I have just read my last post and, well, I survived! In fact the evening of 100 Greetings in Norwich was unexpectedly mild and my cold abated slightly so all went well. There was a great deal of support from Outpost Gallery – a small crew of supporters and photographers followed me around the designated area of the market, snapping greetings as they went. Haven't got the photos yet, but will post them on the blog when they arrive.
There was a marked difference between the people of Norwich and Liverpool. The famous northern warmth certainly outshone the Norfolk reserve, however this must be understood in the light of the nature of the audience. In Liverpool I was greeting people who had already chosen to visit a gallery and were expecting an 'art experience' – in Norwich people were desperately trying to get their Christmas shopping done and my intervention was either a pleasant diversion or an outright nuisance. The Norfolk responses were markedly polarized. Nevertheless, I made another 38 friends, bringing the total number of greetings to 89 – only 11 left to make the hundred.
Since writing this and my previous post Christmas has come and gone and I have had some good family time. I have also been able to get into the studio which has resulted in some new drawings.
So, belated Happy Christmas and Happy New Year to all Bloggers!
Tomorrow is the second performance of 100 Greetings and I have a cough cold and am shivering. It does not augur well and I admit I am not looking forward to performing in the freezing night air of Norwich. The forecast does not cheer me up – it predicts below zero temperatures so I am pinning my hopes on the warmth of reception I hope to receive from the Norwich community.
I have at least managed to do some applications and much overdue admin work today – backing up all my files and sorting imagery. And have made some strides forward with a project I am planning in collaboration with friend and fellow artist Helen Rousseau. So some new things appearing on the horizon.
If I am still alive I will report back on the second outing of 100 Greetings!
Happily I have an opportunity to continue to make new friends through the work 100 GREETINGS. I will continue the work as part of the current show at Outpost Gallery in Norwich. I intend to carry on from the 51 greetings already made at A Foundation in Liverpool in a second attempt to reach the magic 100. This is home ground for me as I am based in East Anglia and I am keen to see if there is a difference in response between people from Liverpool and those down south.
The piece has the potential to be very different since I will perform it in the market place to a non arts audience who may well be more concerned with purchasing Christmas gifts during late night shopping than being part of a performance.
Similarly my attire of different gloves (rubber, cotton, textured) may not affect my future friends with their tactility as they are very likely to be wearing gloves themselves in the cold evening weather.
To keep the work in mind here is another image from Liverpool
