It is now official that the Mercator annual art contest “Vernissage” exhibition is open. A Vernissage is a private showing that is held before the opening of an art exhibition and with more than 50 people from the IUB community turning up by invitation from the Mercator College Masters; the opening ceremony could not have been any more glamorous. The atmosphere was inviting and the mood was jovial.

Among those on the invitation list was Alexander Ziegler-Jon the vice president of the Science Park and Business Development and who by virtue of being the guest of honor declared this year’s event open.

In a mind-boggling way Alexander asserted that, “Art is an important event in Germany” but he then stamped this by saying that the general notion in humanities was that ‘there was no money in Art.’ The statement of the day however, came when he contrasted all that he had previously said with, “Art is not artistry if you don’t master it.” A fact that often baffles a lot of people.

This year’s contest drew stiff competition with a record of 60 entries. To judge the submissions, a jury was formed that consisted of 2 professors, these being Ursula Frohne of Arts and Literature and Marion Muller of mass communication. Two Mercator floor Reps and the College Masters Klaus and Mandy Bohnke were also part of this spectacular team.

The overall winner of the contest was a truly beautiful oil painting entitled “Still life with a pumpkin” by Malgorzata Skorek. Yana Ivanova’s rendition of “light” took second position and in third place was “Idilio der Amor” a sculpture of a couple kissing. Fourth place went to an elegant miniature painting “Brain washing” by Daniel Banton. Although he is no longer a student at IUB, Daniel made an impact in this artistic production of a man whose head has been ‘stuck inside a refrigerator’. A watercolor paint captioned “Face of contemplation” by Walter Shayanewako took the fifth position.

The 60 fine art pieces on display speak for themselves. They are matted and beautifully framed. Some of them have a marvelous 3-D effect while others leave it up to one’s imagination to decide on what the artist is trying to convey

Noteworthy is the fact that the Mercator College common room now just like the college office presents an awe-inspiring panorama of over 70 pieces of artwork mounted on walls for display by its members. This will go on record to add flavor to the college’s already homely atmosphere.

And they say history repeats itself because while the Vernissage took place for the second year running, there was a remarkable contrast in participation as reflected by the enthusiastic upsurge in submissions of quality fine artwork from 14 in 2003 to 60 this year (2004).

For images, go here.