Conducting an Interview

A good interview looks easy, but takes practice. Watching and listening to the interviewers on TV news can give you some clues. If someone is good at it, the interview has lots of good information and is interesting. The person being interviewed is put at ease. The questions help the artist with answers and lead him or her to give more and more information.

And the interviewer? She or he has done work to prepare for this moment. She started by finding out about the person and what he has done. For instance, writers and movie stars are often interviewed on TV. The interviewer has read the book, carefully, or seen the movie and knows about other work this artist has written or acted. The same with a visual artist. It is important to know what she has done. Who owns her artwork, if she keeps some of it herself, if it is in the home of friends, in museums or other public places.

The interviewer also needs to know about this kind of artwork. For example, what kind of materials do painters use? How do painters work with these materials? What kind of wood does the woodworker like to use? What tools does he use? A quick look at a book about painting or woodworking will give some hints. A question or two to your teacher or parent may also give you some basic information.

This "homework" will prepare you, as the "interviewer", to create good questions. A good question requires more than a yes or no answer. A good question asks what, how or why.

Even more important than being prepared with knowledge about the artist and having good questions, is the ability to listen. It is important to not have ideas about what kind of answers you will get from your artist. Listen to what is said and let your natural curiosity lead you to ask about what he or she is telling you. Go beyond the questions you prepared in advance. Find out about your artist. Take good notes so you will later remember what was said.

Now its time for your interview.