(Bambo
Sibiya who, along with Diane Victor and Willem Boshoff, are major personal
contributors to the Absa L’Atelier)
Blood. Sweat. Tears. That’s what it takes
to produce great art. Nobody knows this better than South Africa’s established
artists.
Probably the most provocative campaign from
Absa is a series of acrylic paints made from the actual blood, sweat and tears
of three renowned local artists, namely Diane Victor, Bambo Sibiya and Willem
Boshoff to promote the 29th edition of the Absa L’Atelier art competition.
Samples have been taken from the artists, processed and cleaned by Lancet
Laboratories to ensure they are free of biohazardous material and then included
in the corresponding paint colour.
The core idea behind the campaign is that
producing great art is not something that just happens. It’s a process that
sees the artist putting everything they have into their work, putting pieces of
themselves into their work, through the intense effort, dedication and raw
emotion that it takes to bring a concept to life. If young, emerging and
aspiring artists – the competition’s primary target audience – put all this
into their work, they too will prosper.
This message has been distilled into the
three elements that every artist has metaphorically sacrificed so their
creative ideas might see the light of day: their blood, their sweat and their
tears. A strong visual reference has been assigned to each of these features –
red (blood), yellow (sweat) and blue (tears) primary colours when mixed
together can make up any colour. The whole process of creating the paint was
made by hand only from the best ingredients – and together with the individual
words form a powerful basis for the campaign creative.
The paint element will be supported by
highly visual ‘blood, sweat and tears’ posters; customised direct mailers
(comprising paint packs) to a number of leading galleries and university/Art
Institutions to encourage the participation of the artists they educate and
represent. Videos depicting how the blood, sweat and tear samples were taken
and processed to make the paint, and the individual stories of the artists, can
be accessed via absalaterlier.co.za and the Absa YouTube Channel. The campaign
posters will have QR codes driving online traffic to the Absa L’Atelier web
address (www.absalatelier.co.za)
and will showcase the individual artists’ stories.
Absa realises the value of blood beyond its
significance in the creative process, and is aware of the demand for blood in
South Africa. It’s for this reason that it has long had a partnership with the
SA National Blood Service (SANBS), and regularly hosts blood drives at its head
office and other selected regional offices. In the last quarter of 2013, Absa
will embark on a major internal campaign to actively increase blood donations
among staff.
A significant change to this year’s Absa
L’Atelier art competition is the entry mechanic. For the first time, only
online entries logged via absalatelier.co.za
will be accepted. This means there will be no more paper-based entries. Artists
are encouraged to enter online and for those who do not have access to the
internet, provision will be made at the collection points.
Since entries only open on January 2, 2014,
Absa has launched an online lead form where interested members of the public
and prospective entrants can submit their details to get competition updates,
entry details, advice on what constitutes great art and all the news about the
groundbreaking blood, sweat and tears campaign.
The Absa L’Atelier Art Competition, in
partnership with the South African National Association for the Visual Arts
(SANAVA), is rated as the longest-running and most influential art contest on
the continent. It pays homage to both established and emerging young local
artists and their compelling artistic vision.
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