A new window installation by abstract artist, Kathy Williams, has sparked debate in Sandown.
Boojum and Snark, the micro-brewery and bar at the bottom of the High Street, has been a strong advocate of The Arts since it opened in the autumn of 2019.
Over the last three years, the venue has commissioned several art projects, supporting a range of artists.
This Time: This Place
This Time: This Place by Sandown-based artist, Kathy Williams, is the latest addition to the growing catalogue of cultural content at Boojums.
Tracy Mikich from Boojum&Snark explains,
“The installation can be viewed as a contemplation of the end of one year and the beginning of another or the end of one moment and the beginning of another.
“To do this, Kathy has taken elements of emotions and activities associated with this time of year and created gestures of movement and colour that are assembled into the spaces that run along the windows of Boojum&Snark.
“Each mark has its own space, yet is linked to the whole. The pieces could be assembled in many different ways but for now, they sit together like this.”
Rude, vitriolic, misunderstood
When photos of the new installation were showcased on social media, they were initially met with dissenting voices, some pretty vitriolic.
These included comments such as:
“I’m sorry but that looks like it’s been done by vandals, my 4 year old could make that mess. Not trying to be rude but it just adds to the run down look of sandown.”
“The emperor is wearing no clothes.”
“I’m glad you cleared up the fact it’s art.. drove past and thought you had been vandalised.”
“I take it you let a 5 year old loose with some paint pots.”
“It looks like vandalism.”
“It’s a bleeding mess, our high street looks bad enough as it is, without somebody paying to make it even worse.”
“Sandown is so run down and this doesn’t help improve the look of Sandown at all ,just looks like another trashed place, there are definitely so many better ways of doing art and expression”
“I understand art is free expression but who the hell pays an artist who is supposed to be fully qualified at the Royal art school to vandalise a shop front. Sandown is a mess as it is so we don’t need it looking worse. I can understand the shop doing up but not so no one goes in there”
“I dnt get it !! I really dnt, and I’m not uneducated”
“Yeah the kids had the same idea in Sandown and graffitied all over the wall.”
And
“It’s absolute cr*p and looks like a child has done it, but people believe they are very cool and trendy if they say it’s wonderful.”
A tidal wave of support
However, it wasn’t long before those supporting the work of the artist stepped in to praise Kathy and Boojums for their ambassadorial role in The Arts.
These included:
“It’s great art, thank you for showcasing it. Sometimes we need to ‘push boundaries’ and explore what others might view as odd or unconventional. But that doesn’t make it wrong or absurd. Be proud of what you’ve done here- it looks great!”
“Same old frothing at the audacity of a little colour. It’s a tiny set of temporary window vinyls in a venue explicitly set up to provide gallery space for local makers and artists. Boojum is doing exactly what it was set up to do and thank god for that. You don’t have to like this display, who knows, you might like the next. Oh, and if you really believe that these windows are going to send the passing public into a palsy of despair over the town’s decay, I’d suggest your sense of perspective might need recalibrating.”
“I love how provocative this is!”
“BOOJUMS deserves a medal tbh. In a town with next to no paid opportunities for Young creatives, they’ve consistently championed young artists and given them PAYING chances to exhibit and perform within the community. Do I love everything that’s been exhibited? No. But that’s beside the point. Part of the blessing (and curse) of art is that you aren’t going to love EVERYTHING. If you don’t enjoy this piece, odds are you might have enjoyed the works by Lauran Fry, Sapphire Goss, Matilda Lines or Clare Speight. Maybe you’ll enjoy the next installation. Maybe not. But It’s sort of hilarious to me that people decry Sandown as being stuck in the past and falling apart, but cant objectivly see the benefits of any attempt to bring younger voices into the town.“
“Ah mission accomplished I’d say, art is supposed to get a reaction and it’s definitely done that it seems. Well done Boojum&Snark! I like the movement in this piece and will have to come and see it myself.”
“The Shock of the new in Sandown. Colour, change transience, reaction and conversation. Exactly how people places and spaces are meant to be interacting . Bravo Boojum for not being afraid, to give a window on the world over to artists to express something meaningful and of the moment.”
“Thanks to Boojums for bringing imagination, colour and interest to our moribund High Street. As well as serving great beer! Let’s reserve criticism for those who let local landmarks burn and decay, or who litter, foul and deface public property.”
“I think it looks great and it’s different. We shouldn’t fear differences. Well done to you guys and keep up the good work.”
