With feet firmly on the ground - reach for the stars!

Monday, 8 November 2010

More news from the exhibition.

It was a very cold and rainy day today, so we didn't expect many people to turn up to look at the exhibition. I really hoped that someone would come in, and then, low and behold, a couple ... typical of this area, one from Strood, one from the Delce and just the sort of people you'd expect from these areas; rough, unkempt, unhealthy looking, the 'all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth' types, the typical people from round this way and by God I love 'em.

They were wonderfully appreciative of all of the exhibits on display, asking questions about them, laughing, pondering the meaning of some of the work. The woman was one after my own heart as her favorite work at the exhibition was Chris Barchard's 'War', which is also my favorite, we discussed the title of the work and looked on it admirably, both of us commenting on how deep the picture is. Oh! how I love these rough types, they must have spent about forty minutes in the Gallery, going back and forth, they genuinely enjoyed it.

That's all I ever wanted, to reach the masses like this, to make art accessible, enjoyable and for everyone! The icing on the cake were the comments they made in the book, the woman said how interesting everything was and the rough and ready young man said that he really enjoyed it and it was something to give people HOPE ( he wrote that in capitals ). They said they would return for the classical Indian music tomorrow, the sitar and tabla rendition and I really hope they do return.

There have been a few wealthy looking types, people who came in at the start, they might have been interested in the work, but they were as stiff as boards and, as is common among these people, they looked like they are looking for a money spinner, who knows some might come back for purchasing, and I secretly would love to be supported in my art work by a rich benefactor, but yes, well, dream on ...

On the whole though the exhibition is starting to take off, we have a group of teenage schoolers coming in tomorrow first thing, again something that I am so glad is happening, to reach the youth with our work is a dream come true, although of course they might hate the stuff ... but I doubt it, anyway I am really looking forward to watching their reactions ( if any ) to our work. We also will be having a group of local Asian women visiting the exhibition, so its all been good so far.

4 comments:

  1. You remind me of Ms Havisham and Pip. Many a times I wished for a rich benefector - but none ever came my way and koodos for that for there are so many strings attached when one deals with soulless people. A lesson I learnt in these past 7 years. Personally, I am not good with the rough, unhealthy and unkempt type in our society. I prefer the ordinary person who has a shower or bath everyday but remains rooted to the ground.

    I got a lovely email from Carol Kinnin in response to the African queen, she is polite and helpful - that is my type and I sent the cheque today. Keep going and I can assure you that your art is challenging the best of artist for it does not comform to the usual upper stiff lip folk who love to make the headlines. You are for the ordinary folk and that means a lot in revolutionary terms.

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  2. Ah,Florence, you don't know this area here like I do.

    Its significant to be having an art exhibition in Chatham which is not known as an artistic place, far from it.

    There are so many rough type people and if you lived here you would love them too because some of them have hearts made of gold, like the ones who came into the exhibition.

    Living in a poor and deprived area, they compensate, and that is what is so fascinating, they compensate culturally, for a place that on the surface seems to lack so much.

    This is why if you are from here you can't help but to have love for the people and the streets.

    Having traveled around all over the country, I would say that one draw back about these rough people is that they don't realise how soft they are underneath it all, they think they are hard and from a hard and tough place, but I know there are worse places, its the love and cultural compensation that draws people back here time and time again.

    I am so glad to have reached them like i did, it means so much to me.

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  3. Sophs, you misread me. Its not the homeless that I am frightened of, I have empathy with them and I know how soft some of them are. I always stop for a chat with them when I have time and always make sure that I share a joke or two with them because they have a great sense of humour.
    Its the rough and ready type with a threatening behaviour who I avoid at all cost. Take the Mr T kind of person who has a bath once a week - big and bulky and threatening. As you know, I never walk away from a fight. Now imagine me sparing with a stinky Mr T type or the hell angels type with an iron fist. They are the sort of the rough and ready type, the big macho ones and I don't particularly get on well with.

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  4. The homeless can be quite a mixed bag, but your hells angel, or Mr T type, this place is full of them and after a bit of banter wiv em ... they are like putty in my hands lol!

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