forward, wishful for handouts. In addition, poor financial decisions have left the government/country in faulty fiscal health. This is ironic for a country whose ancient symbol is a wise owl and is considered the cradle of western civilization. Weighing on the abstract figures back will be an owl turning a blind eye to the suffering of its most vulnerable. I will use materials that reflect the white of the ancient ruins and mangled and rusted steel from destroyed barricades left mangled at the Technical university. The piece will be aesthetically raw and broken physically as well as in spirit.

Edited version

“Broken - Greece” 151 words

The tone is set at the top. Negligent leadership turns a blind eye to the suffering of its most vulnerable.

Inspired by a homeless man whose posture had physically changed from a lifetime of panhandling. I remember he was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed; he had fallen asleep. His head had fallen forward and sunk beneath his shoulders. His right arm, impossibly long from many years of stretching forward, wishful for handouts was out stretched holding an empty spare change cup. An owl,once the symbol of ancient Greece, cradle of western civilization, is perched on the figure’s back turning a blind eye as have Greece’s political leaders neglected it’s most vulnerable. The white concrete reflects the white of the Greek ancient ruins; the rusted steel references destroyed barricades left mangled at the Technical university. The piece is raw and broken physically as well as in spirit.

“Broken” 102 words (not specific for Greece)

Society turns a blind eye to the suffering of its most vulnerable.

Inspired by a homeless man whose posture had physically changed from a lifetime of panhandling. I remember he saton the ground with his legs crossed and had fallen asleep. His head had fallen forward and sunk beneath his shoulders. His right arm, impossibly long from many years of stretching it forward, wishful for handouts was outstretched holding an empty cup. An owl,percheson his backindifferent to his circumstances. Constructed from white concrete and mangled wire,the piece is raw and broken physically as well as in spirit.

Wednesday I will meet photographer Nash Baker http://www.nashbaker.com/ to photograph the piece. I can’t wait to see it professionally photographed.