Coming up with great titles for artwork can be a real drag. Many artists feel like it’s more work to come up with a title than it is to create a masterpiece. If you were a natural wordsmith you would have become a poet, not an artist. So, the question is do titles really matter, and how much time and effort should you spend titling your work?
From a gallery owner’s perspective, I can tell you that I do believe titles matter. A buyer wants to feel like that artwork they are about to purchase from you is one of your best ever – that it truly is one of your masterworks. They’re going to have a hard time believing that if you’ve called the piece “Untitled No. 427.” A good title becomes a part of the buyer’s narrative. A particularly good title will help sell the artwork. Conversely, a bad title can hamper sales.
So what makes a good title, and how can you come up with good titles without going insane? I have some suggestions, and I would love to hear yours (leave them in the comments below).
Titling your artwork is a challenge because you have several potentially conflicting goals with a good title:
- A good title will provide insight into your inspiration for the artwork and may help the artwork tell its story.
- A good title will leave room for the viewer to bring his or her own meaning and interpretation to the artwork.
Additionally, a good title will
- be memorable and catchy
- be original (or at least as original as anything can be in a world where nothing is ever truly new)
- not be too cheesy
So the goal is to come up with a great title – but how does one do it? After having dealt with tens of thousands of pieces of art and having spoken with hundreds of artists about titles, here are some ideas I’ve come across that might help:
- Start with the obvious – if there are elements in the artwork that are key focal points, use those elements as a jumping off point.
- Was there a driving emotion or inspiration that lead you to create the work? If so, try and draw a title from that inspiration.
- Is there an underlying story behind the work? Try to clue the buyer into the story with your title.
- Try to put yourself in your viewer’s shoes – what will they see when they look at the work? What do you want them to focus on?
- Keep it short. While there are obviously exceptions, if you need a 30 word title, you are probably doing something wrong (and maybe you should have become and author instead of artist!)
This all sounds great in theory and will work for the first dozen or so pieces an artist creates, but what about after you’ve created hundreds of pieces? Eventually you are going to run out of creative, unique titles. To combat this issue, try to come up with a naming system. I’ve known artists who look to poetry or mythology for inspiration. Having a dictionary and thesaurus around can help. Get help – my mother helps name most of my father’s paintings.
Here are some examples of works that I feel have strong titles.
Lorri Acott, an artist I represent in my gallery is a master of titling her artwork. Here are a couple of the best examples of her titles.
Who Rescued Who? by Lorri Acott
The piece of sculpture is fun and engaging by itself, but the title adds a whole new layer of meaning to the art. One night at artwalk I observed a couple looking at this piece.
“Look at this one,” the husband said.
“I love it,” replied the wife.
“Now look at the title.”
“‘Who Rescued Who,’ Oh, I love it.”
“The title makes the piece,” said the husband. The wife agreed.
Conversation with Myself by Lorri Acott
Again, the title makes you stop and think, and the more you think about it the more intriguing you find the piece.
“Okay,” you are saying, “so there are a couple of brilliant examples, but my work doesn’t lend itself to those kind of title fireworks – how about some more down to earth examples?”
You have a point – here are some strong, but simpler titles:
Aspen Elegance by John Horejs
Commitment by Guilloume
Chicago to Arizona by Dave Newman
Desert Flame by Josh Wiley
Do you struggle when titling your artwork? Have you come up with a great system for titling your artwork? What would you suggest to other artists who struggle with their titles? What are some of your favorite art titles ever? Share your experiences, challenges, and ideas in the comments below.
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