Artist Statement

This is the artist statement I prepared for the Great Britons competition entry (more details coming soon).  Can you believe I did this entirely without  the aid of the Arty Bollocks Generator!?

martin herbert

artist statement

i am an artist
i receive impressions.
i mirror them back, sometimes simplified, sometimes quite the opposite
i mix them
i synthesize
i argue my case, quietly
i expect no one to be impressed, but i suffer from a compulsion to make my mark
as all artists do - we make marks - it is our job to make the marks that make people think

as humans, when we see images, we think - we can’t help it - our brains are hard-wired to receive visual impressions and integrate them into our personal space - into the entire sphere of our lives’ experience
the way in which we integrate the images we see inescapably alters our thinking
the way in which artists construct the images we see alters the impressions we receive
the way in which artists construct the images we see therefore alters our thinking

all art makes us think - highbrow or lowbrow, profound or trivial, disney or degas
the difference lies in what it makes us think
the craft of the artist reaches its highest form when it makes us think profoundly
this is my goal
i am an artist
i receive impressions
i mirror them back