Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Badrew.

I hope that you are all doing well.

I'm really looking forward to teaching and learning with you today.

Our learning outcome for this lesson is I can talk confidently about my artwork, explaining my ideas, process and intention.

Our key words for this lesson are engagement and promotion.

So let's explore each in turn to find out what they mean.

Engagement, how others interact with or understand your work, promotion, communicating your work to showcase skills, creativity, and ideas.

So those are our key words for this lesson, engagement and promotion.

Our lesson outline for talking about your work has two learning cycles.

So let's begin with our first one.

Why to talk about your work.

Let's begin.

Why to talk about your work.

Which artist, dead or alive, would you like to have a conversation with? What would you ask them? So pause here for a moment and think about these two questions and make a note of your answer or perhaps discuss with the people next to you and resume when you are ready.

Artists might talk about their work for engagement and promotion in a variety of contexts, such as in galleries or museums. They could give talks, guided tours, or Q&A sessions to help visitors understand their ideas, process and intentions.

In more informal settings, artists might present their work at open studios, art fairs or workshops.

They discuss inspiration materials and techniques with visitors, participants or potential clients, engaging audiences and helping them to understand how their work is made.

The internet has become an incredible resource for artists to share their work.

Galleries like the Tate help artists in sharing their practice.

TateShots is a huge video series resource with a range of artists either talking about their practice like Howard Hodgkin or Jim Lambie, or having their work discussed by others such as Bonnie Greer discussing their work of Ellen Gallagher.

Let's have a check in here for understanding, true or false? Artists only talk about their work to promote it in galleries and museums. Now, is this statement true or false? What do you think and why? So pause for a moment here and think about this statement and we'll resume together again shortly.

Okay, what do you think? Let's take a look.

The answer is false.

And why might this be? Artists might talk about their work for engagement and promotion in a variety of contexts.

Residencies, or collaborative projects also require artists to explain their approach to participants, communities or collaborators, ensuring audiences feel engaged with the work and understand the creative vision.

Artists might also communicate their ideas and promote their work through social media and online platforms. Engaging audiences who may never visit a gallery in competitions, commissions, and educational contexts such as portfolios or NEA submissions, artists are expected to explain their work, clearly linking ideas, materials, and intention.

Okay, let's have a check-in here for understanding with this question, in what contexts might artists talk about their work? Is it A, only when they're interviewed on TV or B, in galleries, museums, open studios, art fairs, or workshops, or C, only when they're being examined at school? Pause for a moment and think about your answer and we'll resume together again shortly.

Okay, what do you think? Let's take a look.

The answer is B, Galleries, museums, open studios, art fairs or workshops are contexts that artists might talk about their work.

Talking about your work is an important skill because it helps both you and your audience.

Let's take a look.

Clarify ideas, explaining your work forces you to think about your intentions, choices and process.

Reflect on your process.

Speaking about materials, techniques and decisions helps you understand your own work better.

Engage your audience.

Your explanation gives others a deeper understanding and appreciation of your work.

Develop life skills.

Being able to talk confidently about your ideas is useful in school, work, and everyday situations.

Showcase your work, whether in exhibitions, competitions, social media, or presentations, talking about your work allows you to communicate your vision effectively and perhaps promote interest and or sales.

Let's bring our focus and attention to task A.

Watch a clip of an artist speaking about their work.

Write down or discuss how they talk about their work.

Do they explain ideas, process or intention? How does this help engage you as the audience and understand the artwork better? What else do they discuss that helps you to understand their art? So pause the video here to complete this task and resume when you are ready.

Let's come together again and focus on feedback for task A.

So you are tasked to watch a clip of an artist speaking about their work, and you were also asked to write down or discuss how they talk about their work.

There are many possible outcomes.

Let's have a look at what Alex says.

"In the clip, Hana Almilli discussed how her textile work is inspired by her grandmother's sewing, connecting her to her ancestors, supporting the development of her own artistic practice, and enabling her to tell stories of her family through her creations.

Almilli also discusses how she starts with words like writing a poem and then tries to visualize those words into a textile piece." Let's move on now to our second learning cycle, which is how to talk about your work.

In Renaissance workshops, 15th to 16th centuries, apprentices and artists often had to explain their designs verbally to wealthy patrons or church officials before they got approval for a commission.

Talking clearly about ideas and methods was essential to promote their work to secure funding.

For the 19th century salons and exhibitions, many artists in Paris or London exhibited their work.

They had to defend their art in conversations with critics, collectors or the public, being able to talk about their ideas often made the difference between success and being ignored.

In many communities, art is explained through storytelling and oral histories.

