Anthea McGibbon, Sunday Gleaner Writer
'Flower Sellers' by Susan Alexander was reproduced on an Air Jamaica calendar. Depicted are the flower sellers along Trafalgar Road in Kingston. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
AIR JAMAICA calendars are huge, and are, perhaps, the largest local calendars printed yearly. They are, however, well sought after by the public at large, being a 'piece of art' affordable for home or office dcor.
As far as Air Jamaica is concerned, placing art on calendars is the original idea of Maria Jones (then Williams), the company's former vice-president some 25 years ago. The first work represented was 'Mother and Child' by Judy McMillan.
Falling in line with the ongoing level of art appreciation within the company, expressed through varied high-standard art forms including the company's logo (considered by some as the best designed internationally), several managers nurtured their love for art. In the 1980s, one manager John Scott, a performing artist himself [with Eddie Thomas], commissioned the bronze 'Winged Horse Power' by Edna Manley, which was later used on a calendar.
CREATIVE SPIRIT
Eventually, in 1987, an enterprising Marjorie Robinson came along, transferred from her post as secretary to the president to the marketing department. Clueless about fine art, Robinson however brought a creative spirit and an ingenious mind, spent lavishly on events and products including banquets, booths, trucks, and outdoor events.
Eventually, she herself became enthused with the fine arts, influenced by senior staff who took her on their quest to purchase good art in and around the downtown area. Robinson, who reflects on her first purchase of two Susan Shirley watercolours, from the Iris Day-operated gallery on Harbour Street, remembersmostly being "limited by cash to care".
An ideal opportunity was created for the new art lover on the Jamaican scene in 1990, when she became the manager of the public relations department, after the departure of Jones.
CONCEPT
With her initiative, the concept to continue art on calendars was developed, as Robinson wanted above all, for others to equally appreciate art. She empathised immediately with poor Jamaicans, but also remembered the impact the Air Jamaica calendar had and employed her creativity within.
In her new position, Robinson worked closely with Dr. David Boxer, the curator of the National Gallery, who taught her about colour, brush strokes, light, and "what is good art for reproduction".
Also sharpening her keen eye for what was good art to be photographed, especially where subject matter and message were weak, were Gilou Bauer, Maria Laconia and Ken Reid. Guy and Charmaine McIntosh from the Frame Art Gallery, Tangerine Place, taught her about framing.
Her first major project was the 'Air Jamaica Classic Collection' in the 1990s. These works were the reproduction of artists such as Messam, Hoyes, Bernard, Jolly, Huie and Wilson.
After that, special arrangements were worked out with local artists, still attached to ideal selections for the attractive calendars, for example 'Winged Horse Power' by Edna Manley. Travel agents in Jamaica and within the diaspora of North America and the United Kingdom partnered with Air Jamaica and took the calendars abroad.
Average Jamaicans now had a chance to decorate their walls, and had an ideal gift to send in appreciation for the 'Christmas barrel'.
The clever series are the result of Robinson's quick perception, patience and perseverance in her year-long search for the right feel and impact. Robinson says she puts the needs of the public first, as she sees it, when she chooses. She has been cunningly focused on assisting "the average Jamaican who just have had no money to buy art sold on canvasses, especially when framed".
GIFTS, AWARDS
Also, on a personal level and for the company, she buys works as gifts and awards (for example ceramics by Phillip Supersad, which were used as awards to travel agents in Jamaica).
Robinson's maternal instincts also drove her to representing artists. In her earlier days she operated a 'mini-gallery', with several art pieces displayed on the back of her office door. Interestingly enough, Richard Hall, who has never been featured on an Air Jamaica calendar, is one artist who has reaped aplenty, being the only Jamaican to have been featured on the calendar of CFM International (world renowned aircraft engineer company), and a special commissioned work for Byron Lee's 50th anniversary.
Robinson is sensitive to assisting struggling artists, whom she still works with as preference, because they are "simply easier to work with". She only works with artists who can "get inside her head" and understand and produce what she wants.
Some of the memorable works reproduced on the Air Jamaica calendars have been Anthony Wilson's 'Swimming Hole' of young Jamaicans swimming in the Rio Cobre; Lancel's 'Kite'; Sam Phillips 'Market'; Jolly's 'Domino'; and, Paul Messam's 'Marketplace'.
REPRESENTATION
Albert Huie has had three of his works represented, namely 'Coconut pieces', 'Summertime' and 'Fisherman'.
Other artists have included Heather Sutherland-Wade and Gerry Dunlop.
This year, 2007, the second cricket calendar ever was done. The first being by Bernard, a hearing-impaired artist from Montego Bay, after the West Indies won a series. The common thread in all the represented canvassed works is Robinson's promotion of Caribbean life - culture, scenes, people, and themes. Amid the daring outbursts of colour, are the vibrance of Jamaica's culture and expressed vigour of the people especially in Jolly's 'Domino'.
Robinson identifies two challenges in her role as art collector and artist advocate. Being able to choose for a wide audience can be difficult, she says, in remembering the initial rejection of the overly abstract 'Winged Horse Power'. She observed the piece was appreciated mostly because it was done by Edna Manley.
A visit to Robinson's home reflects her passions and creative talent on another level. Pieces for her personal art collection are based on their impact. The verandah's ceiling is painted to represent the clouds and the walls as natural wood - her created paradise complemented by another object of her affection - orchids. In this paradise, she still has her first two Susan Shirley watercolours, a number of works by Jamaican artists like Jolly, Hall and Pottinger, Barrington Watson and, by Haitian and Cuban artists.
Still, Robinson who possesses an independent mind and knows what she wants from her varied artists shares one regret. Popularly known for her gardening, she never learned to paint or explore her attraction to the performing arts. She still loves dancing - a love of her past from her visits to Maas Ran and Miss Lou, as well as the National Dance Theatre performances.
Anthea McGibbon, a graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, has more than 10 years experience in the fields of journalism and the arts. Contact her at islandartattack@yahoo.com.co.uk or anthea.mcgibbon@gleanerjm.com.
