IRONBBRATZ versus

Ironbbratz VERSUS PROJECT comes to an End! Commentary by Innes Smith by A

Friends, Romans, Ironbbratz & The Mutual,

Our residency/’experimental competition against another art group’ has come to an end. The Ironbbratz have emerged victorious in many ways. Despite the challenges of time & budget, we have responded to the briefs set to us by the Market Gallery will great vigour & humour – and our shows just got stronger & stronger.
My personal take on the project is that the Ironbbratz have shown themselves to be a magnificent Art Fighting Force. Here is a list explaining why:

1. We collectively engaged very directly – and sometimes literally – with each brief. No ‘art school flannel’ was needed to justify where we were coming from. The creativity of our responses was in direct proportion to the discipline we imposed upon ourselves to make the brief really work. If – for example - we had a show entitled ‘Dogs’ then anyone walking off the street should know that. The challenge was therefore making the obvious surprising. Making the literal delightful.
2. The group dynamic responded very dynamically to each brief. There was no ‘this is what I do’ rigidity or egos obstructing the greater idea – everybody was either ‘a reed that bent in the wind’, or typically individuals would work in a different way. There was no artistic volatility, just versatility. But that is hardly the point – we all enjoyed working together. The individual vision became the group vision & vice versa – such was the group dynamic.
3. The Ironbbratz had fun. Despite many of our group being strangers at the beginning of this project, we are all now friends. This is undoubtedly due to the group being brought together through social contacts. We were all there because we were friends first & artists second. There is no doubt that this made all the difference. Effective, frank & open communication were vital to building a strong response to each brief ~ and because we were all fun & friendly people, the discussions were long & enjoyable. Not difficult & awkward. Lots of talking. Lots of working. That’s the secret of good group art.

What now? Many of us are probably wondering this. We’ve all been so busy & focused for the past month, that THE END is a … a…… …. At the climax of the Versus Project there was no coronation, no crate of champagne, no photo in The Evening Times looking like a grinning idiot. But it would be wrong to think that we left the Versus Project without a prize. We all feel better about our individual work – and importantly (and for me surprisingly) Ironbbratz has shown that intense collaboration can be tremendously liberating & fun; and an Art Group can be greater than the sum of its parts.
Oh yeah, and

4. We won.

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