When artists explain their choices
Original practice source: a commentary about artists’ explanations.
An explanation from a maker can reveal a decision which a viewer had not noticed. It may identify a material, a question or a change made during the work. That information can create another way to attend without supplying the only possible response.
An explanation can also be treated as an answer which the artwork must obey. A reader may disregard an interesting reaction because it does not match the maker’s account, or feel that understanding the note has replaced encountering the work. Guidance is most useful when its purpose is clear: an invitation to look further need not become a command about what must be found.
An arts magazine is inviting articles on the statement: “Artists should explain what their work means.”
Write an article for the magazine arguing your view. You may use ideas from the source and your own ideas.
60 exam-style questions on Oxford AQA IGCSE English Language 2.2.1 Writing for audience and purpose. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.