Words and images

Margaret, my lovely wife, is an artist whose media is photographs mediated and manipulated by Photoshop. So we go to all sorts of exhibition openings, like the one in the old wool shed a few days ago. It was the usual sort of opening. Drinks, snacks, people milling around, talking. A speech to open it.

Fortunately, the speaker did not clothe his talk in, what is to me, the usually incomprehensible ‘art speak’. Plain speaking, he was. Much appreciated.

Again, I was reminded that openings are not so much about presenting the art works to the public and taking sales, though these are certainly some of their intents. Rather, it seems to me that openings are primarily the opportunity for artists and other interested parties to network, to check up on what other artists are doing and to explore the latest trends and fashions in art. All worthy tasks.

On the other hand, as a somewhat interested party—interested in my wife’s art practice certainly—I tend to use openings to try to make sense of the art and what art is generally. I wander from work to work, often fighting my way through the milling interested parties, trying to understand what the artist(s) are saying, if anything, and to see if I can make sense of what’s on offer. Usually, I fail in these endeavours. Art, and what constitutes art, remains nebulous, a fog bound view of what I am told is a wonderful world of meaningful visual sensations, allegory and often social commentary.

So it is not so surprising, then, that I usually find those who attend these events to be of more interest than the works themselves. And when one of the exhibiting artists performs for the cameras of the interested parties I get a greater insight into the nature of that artist than ever I could through their art.

In the same way, my photographic interactions with those attending informs my deepening understanding of humanity and the perversity of people. Some notice me; some ignore me. Some willingly participate in my photographs; others question my activities—indirectly or directly.

Overall, my sense is that art exhibition openings, like the art itself, reflect the human desire for creativity, social interaction, acceptance by others and personal growth (by both the artists and interested parties). Even if the openings are costumed in incomprehensible  ‘art speak’. As such, therefore, art exhibition openings are performances. Artistic performances. Installations even. Transient art. Invisible art. Human interaction as art. Perversity as art.