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12/07/2006: "Credit Cars"
On the surface nothing appears to have changed, the automobiles driving along the highway continue to be upgraded regularly, commerce continues to thrive, or so it seems, houses and other concrete structures pop up like mushrooms, holiday destinations keep getting more exotic, the list of goodies goes on and on. But I can feel in the undercurrents that the way things worked before I left in 2000 no longer works. I’ve allowed this to sink-in now. For good.
The middle class that supported the artistic boom of the 80’s and 90’s [in Portugal] has dwindled, reluctantly, to the point of insignificance, the economy doesn’t show signs of promise and it looks like the future is not too bright for those who have gotten used to the rhythm and amplitude of life bank loans and credit cards afforded so far.
Especially for those who insist, despite the danger signals, on contributing towards keeping up appearances. Pay back time is here, big time, and a harsh reality is upon us all. Not that I’ve got any mortgages or sums pending – I’ve never been in a favourable position to approach a bank for a loan, and though I do have a credit card it is just a useful method to pay for certain things within my means, and I use it exclusively as a debit card.
But it’s a harsh prospect nevertheless, if only to see the despair and helplessness in people’s expressions in the face of the difficulties their own choices feed. The cycle is vicious. Previously agreed upon interest rates are on the rise [there were never any guarantees of stability in the small print], jobs are lost at the snap of a finger, hundreds of homes are being repossessed and auctioned as we speak, families torn asunder [because they have unlearnt how to stick together in the face of adversity], and, I fear, the worst is yet to come: Europe may be a fine ideal, I have no doubts about that, but we’re merely entering the chrysalis and the metamorphosis is yet to come. The most difficult thing to witness is the divide that is becoming more noticeable between the increasingly rich and the growing poor. My greatest doubt is whether the resulting transmutation will ever manage to redress the situation… and at what cost!
If I paint a bleak picture it is certainly not because I feel gloomy. My life-choices have enabled me to upkeep a secure position somewhere in the middle, but from where it now hurts to look both ways. The plight may not have hit other parts of Europe yet, and there are, of course, people in other parts of the world that are far worse off, but that is not the point. I am here and I can only write to you from where I stand.
And from where I stand I have come to recognize that some changes are needed if, in 10, 20 years time, I still wish to find myself in a position where, having advanced, I still manage to keep out of harm's way and need not struggle with superfluous worries. I’m not talking of planning ahead, there can be no planning ahead, especially not for an artist. I’ve explained before how my five-year plans aren’t really fixed plans but a means to reassess the situation and steer a course along paths I see opening up before me [without too much useless banging on closed doors].
Point of the matter is: Art isn’t selling. Or rather, at a certain level – the one I could rely on before – people aren’t buying. In spite of my positive outlook and stubbornness in carrying on, sales have not happened in great numbers this past year. In fact, to be truthful, sales have not made up for the time and energy invested in the ventures I got involved in to show my work – money, thank God, was not so much of an issue because costs were shared and we kept them low.
So, what to do?
My move to [OD] has been timely. The luxury of the hermit condition I was able to fall back on until now would have been unsustainable for very much longer. To be so far removed from it all, paint the days away, and come out of my ‘cave’ once or twice a year to show the results, no longer produces results. It was good while it lasted. The time has come to snap out of it!
I now have less space and more interference. The magical garden is gone, as are the birds that chirped outside my studio door or the sound of water from the brook and from the fountains. Concrete and glass reverberate to the sound of men discussing football results and football policies in rowdy voices, as if they could change the world and make it more bearable. The odour of not-too-appetizing-foods impregnates my clothes and my body as the restaurant next door to us gets up to speed come lunch time. But I still don’t regret the move.
No sooner the bricks came down I started white-washing the walls and ceiling and carted my things over. Rui insisted that I recreate the shrine-like atmosphere I had at my old studio so I brought everything along; dirty, paint-splattered carpets and all. It’s still not 100% functional but I’m there, getting used to the new sounds and smells, diving into some of the pieces still in progress that I carried over, visualising what I’ll be doing to them when the confusion settles down.
But most importantly – and this is something I am only able to realise now – I am exposed. My work and, well, myself, are seen daily. I had never thought it would make such a difference.
