Monday, December 25, 2006

Aesthetics in the Bazaar

Each vendor finds his own way of displaying the goods and makes a shelter within the given area with materials locally and easily available, with an aesthetic very much his own. This means that no shop has the same design because the parameters are not same; each is built within a different context. This applies to open bazaars where it is much easier to establish one´s own identity and define one´s own boundaries. It is an aesthetic that is native to the region, that cannot always be uprooted for use elsewhere.

There is ‘Art’ in the sounds, the forms, the colours, the spaces, the light, the textures, the materials that each vendor brings with him, some that he must part with before dusk and some that he must withold for the next day. There is a temporariness in this creation and every sunrise gives him a fresh palette to do as he chooses. He displays his wares artistically to attract people. Here, the art is functional; it attracts and the wares are sold. It is not the art that sells. Sometimes, it is a part of the selling concept, sometimes it is simply a part of the vendor’s being.

No comments: