“A Clown Painting A Dory ” Gerri Lynn Mackey

Location: Majestic Lawn, Corner Brook, NL

Date: August 29th/2009

Time: During the Farmers Market

Description:

Gerri Lynn Mackey, wearing a clown suit, will execute a mural using her hair/ponytail exclusively as the paintbrush. This extremely physical performance will yield the image of a dory anchored at the beach. As part of the performance smaller painted editions of the same image will be available for purchase at the Farmers Market. (pending approval)

Artist Statement:
A Clown Painting a Dory is a satirical performance. Dories are primarily commercial art imagery yet I approach from a fine art perspective. By painting in such an obscure way, I attempt to attach the humble boat to performance art. Sometimes this type of art can be intimidating, there is a sense that the public does not want to interfere. I aim to draw the crowd closer by extruding a safe, familiar scene.
In the same breathe, let in be known that amid the local fine art community the dory is something of a thorn. Redundancy coupled with a lack of intellectual content destroy the boat as subject matter (I suspect). The dory represents the infallible practical engineering and hard working history of this province. Conversely it is a symbol, as well, of the division between fine art and commercial art in the Maritimes.
In resolving to do this I was faced with the quest of finding the ’perfect’ commercial dory. The satirical element of this piece hinges on the generic nature of the image. The boat (that had to be orange and green) was discovered in the town of Gillams, NL. I worked from one photograph that seemed to capture the essence of ‘tourist art’, painting smaller editions on inexpensive canvas. In order to paint utilizing my ponytail I must familiarize myself with the spatial relationships of the image at hand. The by-product turned out to be product, ready for the open market at a low low price. Don’t you want to own a piece of Newfoundland Performance Art?