The Cooler Colours art exhibit by Hans Feyerabend accompanies the New Musical Revue “The Water Coolers” at the Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre Coral Gables -
OPENING NIGHT: JULY 7,2004 6:30 pm, the Revue starts at 8 pm
Come to the opening on Wednesday and receive a ticket to the show for $20 (regular $35), please RSVP via the contact form or call 305-444-9293 (www.actorsplayhouse.org)
For more information of the opening night visit www.actorsplayhouse.org/news_watercoolers_opening.htm
Below: Selection of paintings on display, click images to enlarge |
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"Couple"
2004, Acrylic on Canvas, 36" x 36"
Image will be uploaded soon. |
"Meeting"
2004, Acrylic on Canvas, 36" x 36"
Image will be uploaded soon. |
In committing the “Cooler Coulours” to canvas playing on the theme of “The Water Coolers” musical, I realized that a somewhat ordinary image of a group of office clerks huddled about in a corner and exchanging the latest jokes or gossip did not visually whet the appetite, per se. Therefore, I approached the theme from a conceptual perspective with the question: What does the water cooler stand for and why?
The water cooler is a contemporary version of an ancient meeting point - the watering hole in the desert. It is the oasis incarnate, the perpetual source indifferent to man or beast offering vital rejuvination and fostering a moment of exchange. In some respects, this modern day oasis saves man from wallowing in the doldrums of the otherwise socially dry office landscape. The water cooler echoes a primal pattern for today’s office workers, this time dutifully clad in uniforms of sorts, surviving day-to-day in emotionally barren surrounds. This is clearly exhibited in the old, “it’s not personal, it’s business” adage. In such an environment, the workers may be prude or crude in the water cooler’s presence but either way, the human behaviour is certainly a spectacle.
The series of paintings incites the imagination and encourages unique interpretations by each viewer. For instance, in the work entitled, “The Office Party” a person might visually gravitate toward and seek out the whimsical office comedian, the guarded mailroom clerk, or the “cool and collected” office superior amidst a bustling cast of characters in the overall scene. In, “7 women” and “Hallway” multifaceted relationships such as attraction, distance, love, hate, etcetera unfold out of the canvases through the communicative language of color and shape. Both the solitude of an individual and the interaction of the gathered masses at the cooler resonates in the paints.
The water cooler itself is a static object. It is the constant. We rely on the premise that the water is pure, and we may have it hot or cold. Oddly enough, the people flocking to it may too be hot or cold; though the chances are they are not pure. That is where the fun begins and the scenes are wide open to interpretation, in both the visual and performing art pieces.
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