And this final comment, that we felt deserves to be reproduced in full.
“Great work Boojum&Snark, a brave move that I imagine has already achieved exactly what it set out to do.
“So here goes, for what it’s worth here are my thoughts, not on the artwork but the responses to it. I think the public reactions you’re getting to the artwork are exactly what art is meant to do, i.e. to stir emotions of one sort or another. It’s interesting that some folks interpret their emotional response to the artwork as meaning it must be a joke or a trick. I do understand this feeling. I think there are a few reasons why some folks might feel this way. One reason could be that abstract art simply doesn’t depict recognisable objects or scenes,….I think this can make it difficult for some to understand what the artist is trying to convey, and as a result, they might feel that the art is unnecessarily obscure and confusing and that it is being used as a trick to mislead or deceive the viewer (the emperor’s clothes scenario folks have alluded to). Being tricked or conned is embarrassing, and embarrassment is a very powerful emotion that most of us will work quite hard to avoid if we can.
“Also, abstract art is by definition highly subjective, and folks can have very different interpretations of the same artwork. Is it mostly this that seems to be creating disagreement and debate about the meaning and value of your artwork? Also, I wonder if, without recognising the value in their emotional responses, some experience anger because they feel the artist is trying to be intentionally vague, provocative or enigmatic in order to create confusion or controversy? Whatever is going on it’s pretty clear that some folks simply don’t appreciate or understand abstract art, and therefore will naturally want to label it as a joke, a mess, or a waste of time and resources.
“It’s probably worth remembering that a negative response to abstract art is not necessarily a ‘wrong’ response, and it doesn’t in any way diminish the value of the work itself….more likely the opposite is true I’d say! An artwork that commands zero public response would be a proper failure I’d have thought.
“If an artist makes something and says it’s art, then it’s art. I think it’s important to respect and appreciate different responses to art, even if they are not in line with our own. As I said earlier, I think this artwork has already done what all good artworks do, and have done throughout history,…it has created a public reaction. When it’s gone I suspect it will remain in the minds of those who love it and those who hate it equally!”
Mikich: It’s colourful, liquid and uplifting and floats my boat
In response to the feedback from social media commentators, Tracy Mikich told News OnTheWight,
“Who would have thought Kathy’s window installation, This Time This Place, would have caused such a splash, rousing so many feelings! Kathy actually lives in Sandown and has an MA from the prestigious Royal College of Art. I love the abstract representation of feelings conveyed in free flowing and crafted marks.
“It’s colourful, liquid and uplifting and floats my boat. In many ways, I have enjoyed Sandown’s community having a debate about the merits of modern art in others ways, especially when our project has been attacked, maybe not so much but nurturing culture and creativity as well as offering up different perspectives is part of our mission.
“You never know Sandown could become Hackney by the sea!”
Williams: I’m so happy so many people have had something to say about this work
Kathy told News OnTheWight,
“I felt honoured to have been given the opportunity to create a painting in response to the place of Boojum&Snark, Sandown, community and the time of year.
“ThisTime: This Place is a painting created on site and arranged in real space. Instead of looking at a framed enclosed painting, people can walk or sit amongst the marks, the relationship of colours and marks changes as viewpoints move.
“I am also a teacher and am so happy so many people have had something to say about this work. It is a very good thing!
“Bravo to the vision and hard work Boojum has to give opportunities to islanders and artists to engage in local and universal debate about contemporary culture.”
Just the Place exhibition
If you have enjoyed the art projects hosted by Booojum&Snark over the last three years you should head to Quay Arts in Newport next month.
From Saturday 11th February to Saturday 6th April 2023, Boojum&Snark will be hosting Just the Place – an exhibition exploring the role of placemaking in Boojum & Snark’s cultural projects.
There’ll be work on display from all creative practitioners who have helped “to conjure unique cultural content that weaves threads of Sandown into the present”.
“Just the place for a Snark!” is the opening line of Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem, The Hunting of the Snark, which he began whilst on holiday in Sandown.
See the Boojum and Snark Website for more information about the latest project.
Follow Kathy Williams on Instagram to see her latest work.
The comments reproduced above were left on Sandown Hub, Our Sandown and Boojum&Snark’s social media pages.
Article edit
10.25am 6th Jan 2023 – Quote from KW added
Images: © Jim Elston, Kathy Williams, Simon Avery
