How to write a personal study introduction

ARTPEDAGOGY

WRITING ABOUT ART: PrepARING FOR THE PERSONAL STUDY

Picture

Typewriter Destruction, Jean Toche, 1966

Preparing for the Personal Study
Obviously writing is a very different skill to, say, drawing, painting or declaring a urinal as art. But don’t underestimate the transferable skills in your creative locker. Being discerning, questioning, managing uncertainties, challenging expectations. These are all qualities that can help. And should you doubt their relevance, look below at the Personal Study descriptors for ‘Exceptional Ability’ (from Edexcel). These could equally describe an artwork.

Picture


But we are still dealing with words. Specifically, choosing the right ones and pinning them in the right place, and there is no quick fix for developing knowledge and literacy skills. However, there is something to be said for deliberate practice, and the Personal Study provides a great opportunity for this.

Getting started
Deciding which artist, art movement or theme to base your personal study on should not be a tricky decision. The Personal Study is related to your practical, personal investigations - your key themes and inspirations to date. Your sketchbooks and experiments should point you in the right direction. But it is okay to take a relevant sidestep and use the Personal Study as an excuse to learn more about a connected artist or theme (rather than following a line of enquiry you are already exhausted with).

Picture

The Vorticists at the Restaurant de la Tour Eiffel: Spring, 1915 (detail), William Roberts, 1961–2

​Write an introduction that leaves the reader wanting to read more (but doesn't leave you wanting to write less)
Your introduction should tempt the reader in, but not at the cost of a whole week of your life shuffling around sentences. A common mistake is to throw a thesaurus at the opening paragraph until it resembles a download from artybollocks.com (yes, an actual website). Much better to start in a more straightforward way and simply get some initial thoughts down. The introduction can always be revisited and reshaped later, once you've found your writing mojo.

Regarding matters of tone, perhaps appropriate advice is this: Be yourself with your sentences, but be the very best version of yourself that you can be. Imagine yourself in super clear communication mode - informed, honest, reflective; bossing it.

Below are two examples of Personal Study introductions. The first is more straightforward, the second a little more elaborate: ​


​INTRODUCTION EXAMPLE 1
I am fascinated with themes of identity. In particular I am interested in what 'identity' might mean to a portrait artist, and how they might set out to understand and capture a person's identity. Grayson Perry, contemporary artist, forms a main focus for this essay. His TV documentary "Who Are You?" has been a big influence on my work this year. After watching this series I found myself reflecting on how I might create a portrait that goes beyond simplistic observations to capture a stronger sense of identity.

INTRODUCTION EXAMPLE 2
There’s a common perception that a person’s identity is fixed - a fully-formed pearl found deep inside, resistant to change. But this perception strikes me as absurd. Identity is a far more complex, evolving matter. It can certainly be a struggle to determine one’s own personal identity, let alone identify or reveal someone else's. But this is a challenge every artist faces. Grayson Perry, in his TV documentary “Who Are You?” immersed himself into the lives of his subjects. His aim: to see through cracks of façade; to delve deeper beneath the surface and into the core of a person. Perry considers identity to be a journey, a voyage in pursuit of who we are: “Our identity is an ongoing performance that is changed and adapted by our experiences and circumstances.” This notion interests me. Perry clearly grasps the interchangeability of identity. His documentary sparked my enthusiasm and provoked a question I've been wrestling with ever since: How do I create a portrait that reaches beyond accurate representation to reveal the complexities of an individual identity?


​The following sentence starters seem to fit with the style of example 1, above:
I am choosing to focus on… (Artist / art movement) because…/ It astounds me how…/ I find it fascinating that…/ I found myself reflecting upon. / I’m curious to know why…/I hope to. show, share, highlight, discover…
These provide a sound enough framework to begin with, but perhaps lack the descriptive verve of Example 2.

Example 2 uses a more elaborate style that incorporates a creative metaphor (identity as a pearl inside us all) and also a direct quote from the artist. Confident statements provide a greater sense of authority ("this strikes me as absurd", "Perry grasps the interchangeability of identity"), but also - importantly - the writer is not setting themselves up as an absolute expert. There remains a a reflective tone ("a question I've been wrestling with is. ").

Picture

Reading, a reoccurring theme in these portraits by Picasso

The meat in the sandwich
With a word limit of 3000 words (and advice to aim for less) there's good reason to be concise. Short and punchy is best. You need to move quickly to the main content of your essay - the meat in the sandwich. And this should certainly give the reader something to chew on. Frankly, on behalf of all teachers who have to digest these servings, the more flavour the better.

Picture

Mel Bochner, LANGUAGE IS NOT TRANSPARENT, 1969

For websites the format is similar, and the author should be included if known. For example:
Jonathan Jones, 'Feeding Fury', The Guardian (December 20o2), https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/dec/07/artsfeatures