Updated June 26, 8 am
Last August, the Grange Hall in West Tisbury was the scene of a unique collaborative art exhibit. The show featured a group of multimedia installations from a project called Consenses, the brainchild of Sally Taylor. The display featured Consenses “chains,” which were created by asking a string of artists across the world to interpret one another’s artwork through a pass-along process. Artists paired photography, painting, sculpture, music, dance, poetry, the written word, and even perfumery and tea blending into a multi-installation, multi-themed journey through the senses. The name Consenses refers to the way in which the installation chains engage all the senses.
From last summer’s show on the Vineyard, the exhibit traveled on to the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Wellesley College, and a location in Somerville. Now the show is returning to the Vineyard for an extended stay. Five of the multimedia/multidiscipline chains will be on view above the store Midnight Farm on Main Street, Vineyard Haven, beginning July 1 and running through the fall.
The installations include work by local contributors (photographer Alison Shaw and painters Doug Kent and Kara Taylor) as well as internationally known artists (director Wes Craven, musicians Carly Simon, Isaac Taylor, and David Saw). All in all, 34 artists are represented including painters, sculptors, musicians, poets, choreographers, perfumers, and tea makers.
The project was originally two years in the making, beginning in 2012. To start off, Ms. Taylor asked a number of photographers to contribute an image of Martha’s Vineyard. Those photos were then passed along to a series of musicians who interpreted the individual images in song. The songs were then used by dancers for inspiration, the dances were interpreted by perfumers, and so on. Each artist had only the previous work as a reference point. Ms. Taylor compares the process to a game of Telephone, in that the last work in the chain reflects the variations that occur as each work is filtered through the imaginings of the string of artists.
The end result offers a fascinating, fully immersive experience, wherein one can listen to a song on headphones while admiring a painting, or read a poem while sipping a specially blended tea. In each case, the whole proves to be much more than the sum of its parts.
The venue above Midnight Farm where the installation will be housed will also host a variety of musical performances and weekly paint nights throughout the summer. The participatory painting evenings will follow the Consenses model, in that Ms. Taylor will bring a different work of art in various media to be interpreted by the participants each week. Wine, hors d’oeuvres, and all art supplies will be provided.
Additionally, one of the Consenses chains will be on view at the West Tisbury library for the month of July, with an opening reception on July 9 from 4 to 6 pm. Also, on July 23, Consenses will premiere a new documentary in Owen Park. Shot during the installation last August, the short film includes interviews with many of the participating artists, and explores the various individual experiences.
All events will be posted to the Consenses website, consenses.org. Visitors can also expect unscheduled pop-up performances to take place throughout the summer, since many of the featured artists will be visiting the Vineyard at various times.
Consenses open house kickoff event with music, July 1 from 5 to 10pm. Free.
Consenses will be open to the public from July 1 through September 6, every day from 11 am to 8 pm at Midnight Farm, 44 Main Street, Vineyard Haven. Fall hours to be determined. Admission is $12 for the exhibit; kids 5 and under are free. Paint Night every Wednesday, $50.
Story has been updated to reflect changes to Consensus hours at midnight Farm and price of Painting Night.