The Open Air Drawing Room by Eric MacLennan

Описание: The Open Air Drawing Room by Eric MacLennan.
www.ericmaclennan.com

The project is an example of socially engaged art practice.
The work crosses boundaries between performance and painting.
The project is a celebration of the collective effort.

The Open Air Drawing Room has been co-commissioned by the Turner Contemporary in Margate and Applause Rural Touring.
www.turnercontemporary.org
www.applause.org.uk

It is a combination of performance and painting. It offers participants of all ages the opportunity to engage with a large scale example of the collective effort to collaborate in the making of a monumental painting. This artwork was exhibited at Turner Contemporary in Margate from 6th October 2019 - 12th January 2020. The work is inspired by the innovative techniques of JMW Turner and the ideas of John Ruskin.
Two pieces were exhibited during this period...
A SEA OF FACES - A monumental painting produced by combining over 500 individual watercolours into a single harmonious whole.
A SHOW OF HANDS - A large photographic installation of all the contributors hands displayed together on the gallery terrace.

By way of brief background to the commission that has created this work,
Applause Rural Touring subsidise art events that to go rural fairs and festivals, often in areas of low participation in the arts. Turner Contemporary (as co-commissioners) wanted an innovative performance piece that would tour Kent and Sussex and encourage people to visit the gallery during the year in which it hosted the Turner Prize. My idea was that the best way to encourage members of the public to visit the gallery would be if their own work was displayed there! And so The Open Air Drawing Room was born.
In this work everyone is invited to paint a stone from a collection of thirty-one stones that correspond to the thirty-one shipping areas around the British Isles.
It begins En Plein Air with a performance..
But this is no ordinary show - for the audience are drawn into the group!
Everyone makes their own painting. With gentle encouragement everyone is involved. The environment is warm - there is nothing intimidating. Everyone paints! All the paintings are beautiful.

Each painting is of a single stone.
A stone that was once a mountain.
A stone that - like us - is in a state of transition.
A stone that will one day be a grain of sand on a beach.
Somewhere.
These stones were old when Turner was young.
They will still be here when we are gone.
We consider Time.
We consider Art.

This project invites the public to engage in setting the world record for a painting that has been created by the largest number of artists ever! The participants in this socially engaged art project were invited to attend a launch/private-view exhibition of this work in Margate and to meet one another.

This work engages people who don’t often engage with the arts in a public environment and offers something of lasting value, i.e. a celebration of friendship and connection. This seems to have a particular relevance now given the current divisions and lack of connection in the world.

The heart of my practice looks at what it is to be human, celebrating the wonder of our life, in an accessible way with humour, giving space for the audience to complete the picture.

The approach is part inspired by the philosophical writings of Xavier de Maistre, which offer a way of looking at the world differently, so that the everyday and the mundane appear extraordinary and new.

The performances all take place in public spaces and participation is free of charge. The work is accessible to all ages. It has visited outdoor festivals of all sizes as well as being offered in intimate indoor settings. There is very little text so language is no barrier. The work is gentle, comic and encouraging; it attracts those who don’t often engage with the arts. There was a private view at the Turner Contemporary on 6th October this year, to which many participants attended, thrilled to see their work in a gallery. The 500+ participants are now all founder members of this new collective of artists. This collective is called "The Open Air Drawing Room". It is my hope that this collective will become very large and include people from many places and backgrounds.

The filmed performance took place at Turner Contemporary on 21st December 2019 - it was one of several rare indoor versions. The current total of paintings (and members of the collective) is now 633. The project is continuing to collect new members. Watch this space! www.ericmaclennan.com

Created by Eric MacLennan.

Performed by
Eric MacLennan
Helen Morse-Palmer
Jane Nash
Mike Rogers
Sabina Netherclift

Film by Maya Avidov and Jeremy Fowler
www.mayaavidov.com
www.newlerfilms.com

Music: "Acoustic Breeze" by BenSound
www.bensound.com

Thanks to the Almeida Theatre and London Bubble for workshop and rehearsal facilities and to CASS ART fo their sponsorship.
www.almeida.co.uk
www.londonbubble.org.uk
www.cassart.co.uk