The concept of The Art Party Salon references both the usage of the
salon as a conversational gathering and as an art exhibition outside of
the gallery system. The launch date is November 14, 2013 (6pm to 9pm). Stay tuned for more details of The Art Party Salon!
Salon as Social Gathering
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. Salon is from the French word salon for living room or parlor, of conversational gatherings. Usually this is a select group of intellectuals, artists and politicians who meet in the private residence of a socially influential and often wealthy person. The word salon first appeared in France in 1664. It is derived from the Italian word salone, itself from sala, the large reception hall of Italian mansions. These salon gatherings often consciously followed Horace’s definition of the aims of poetry, “either to please or to educate”.
The Role of Women in the Salon
Historically,
women were the center of the life in the salon and carried a very
important role as regulators. They can select their guests and decide
about the subjects of their meetings. Women also had the role as
mediator by directing the discussion. The salon was really an informal
university for women to exchange ideas, receive and give criticism, read
their own works and hear the works and ideas of other intellectuals.
Many ambitious women used the salon to pursue a form of higher
education.
The most famous recent example is American novelist and playwright
Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) who was known for her salon at 27 rue de
Fleurus in Paris, where Picasso, Matisse and other creative people would
meet to discuss art, literature, politics and themselves.
Salon Art Exhibitions
The
word salon also refers to art exhibitions. The Paris Salon was
originally an officially-sanctioned exhibit of recent works of painting
and sculpture by members of the Académie royale de peinture et de
sculpture, starting in 1673 and soon moving from the Salon Carré of the
Palace of the Louvre. Salons continued until quite recently, in urban
settings among like-minded people.
Today, The Art Party is reviving both the tradition of the salon as a
conversational gathering and an art exhibition on November 14 (6pm to
9pm) at Xsite (2270 E. Hastings, Vancouver) with Firebird Live Art
paintings on stage and an Artistrun Collective group art show (http://ArtistrunCollective.org).
Firebird Live Art on Stage
Bill Higginson and Olga Rybalko are the co-collaborators of Firebird Live Art (http://FirebirdLiveArt.com). The duo painters will capture the mood and overall feel of The Art Party Salon as it is being experienced, providing a piece of quality art which is finished, ready to take home and hang or presented as a gift even before the event has finished.