What we have going at [OD] is a situation where three artists and one industrial designer co-exist within a reasonably sized brick-and-mortar open-space setting that functions within the Musical Society of the town where we live. Hence the smells and sounds from the adjacent restaurant and, on Fridays and Saturdays, the added attraction of Karaoke evenings for bath-robe-sopranos and aspiring soap-opera-divas. It’s quite bearable really, and great fun. We paint and we design and we hold courses and workshops for the extra money. The workshops and courses are affordable experiences. We don’t do it for the money, but the extra money that comes in helps.
[OD] has slowly evolved in the past year and we now also have an art gallery that functions in the Hall of the theatre where an independent thespian troupe [wholly unrelated to the Music Society] holds its plays, and casts and trains the above mentioned aspiring soap-opera-divas over the weekends. This is good, this is good! I’m not knocking the aspirations of the fine young men and ladies who seek to be actors. By no means! Though I do question the motives and the prices the promoters charge, as I question too the Machine they run and feed: most of these soap-operas perpetuate the very myths that lead to rampant consumerism and a certain life-style I hinted at above. I guess they are in the business of selling dreams – in both directions – and if people are willing and able to pay a high price for their dreams, no harm will come of that. I have no doubts that some of the kids will be able to move on to more serious acting if they persevere, though I continue to doubt the picture that is painted on the screen will induce a healthy reality.
Moving on.
Slowly, but surely, over the past months, friendly and productive interaction with the public and our neighbours within the building has grown. We are helping out in the re-styling of the restaurant, and the restaurant owners, enthused, are programming a wider array of culinary surprises that in turn may attract more people to stay longer. If [OD] happens to have a special visitor on a particular day, or after an exhibition, it is always a plus to be able to arrange for a meal. We are all benefiting from this, and the Music Society, which has long ceased to be as active as it once was, is happy to keep us.
People are starting to hear about the project and responding. Other artists, recently graduated from art school, have approached us wishing to collaborate and hold their own workshops within [OD], and we are scheduling some of them for next year. We’ve actually had to be selective and turn propositions down! In a country where culture gets a bad reputation for asking for funds [it hardly ever receives], we’re doing something with 0 – zero – funds, beyond our own input and the money from the workshops… and it feels alive. So much so, that critics and curators and collectors have started to take an interest in what is happening here.
So, what IS happening here? I guess we are working against the general trend. A trend that calls for overexposure and superficiality in fierce bids not to be wiped off the screen. We are trying to bring the ‘human’ element back into the equation, slowing down the clock to a rhythm that can be taken in and enjoyed. We have removed ourselves from the rat-race… because all four of us realize that the system no longer provides a sensible way to go about things and we want to find and implement new ways to Be and live as artists. To make the time and space to produce the Art WE want to produce. In the next couple of years we hope to solidify this project and I foresee a greater dynamic developing from the interaction with our community, which in turn may attract attention on our individual work as artists.
Individuals have stopped buying meaningful works of art – meaningful meaning, ones significantly sized to pay the bills! In an attempt to get to the next stage – to aim for the attention of corporations, curators, critics and museums who still have the power to buy or influence significant purchases –, circumventing a gallery system that is facing a crisis, holds on to its own private stable and has no intention of calling on outsiders on equitable terms, we have diluted our egos and combined forces in the hope of generating an alternative that works.
Are we fools?
At least from this new vantage point we can catch a glimpse of sunnier days.
[ps. – Difficult times have the benefit of getting us off our butts and shaking about the creative juices. I recently came up with a new addition for the ‘Brain Hemispheres’ series of multi-media installations I plan to do (when the right moment comes). I still don’t want to reveal the Borneo one, but I’ll let you in on the title: M&M’s, like the chocolate but with another meaning, of course. The one representing my present passage through Portugal will be titled CC, or Credit Cars, in a satirical allusion to credit facility and the modern-day miracle of the multiplication of automobiles. Seven of these installations would be a good number, one for each day of the week… come to think of it, SS would be good for Sundays… Sin and Salivation?]
[ps.2 – À propos Salvation: I wish you all a joyous Christmas season. May you all recognize your path in 2007, and may it lead you to prosperity as you travel along it in health and happiness. josé]
