The Mural Project...

There is so much I could say about this project of painting the mural.  I am going to focus on the technical this evening.  My next blog will be more about my thoughts and reactions to the past 10 days here working with the artists. 

We last left off when the two groups had completed their drawings and we were in the process of discussing ways to transfer them to the big wall.  It wasn't surprising they came up with two different methods of doing this.  The morning group made hundreds of tiny holes following the outline of the drawing.  They then taped the drawing to the wall and took a dye powder and rubbed it into the holes.  When the drawing was removed, they had a dotted line to follow that they then filled in with pencil.  The afternoon group emptied packets of dye on the back of the drawing, taped it to the wall and retraced their lines to create the drawing.  They, too, filled in with pencil to make it more visible.  Here are some pictures...

Morning group making holes.

Afternoon group spreading dye.

Stamping the dye through the holes to transfer the drawing to the wall.

Tracing their lines to transfer the drawing to the wall.

We also had to prep our paint by mixing colorant into a mixture of diluted glue and white house paint. This took some time, but this is how they make several different colors from the primary colors we purchased. 

So..are you dying to see the work..the wall with paint..their progress?  I know you are wondering how this all worked out..how they worked together on the wall and the results of their efforts thus far.  I am reminded very often by certain artists how this workshop is already very successful because the artists are engaged, they continue to show up every day at their scheduled time and they work hard.  I am also reminded that this working on one thing together..collectively...is very new.  Painting a mural together is new.   And I see how people are getting used to communicating better with each other.  I have also been encouraging this more and more--almost insisting that it happen.  For a mural project, it is better to plan a bit where the colors are going for harmony, balance, etc.  I found the first group is very good at this...they might not agree with each other all the time, but they discuss.  Yes, because I ask them to discuss, but so what..it is all new to them and I think they see the benefits of their conversations.  I am not sure I care that I am orchestrating it..I just like it that it is happening.  The afternoon group seems to not want to discuss anything but instead attack the wall and react later.  They are actually a day ahead of the other group.  Today they accomplished a lot, but many comments were made to me and not to the person working on a specific area.  They feel more comfortable with me critiquing than themselves.  This is my point of view.  I could be reading it completely wrong.  I have more to say on communication in this workshop, but I will leave it for another time.  I want to post our progress. So here are the two groups working and  their progress as of the end of today.

Morning Group

Morning Group after one day.  This is 2 meters by 5 meters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afternoon Group on their second day.

Both sides as they are currently. The artists decided to make one big mural instead of two.  2 meters by 10 meters.

What do you think so far?  I am interesting to hear from you a bit now...

Art lesson at a public school..

I arrived just before 8am this morning at a Mauritanian public school.  It is their day of rest (our Sunday) before the work week starts tomorrow.  The children were slow to arrive in the beginning but then before we knew it we had the 20 students we planned for and a few more!  Here is the outside of the school.  Kane and Ami came with me.

The room was very simple if not sparse.  There were places to sit and write and there was a blackboard as well.  I found Arabic written on the board in the room we were using. 

I decided to teach them about crayons and watercolor.  I demonstrated how the crayon resists the watercolors and how patterns and details show up when color is applied carefully to the paper.  If they loved the idea of this, they did not show any indication.  I was completely at a loss as to whether they even liked the idea of it.  I tried to have a conversation with them to spark ideas in their head about imagery and how to use the materials to convey their ideas.  The question I posed was: "Since I have just arrived in Mauritania, what are some things you could tell me about that are unique to Mauritania?" What do people eat, wear, do?  Where do they live? Do people all live in the same kind of house?  What does the desert look like?" And so on.  Puuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllling teeth!  I finally realized this kind of "conversation" doesn't happen here.  Just like with the artists, the students aren't used to giving their opinion so freely  They can give a right answer, but the whole idea of sharing a thought is more foreign to them.  So, I started asking the children for an answer. I specifically called on them to answer...and then it started to flow. Phew!!!!  They got going quickly after we had enough ideas out there.  They worked very quietly and carefully.  The students did get the concept and when they started their second piece, I could see they applied what they learned from the first sheet of paper.  I was happy with the results even if their skill level wasn't what it could be with more instruction. 

It was only when I was about to leave that they all came out of their shell and started to talk to me, hold my hand, take pictures with me and with their art.  They were very happy we left the materials with them..as you might be able to imagine.  We also took a group photo..which everyone LOVED!!!!  I am not sure why they all look so serious in the photo though..few smiles.  The white t-shirts are compliments of the US Embassy..their flag and ours...

Trip to the market..

