oban

the skyline is dominated by a man’s endeavour to provide jobs for the community

oban

the skyline is dominated by a man’s endeavour to provide jobs for the community

​A wander around Oban reveals a great harbour, shops, hotels and a few galleries. Galleries often act as representatives of selected artists, so seldom take ownership of the art, the galleries agree to exhibit and promote an artist’s work for a specified period, often 6- 8 weeks. The gallery will organize the transaction, take a commission and pass on the balance to the artist, however, if the work remains unsold after the exhibit time the artist is required to collect their work. This arrangement allows the artist to focus on producing art, provides income, and provides galleries with exhibits that are continuously changing with less financial risk.

The Jetty Gallery on George Street is a beautifully presented mix of contemporary arts and crafts. We stopped to chat with the owner, Annie, she explains that her customers are her primary focus, and she selects the artwork based on varying tastes and budgets and tries to create a welcoming and interesting experience. Her customer vary according to the time of the year in spring and summer visitors are her main customers; in autumn and winter locals are her main customers, however, over the year it evens itself out.  Annie explains that this summer season has been particularly busy – she doesn’t no for certain but she feels that Scotland is perceived as less risky than some destinations and that the BREXIT distraction may have seen more visitors select a holiday at home than a holiday abroad. Annie has a diverse mix of customers, and is known for her ability to select an eclectic range that suits different tastes, this requires careful selection across different mediums, whether paintings, sculpture, ceramics or jewellery, across different artists, and across different price points.

Some customers, visitors or locals are coming in to select a gift for family and friends; often this is to express their affection, or appreciation, or gratitude. Sometimes it is for a gift to recognise and celebrate an important event in someone’s life. She also mentions that often they are selecting a gift for themselves.  Annie explains that her customers prefer original pieces and whilst many are the works of established artists others are selected because they are emerging artists with talent. Visiting customers generally prefer authentic Scottish artists and some artists are very local, Oban, Argyll and the Islands, whilst others are from outside the region. She explains that visitors to Oban very definitely want something local, for many it is a tangible reminder of something, somewhere, or someone that was part of their holiday, there is also the sense that they are helping the local economy, and acquiring a tasteful souvenir rather than the ubiquitous and kitsch Made in China high street souvenirs. To meet the needs of her local customers, Annie likes to exhibit work from further afield. Some of her local customers, she tags these as ‘art lover’ have a favourite artist and will often pop in to see if a new work is on display.

Customers, visitors or local, search for art that reflects their lifestyle, creates a life story, creates a sense of homeliness with art that has aesthetic appeal, perhaps creates a certain sentiment, or demonstrates an artist’s talent, for many customers it is about communicating their identity –  their loves and interests, and for some it to make a statement about their wealth and buying an identity.

A little later, as we explore the harbourside, we spot a luxury ‘small’ cruise ship and we hope that some of them make their way to Annie’s gallery.

The Oban whiskey distillery is only a few metres away from The Jetty Gallery and we wander in, we find it is a bit early for a whiskey tasting but other visitors tend to think differently. The Oban Distillery is owned by the British based multinational Diageo. Diageo is one of the leading companies and Oban is just one brand in a portfolio that includes whiskies such Johnny Walker, Bell’s, Lagavulin, Vat 69 and other brands including Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Baileys, Guiness.  One of the Oban Distillery staff, Mike, a retired policeman, with a pleasant disposition provided me with a brief history of the distillery and the town; he is a great brand ambassador for both. He said that the distillery has been an important part of the town since 1794. He suggests after we have a llok around the distillery we visit McCraig’s Folly, which is located on a hill directly behind the distillery and dominates the skyline of Oban. McCraig’s folly is a round arched structure with similarities to The Coliseum in Rome. I mentioned to Mike that I am keen to revisit it as I captured some great photo from there 30 years previously, however, I mention that with today’s weather it is doubtful that they will be as good. Mc Cgaig’s folly was commissioned by a local banker, John McCraig, and work commenced in 1897, his objective was to provide a lasting monument connecting his family and the town and to provide employment for stonemasons. Just then an elderly American gentleman with what appears to be dementia has taken off his shoes and wants me to take a photograph of him and his shoes. Mike just smiles, it is not something that is going to bother him, and the gentleman’s daughter is all apologetic but I oblige and we spend some time chatting and looking at him and his photos via the display on my camera. I ask if he wishes them sent by email but he is unfamiliar with email and his daughter is a little embarrassed and doesn’t want to trouble me – which really would be no trouble at all. I do feel for people managing people with dementia particularly when travelling – often the problem isn’t apparent to others until their behaviour becomes unpredictable. The daughter coaxed him and helped him put on his shoes and off they went, he asked me for one last photo outside the building. This must have confused some other visitors as they asked me if I was a photographer for the distillery, they were from Perth in Australia so we quickly moved on to a different topic.

We climbed up to McCraig’s Folly and had a good look around, we met the group from Perth [Australia] that were outside the distillery, they had driven up, and they asked me to take their photo, which created a chuckle when they heard my Australian accent, and then they reciprocated. One of them, like me had left Scotland as a child and had spent most of his life in Australia. I asked if he felt more Scottish when he was in Scotland and he said ‘it is funny, you ask, but I feel more Scottish and more Australian at the same time’. I could have added that this demonstrates that the process of liminality is ongoing, but, instead we talked about the inclement weather and how Scotland calls this summer and talked about the football [AFL].

Tasks

• When we think of souvenirs it is often easy to think of the cheap key rings, and bottle openers, however, often more expensive self-gifts can be purchased as a souvenir. A souvenir may also have a social status attached to it.
  • What type of souvenirs could people purchase that may have social status and in what ways could they be employed as a prop and part of creating an ideal self?
• The first picture on this page shows the entrance to the town, it is rather unattractive, yet the town is quite picturesque even on a wet and windy day.
  • How do first impression influence tourist perceptions of a town – think destination marketing.