This coming Saturday, September 26th, the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan is presenting a rare screening of several short films by the artist Madeleine Gekiere.
Madeleine is an extraordinarily talented artist who works in many media. I first came under the influence of her work when I was about 5 years old and read the book “John J. Plenty and Fiddler Dan” by the poet John Ciardi and wonderfully illustrated by Madeleine Gekiere. I only discovered that connection many years later. More to the point, her work in assemblage has influenced our approach to a technique we call “brand constructions”. In her work, Gekiere has infused her paintings with everyday objects, toys and materials. When I first saw one, it immediately triggered my involuntary desire to reach out and touch it.
I once heard her tell about creating some of her assemblages for a children’s hospital. They so enchanted the children! They were irresistible! The kids kept pulling pieces off the the creations. Finally the hospital had to take them down before they were completely destroyed. The children’s delight was the hospital’s distress.
In brand constructions, the consumers are asked to create a story about the brand using a preselected set of materials, including images. The physical materials give the consumer a great deal of leeway to literally construct their own story. The pre-selected set of images (usually 50) allow us to raise some hypotheses about relevant metaphors to see if they resonate with the audience. It has been our experience that the added physical materials give insight into more subtle areas of branding such as textures and tonality.
The screening of Madeleine Gekiere’s films and a conversation with the artist herself is at 7 pm. See you there!
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