A Festival Get-Together
posted by: Imogen Semmler 31st July 2010
Festival Saturday sees Splendid 2010/2011 Artists & Provocateurs come together for a chat about what they are witnessing. Artists have been encouraged to become observers and given a set of tasks: Follow a stranger for thirty minutes, what do they do? What do you notice about the lighting and what spaces are dark? What are the most disposed of materials on site? What are the rituals involved in attending a Festival? What do you notice about the politics and the heirarchies of access? What about the 'tribes' of different groups of people? Artists are encouraged to collect objects from around the site, to photograph, record and write about their observations, to interact and talk to punters, to exclude certain senses and see what they notice. There can be so much meaning found in simply observing a Festival, and it is these simple observations which could easily form the core of an idea which may then become an artwork in 2011.
Post meeting I’m off to interview punters as part of a survey put together by Splendid. The first question is very revealing as to the demographic of punters at this Festival ‘How often would you visit an art gallery or a theatre in a year? 0, 1-5, 5-10, 10+?’. Nearly everyone is 0 or 1-5. So you could say that the people I interviewed aren't regular art watchers. Given the music line up at Splendour every year, it’s not difficult to conclude that people come to this festival for the music. But it’s interesting that pretty much everyone I spoke to believed that having art at Splendour was VERY IMPORTANT. Why? Here are some of the answers:
'Because music is art and so art should be here to compliment the music'
'Because it adds to the whole experience'
'Because it's something different to what I normally see at music festivals'
'It makes the site look good and adds to the atmosphere'
'It's quirky and gives Splendour character'
'Artwork can make for a good meeting place and talking point'
One guy answered NO ' because people were too trashed to notice the art' !
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