Despite unexpectedly and unseasonably turning into one of the hottest days of the year, nearly 100 people attended the launch event of theViewergallery on Saturday 1st October 2011, held in The Original Gallery, London N8.
Seven of the ten exhibiting Moving Image artists attended, some of whom helped enormously in setting up and taking down.
theViewergallery is all about being resourceful and adaptable. We made a makeshift screening room using available partitions. I had brought my projector and also backup technology in the shape of a TV, and showed the screening on both simultaneously, starting at different times. I love multiple screens and hope to show more in this way. The eye moves from one to the other, makes choices and connections.
Transmission 1 Drawing
Heather Barnett
Parul Gupta
Paul Harrison
Jacky Hutson
Colin Legge
Eleanor MacFarlane
Duncan McKellar
Michael Szpakowski
Tom Walker
theLongLine has made a magnificent start in its quest to grow. This was really its trial run, and everything went smoothly, apart from next time I will have somewhere for all the pencil sharpenings to go. Even the youngest children got what they had to do. I was amazed by how much time people spent on drawing their part of this project, and then enjoying adding their piece to the line. My next big task is to scan each piece and create a moving Image from them, which I will show and add to every time I repeat this project. I have a system to record names and contributions, but also have several anonymous pieces.
The Moving Image will be on theViewergallery virtual space - this site.
We had a couple of extra drawing activities – one set up by a helper for the day, Anna Rootes – a roll of paper taped to the floor, which started off with people tracing their feet and drawing their journey to the gallery. It was very popular and gathered some magnificent and anonymous contributions.
We also made a wall-based Post It Notes Portrait Gallery. I had collected a multitude of shapes, sizes and colours of post it notes. Again, there were some wonderful pieces. I have them all still, and will certainly in time make something with this magnificent resource – perhaps an animation.
We had a pop up shop selling theViewergallery handmade-corporate items – badges, magnets, bookmarks. I had produced a printed catalogue for the Transmission 1 screening, and had small framed stills to sell, and exhibiting artists brought other items. Again, this is a venture I will repeat, as I love making objects and devising multiples, and have concocted many devices and prototypes over the years. I am planning my next batches of art objects, and will also set up a facility to sell online.
The other piece of the day, Absolute Magnitude, I am not as yet adding to this report, as we MA students are keeping it secret from each other until we have all shown it. However, I’ll just note that one lady pulled up a chair and spend at least 40 minutes in front of it, just looking, looking, looking.
Overall, theViewergallery made a satisfying debut, creating connections between artists, furthering the cause of Moving Image, launching ongoing projects and enterprises, and celebrating Drawing in many forms. It’s a wonder how many signs, stands, easels, blackboards and so on I already had around my home, and how much now belongs to theViewergallery, waiting for its next occasion.
Many thanks to
Magnus Hannah Jon Liam Anna Colin Duncan Paul Heather Terry
Eleanor MacFarlane 2011
6th October 2011
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