We arrived in Grahamstown after dark, having travelled 1000+ kms; leaving home at 05:00, our car and trailer heavily loaded with sculptures, tool kits and gear for the two week duration of the National Arts festival. We had allowed ourselves two days in which to set up the exhibition before the official opening on 28 June 2012. This would ensure that we locate a hardware store, printer and stationer in case of an emergency. Since it was our first experience of exhibiting at an arts festival, we didn't really know what to expect, but with all the bravado of the uninformed, we believed we would be able to handle any situation.
We didn't then know that we would also need a haberdashery when Eylene (my daughter and fellow artist) ran out of buttons and pins or a milliner's shop to buy metres and metres of black fabric to create makeshift covers for the plinths on loan that were a most unbecoming shade of brown. Staying with our dear friend Doreen, a Grahamstonian to the bone, however, meant that we had our very own tour guide on call. How lucky can you get!
We were more than pleased with the space allotted to us in a large dining hall with lovely wooden floors and light streaming in through huge north facing windows. We shared the space with four painters and learned from them that we lay on the main route to the craft market, which meant that we were ensured of getting a lot of feet going through the hall.
For the next eleven days we were part of the Amazing that was being advertised on huge banners across town and throughout the country's media. The usually peaceful little town was soon brimming with life, thousands of posters advertising every conceivable (and inconceivable!) art production appeared overnight, fixed onto anything standing perpendicular to the earth and most buildings in town(many dating from the nineteenth century) were converted into mini theatres, galleries and eateries.
The atmosphere was terrific. One would queue to buy tickets and be invited to shows in person by artists doing their rounds like politicians campaigning. Music from the upstairs music room floated into our hall all day and calls to buy the daily festival newspaper would sound up and down the corridor leading to the craft market: "Cue! Cue for you!"
We took turns in manning the exhibition. In our free time we attended shows, browsed through art exhibitions and partook in discussions. We would while our time between shows in the evenings at The Red Cafe, relishing butternut soup and sherry, or sipping gluhwein at The Mad Hatter's Cafe. An authentic Grahamstown experience is the Long Table Restaurant, which only operates during the festival and has the feel of a medieval hall much like the dining hall at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.
We had ample opportunity to observe people's reaction to our work. What made it even more interesting is that we had many viewers who normally would not have gone out of their way to look at fine art, but who strolled into the hall on their way to the craft market. In a sense, their spontaneous response saved the day for us, when, in the end, none of the works were sold during the festival. We knew, without a doubt, that our work touched people on levels that went beyond cognitive understanding.
The title of the exhibition, Your Signature, My Life was explored from different angles. Eylene's being an interactive group of sculptures inviting people to leave their mark on them. George and I used the Enneagram of personality to give structure to our interpretation.
People loved having the opportunity to contribute to the artwork and this is where the buttons and pins ran out! One of Eylene's sculptures, I am Fabric, consists of a ceramic torso and a fabric skirt to which people were invited to choose a button, pin it to the dress and write whatever they pleased. We were amazed at how popular this was! Some came in day after day to see how the dress was filling up, or brought friends to add their buttons.
The nine sculptures depicting the different personality types as proposed by the Enneagram, also drew a lot of attention. Those familiar with the Enneagram felt that it brought deeper understanding because of the visual interpretation of a rather intellectual system. Others were fascinated by the concept of personality being an imprint or signature that developed through coping mechanisms adopted in childhood to protect our life essence. With each sculpture we tried to show the obvious signature trait, i.e. the Helper, Peacemaker, Challenger, Achiever, among other, but on closer inspection, also something of the more nuanced, or even hidden, life essence that has to surface if we are to reach our full potential.
As the days wore on, we grew worried and then quite despondent. We had invested a lot of time, effort and money in this venture and although we would still have the artwork as asset when we returned home, our immediate financial need would not be relieved. From the other exhibitors we gleaned that sales were slow for them as well; everyone was feeling the pinch and art don't fill empty tummies.
We packed up on the final day. Drove back home, as heavily laden as we were two weeks before. It took a couple of days to come to grips with myself. On this journey of trying to live consciously and trying to discern what the next step should be, we did what we believed we should. And all in all, it was pretty amazing. I wouldn't have missed this experience with George, Eylene and Doreen for anything: Eleven days of Amazing.
Matilda
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| Gracious Grahamstown |
We didn't then know that we would also need a haberdashery when Eylene (my daughter and fellow artist) ran out of buttons and pins or a milliner's shop to buy metres and metres of black fabric to create makeshift covers for the plinths on loan that were a most unbecoming shade of brown. Staying with our dear friend Doreen, a Grahamstonian to the bone, however, meant that we had our very own tour guide on call. How lucky can you get!
We were more than pleased with the space allotted to us in a large dining hall with lovely wooden floors and light streaming in through huge north facing windows. We shared the space with four painters and learned from them that we lay on the main route to the craft market, which meant that we were ensured of getting a lot of feet going through the hall.
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| Our Exhibition in the Oppidan Dining Hall |
The atmosphere was terrific. One would queue to buy tickets and be invited to shows in person by artists doing their rounds like politicians campaigning. Music from the upstairs music room floated into our hall all day and calls to buy the daily festival newspaper would sound up and down the corridor leading to the craft market: "Cue! Cue for you!"
We took turns in manning the exhibition. In our free time we attended shows, browsed through art exhibitions and partook in discussions. We would while our time between shows in the evenings at The Red Cafe, relishing butternut soup and sherry, or sipping gluhwein at The Mad Hatter's Cafe. An authentic Grahamstown experience is the Long Table Restaurant, which only operates during the festival and has the feel of a medieval hall much like the dining hall at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.
We had ample opportunity to observe people's reaction to our work. What made it even more interesting is that we had many viewers who normally would not have gone out of their way to look at fine art, but who strolled into the hall on their way to the craft market. In a sense, their spontaneous response saved the day for us, when, in the end, none of the works were sold during the festival. We knew, without a doubt, that our work touched people on levels that went beyond cognitive understanding.
 |
| I am Fabric in the making |
The nine sculptures depicting the different personality types as proposed by the Enneagram, also drew a lot of attention. Those familiar with the Enneagram felt that it brought deeper understanding because of the visual interpretation of a rather intellectual system. Others were fascinated by the concept of personality being an imprint or signature that developed through coping mechanisms adopted in childhood to protect our life essence. With each sculpture we tried to show the obvious signature trait, i.e. the Helper, Peacemaker, Challenger, Achiever, among other, but on closer inspection, also something of the more nuanced, or even hidden, life essence that has to surface if we are to reach our full potential.
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| Type 5: Master brain |
We packed up on the final day. Drove back home, as heavily laden as we were two weeks before. It took a couple of days to come to grips with myself. On this journey of trying to live consciously and trying to discern what the next step should be, we did what we believed we should. And all in all, it was pretty amazing. I wouldn't have missed this experience with George, Eylene and Doreen for anything: Eleven days of Amazing.
Matilda
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