Talking about artwork is part of cultural practice, not separate from the art itself.

Let's have a check-in here for understanding, true or false? In the Renaissance and 19th century art salons, being able to talk clearly about ideas and methods often made the difference between success and being ignored.

Is this true or false? So pause for a moment here and think about this statement and we'll resume together again shortly.

The answer is true.

Vivienne Westwood often spoke about her work in terms of political activism, rebellion, and challenging norms. She described fashion as a tool to express identity, provoke thought, and disrupt the status quo.

Barbara Hepworth explained her sculpting process and how carving, form and space was central to her abstract pieces.

Shantell Martin talks about her large scale black and white line drawings as a way to explore identity, movement and storytelling.

Often highlighting the power of improvisation.

El Anatsui explains how using discarded bottle tops connects to colonial history, consumerism, and transformation in his vast installations.

Ai Weiwei uses interviews and social media to discuss the political and cultural meaning of his art, making context essential to understanding his work.

Antony Gormley describes his sculptures in relation to the human body, space and experience, using accessible language to connect abstract ideas to everyday life.

To talk about your work clearly and confidently, you could follow these strategies.

Plan what to say.

Think about your main ideas, the techniques you used and your intentions.

Use clear language, avoid overly complicated words.

Be honest and direct.

Use sentence starters such as, my work explores, I created this using, to.

I wanted the viewer to notice or feel.

Link ideas and process.

Explain how your materials, techniques, or choices help communicate your theme or message.

Practice speaking, try presenting to a partner, small group or even record yourself.

Engage with questions, be ready to respond thoughtfully if someone asks about your work, adapt to the situation.

Talking can happen in passing conversations, workshops, formal presentations or online via social media.

Okay, let's have a check-in here for understanding.

Which of the following are good strategies while talking clearly and confidently about your work? A, plan what to say by thinking about your main ideas, techniques, and intentions, or B, use clear and honest language, not overly complicated words.

C, only talk about your work in galleries, never on social media.

D, avoid questions from the audience to stay in control.

So pause here for a moment and think about your answer, and we'll resume together again shortly.

Okay, what do you think? Let's take a look.

The answer is A and B.

A, plan what you say by thinking about your main ideas, techniques, and intentions.

And B, use clear and honest language, not overly complicated words.

Let's bring our focus and attention to task B on how to talk about your work.

Prepare and deliver a two to three minute presentation about your own artwork.

You could consider how you achieve clarity of explanation, sharing about your ideas, materials and techniques, confidence and engagement during your presentation, link your artwork to a personal story or emotion as Frida Kahlo did, or to a concept like identity, space, or movement like Barbara Hepworth or Shantell Martin.

Pause the video here to undertake this task and resume when you are ready.

Okay, let's come together again and think about the feedback in response to task B in which you are tasked to prepare and deliver a two to three minute presentation about your own artwork.

There are many possible outcomes.

Let's take a look.

Hello, today I'm going to talk about my artwork.

My piece explores the idea of identity and how we express ourselves through everyday objects.

I was inspired by my own experiences of feeling both connected and disconnected from my surroundings, and I wanted to capture that tension visually.

I created this work using mixed media.

I combined watercolor with pencil and collage because I wanted to show different layers of emotion and experience.

The watercolor gives a sense of flow and movement, while the pencil lines add structure and detail.

The collage elements represent fragments of memory and personal objects that are important to me.

I wanted the viewer to notice how the layers interact and to feel a sense of both calm and complexity by using overlapping materials and contrasting textures.

I hope to show that identity is made up of many small, interconnected parts.

Just like Frida Kahlo used personal symbols in her paintings, I've included items that are meaningful to me, like pieces of world letters and photographs.

Overall, my work is about exploring who I am and how I navigate my own story.

I hope it encourages viewers to think about their own identities and the things that make them unique.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to explain more about why I chose certain materials or how I developed the composition.

So there you have it.

An example of a well thought through explanation with regards to how this person is talking about their artwork, the process, the meaning, the story that connects the artist to the audience.

I hope you found that really useful.

We have now arrived at our summary for this lesson in talking about your work.

Talking about your artwork can promote understanding and work.

It can engage the audience, helping both the artist and viewers to connect with the ideas, process and intentions behind the work.

Verbal explanations can occur in informal conversations or formal presentations.

Reflecting on and discussing artwork helps develop critical thinking and clarity of expression.

Linking materials, techniques and artistic choices to ideas deepens understanding of the work.

While I hope you enjoyed this lesson and I look forward to seeing you again.

In the meantime, take care and bye for now.