It is Friday today..which means, it is the weekend!  I didn’t go to the workshop this morning.  Instead, I went to Moroccan market here in Nouakchott to buy vegetables and fruits for the week.  I went with Zeina, who knows the market very well.  We took a taxi there…and lived to tell the tale..I will leave my description of driving or riding here for another blog.  It really deserves it own page.  I can’t wait to film my commute to the museum every day.  Back to this morning…I always feel at ease in food markets.  I love going and seeing hundreds of piles of vegetables and thousands of bags with the tiniest amount of a spice or ingredient used in the daily preparations of a particular dish.  It is a common place for people to gather too. Although here, I don’t know if everyone shops or if they have their housekeepers shop. It is a quiet day for market on Fridays because people are relaxing on their day off.  Zeina showed me where the trucks come in to drop their goods.  She told me it was a short drive from Morocco to Nouakchott, Mauritania…only three days or so.  As we walked towards the main building, we passed the Malian market.  I knew it was Malian immediately because of the smells..the incense they make mixed in with tamarind and this kind of homemade soap in a ball.  There is a market in Dakar that sells the exact same items.  We walked into the inside market and it was really quite large.  Big..with lots of stands and produce everywhere.  The flies were fierce, although they were much worse outside at the fruit stands.  I am pretty sure some traveled home with us.  We walked around the market and Zeina asked for prices.  I liked listening for the change in language while she negotiated…first the local Arabic, then into Woloff and back to Arabic and a little French too.  I asked what certain words meant so I can add them to my collection of market vocabulary.  So funny I can tell you how to say tomato, peppers, parsley and carrots in Moroccan Arabic but I can’t say I am going to the market to buy vegetables. Here are some pictures of the market.  I will use these images in my paintings probably. I am always so taken with the colors, forms, the way peoples' bodies move to accomplish their tasks at hand...weighing, counting, bagging, bending, reaching, etc.

Zeina buying vegetables

A question for the artists...

The question I am asking myself tonight is...In a country where in the past it wasn't acceptable for artists to paint figuratively because of the religion, how did this group actually find their passion or their voice?  How did they know they had to create and what made them decide to become artists?  I will ask them soon...stay tuned. 

Oh and by the way, I am wondering what makes me want to paint as well..why do I need to?  Here are some silly photos of us relaxing..pretending we are the next still-life. I like these moments.

And so the paintings begin...

First let me say that the morning group did not disappoint when it came to creating their drawing for the mural.  They were a lot more hesitant that I expected they would be. They did come around after I pushed them a bit.  I have heard quite a few times from observers and from the artists themselves, that working as a collective has not happened before this.  I have to remember this as we move forward with the project.  It is only normal that the artists might be a little shy at first.  The funny thing is, after three hours of drawing on this 2 meters by 5 meters paper, they understood the importance of communication..and then they absolutely did NOT hold back.  Mamadou Ann told Ridiaw that his drawing of a fisherman looked like a "Chinois" (Chinese person).  Everyone laughed.  They are beginning to share ideas, help others realize their visions...and even actually say when something is not working and offer a solution.  Maurice (who's name is really Morkis) told me today that this exercise is extremely important for their development.  He is a very experienced painter and his paintings are in the President's residence here in Mauritania.  An ally to me..he sees the merit in my observational drawing exercises.  So here is the mural and the last exercise that we did..a figure drawing!  Francesca, an Italian anthropology student writing her thesis on Artists in Mauritania, modeled for us.

So today...we actually started painting in the two groups too.  Since the first group had to do the drawing exercise, they didn't accomplish as much.  The afternoon group had almost three hours to paint.  There is this little dance I do between accepting their paintings and pushing them more to consider composition.  I think this is the biggest challenge.  I will perhaps influent one of them...You never know...I told them on Sunday (our Monday here) we will put the paintings out to critique while in progress.  This put the fear in some..I think that is a good thing...Maurice told me I should be even more challenging and than most people haven't had formal training or any drawing experience and that many start with abstract painting.  I do see trends but there are a few that really stand out as very talented.  

Mohamed Sidi

Dali

Hamadi

Morkis

Ahmed, Aicha and Amal

Bechir

The work continues...

I probably should take a night off..I did the other night but I wanted to share the progress made today by the afternoon class.  I think we have turned a corner today regarding our mural project and the overall feeling of working as a group.  We had 4 people identified as the leaders for this endeavor.  They were reluctant to start on the huge 2 meters by 5 meters paper we had taped to the wall, but basically I made them start by reminding them that they were chosen by their peers.  In this group the feeling was that all voices should be heard.  And so, they allowed each artist to contribute an element of their drawing to the big composition.  I stepped in from time to time, and pointed out trouble areas...especially in the beginning when the 4 "leaders" drew the largest drawings EVER across the paper. Funny. Until someone pointed out that they needed to save space for other drawings.  But you know..there was a lot of laughing and working and zinging and it was great...I watched the dynamic change before my very eyes...and it was very unexpected. They knew each other before..and they exhibit a lot together but the difference is they are relaxing in front of me...and with me.  This is a wonderful feeling.  I am including the drawing on paper for the mural from the afternoon group. Tomorrow the morning group will do the same thing...but I know the result will be completely different. 

