Are you a deer in the headlights, or a captivating public speaker?
Someone handed you the mic and asked you about your art..
it's a dream come true for many artists, the proverbial stage is finally yours!
This is one of the bizarre scenarios that plague many artists..
that translation between the inner and outer,
Watching neural pathways attempt to launch synapses of coherent concepts over the wall that divides visual expression/intuition from the translatable realm of language..
it can be painful to witness, to say the least!
At a recent exhibition, a number of featured artists were invited to speak to the audience in attendance about their art hanging in the gallery. So far so good. Of course, the artists were not told in advance to prepare anything to say, so here's where it gets interesting.
This is a moment of flight or fail.
After 20 years of a painting career, you've undoubtedly been on both sides of this equation. Wishing for more success, but perhaps in early years, unable to personally captivate an audience the way your art does. This takes time, of course, as does any art form worthy of mastery. But it's time to remember that the public figure of the artist is not the same personality as the inward creator that made the painting, in all its subtleties of perception and tortured genius.
The public figure is all about being in character.
In this scenario, the artist must also be a poet and charming orator, rewarding the minds of all who listen, in the same way that art can reward the eyes of the viewers. In contrast, by making an audience strain to hear a string of half-cocked vagueries about our concept, it's already gone downhill, and everyone in the room knows it.
It takes many years, and a fierce dedication to putting oneself in a number of challenging situations, but it eventually pays off!
We have a policy here at Luminous Flux Gallery, that we actively seek out and accept any public speaking engagement that comes our way, which has included science conferences and symposiums, teaching at private art schools, presenting at gallery exhibitions, video and radio interviews, and the like. Groups range in size from 10 to 300 people intently listening in..and both sides of the scale can be equally intimidating.
It takes practice, and only through practice do we improve.
At this point in the game, we have fun with it!
Improv can be incredibly fun for the artist and the audience..
presuming the artist is concerned for the experience of their audience.
Good things come to those who persevere..
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