MARKE meyer BM: Marke, your home is also filled with art – what to you are the benefits of owning original art? MM: Artwork operates on a higher level to ordinary products. It can have a positive or a negative impact on one’s emotions and psychological state. It may even challenge one’s perspective on the artwork’s subject matter. Whatever the case, this to me is the purpose of an artist: to evoke a response in the viewer. Owning a piece of art gives the owner a sense of inclusion in the workings of the mind of that artist. By proxy, and through engaging in the work, the owner becomes something of an artist himself. This can be an exciting and enlightening experience. Artwork of course, can also merely be enjoyed on an aesthetic level. We all understand beauty in terms of line, rhythm, balance, colour, elegance and form, all of which affect the viewer on an emotional level. Including work that appeals to you aesthetically, allows for enjoyment, calm and harmony; a treat for all the senses. I personally prefer art works with a conceptual bias as they challenge the mind and not only the eye. Owning art in your home is a process of discovery…you can’t beat that!
BM: What makes you buy a piece of art? MM: Well that’s an easy one. Art simply has to have both an emotional and a cognitive impact on me. The artwork must communicate something to me. I want to be able to sit back at the end of a busy day and be mesmerized, challenged or beguiled by my acquisitions. Art must beg a response from me.
BM: Which South African artists’ work do you own or admire? MM: Artworks that I am fortunate enough to own include: Michael Cañadas’s quirky bronze buffalo, driven by a vulture and a monkey, called ‘Bushveld Express’; a collection of poetic art jewellery pieces from the series ‘The words we use’ by Gela Tölken; and many abstract oils and mixed media work by the Duarte trio (Izidro, Everett and Frances) who are also personal friends of ours. I love the bold and confident brushwork of Everett Duarte’s abstract paintings and his use of evocative colour.
Our house is filled with artwork and literature on Art.
Marke Meyer with his suspended sculpture entitled
WAYWARD DREAMS OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD
Other artists that I admire include: Anton Momberg, a sculptor whose highly refined figurative pieces often have a subliminal message; Jacques Fuller, a sculptor whose playfulness veils a sharp satirical wit; Terri Broll, an artist whose paintings are laced with interrogative introspection and offer a brooding sense of disquiet in the characters that populate her work. Gerhard van Eck is a sculptor that has recently caught my eye: by exaggerating the muscle form of his ‘cute’ and whimsical characters, he adds a vibrant energy to his work – I like that.” 64