 I love this picture of Bechir (in front), Hamadi (on the bottom) and Amal (in the back).

 

 Ahmed is a very talented artist.  He is unable to speak but almost everyone 

communicates with him by using sign language or gesturing. 

Thats all for tonight...more tomorrow..I am tired and must go to sleep...

First two days in the workshop....

Oooooooh my!  I am soooo thrilled and sooooo excited about this experience.  I am also very tired tonight. This was my second day for the workshop.  I have to say that it is going very well. The artists all seem very appreciative of the drawing exercises we are doing. Yesterday I asked them to draw this still-life that I set up with Mauritanian objects from the museum.  We talked about the elements of a good composition and I reminded them of things to remember like scale, perspective..observing and drawing what they see only...overlapping..etc.  There is a range in the groups and there is a difference between the two groups..the morning and the afternoon sessions.  The morning is mostly Afro-Mauritanian and the afternoon is mostly Moors.  The artists chose what session worked better for them.  I don't know if this was intentional.  I did notice though this coincidence.  I am a bit disappointed that they turned out to be not so diverse...and it is kind of ironic that our theme for both murals is "Cultural Diversity"..although I haven't pointed this out to them yet.  I don't feel bad writing about it because it is evident by looking at the two groups....here are the group photos in front of their future murals.  Hmmm.  

Morning Group

Afternoon Group

Getting ahead of myself..so, for the second lesson..I revisited the still-life..and asked them to choose only three objects to include from the same set up as yesterday.  I explained that many chose to include the whole still-life yesterday but that I was asking them to take a closer look..to explore what happens when they concentrate on three objects and FILL the page (which I keep slipping and calling plage--beach, lol).   Anyway, during the morning session's critique, they all said, "Yesterday we did things one way, thought a certain way..and now we see differently now that we have drawn these...we are already different artists. We have already improved.  You have opened our eyes."  And I have included below the first lesson...and the second lesson for you to see.  It wasn't to change their style..it was to have them consider some different elements when they are drawing compositions..that perhaps they will think about these things in their paintings.  That something could go off the page..or that negative and positive shapes became equally important.   The appreciation for the exercise was more subtle or slight in the second group but I know it was still there.   Here are some photos of the difference between days..

First Day

First Day

Second Day

Second Day

Second Day

The two groups also embraced the mural differently.   The first group can find a collective voice more easily..they listen to my questions and to each others' answers..and then decide as a group.  The second group seems to prefer having me tell them what I want or what to do, instead of them having to speak up and decide or to discuss options.  Alpha exclaimed, after I had been begging them for input..."Ohhh la democracie...on n'est pas habitue!" (Democracy, we are not used to it!)  Or after I asked them a question about HOW they were going to choose the imagery from each person's sketches for the mural, they said, "Michelle you give it a try and then we will tell you what we think". I gracefully declined that disaster waiting to happen..Better yet, after I said perhaps since they were having a hard time figuring out the answer to that question, why not choose two or three people to start that process for the group..and they said, "Michelle, you choose the three people."  I declined, this time not so gracefully--I may have sighed loudly.  Finally...and I mean finally, Dali (yup, same as the artist) said, " I pick, Bechir, Khaled and Maurice."  My picks in my head--wow!  And I asked if everyone was okay with it..and lo and behold, NO...someone had an opinion! What?!  We were missing a female voice.  Okay voila Aicha!  Now everyone finally accepted.  The thing is..they all actually have very strong opinions but Alpha was probably being a bit serious about his comment, they aren't used to discussing things in that manner. 

Btw..the wall will take three days to prep..there will be concrete added to create a smooth surface.  That might work with our drawing schedule.  We haven't even begun the paintings for the exhibition.  We will prime canvases tomorrow.  There is a lot to do!!!!!!!!  

I look forward to seeing more of the city.  I have asked some of the artists if they will take me around so I can see it.  I hope that happens.  Everyone is so warm and wonderful.  They are very supportive of the program and I truly appreciate it.  I would also love to leave the city and go exploring..not sure this will happen.  I have to find others to travel with first.  

I have eaten more Senegalese influenced dishes than Mauritanian.  Someone said, we are desert people, we don't have time to cook sauce--we have to pack up that tent and go!  But you know what..it was actually somewhat believable...