Creative Feel February 2018

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF 519004 771607 9

SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - February 2018

02018

DANCE UMBRELLA

A compelling, in-depth look into the life and work of Steven Cohen Creative Feel / February 2018 / 1

SUMMER SYMPHONY SEASON

CALL 031 369 9438 TO SUBSCRIBE & SAVE UP TO 20%

Making music together.

THURSDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2018, 7:30PM, PLAYHOUSE OPERA THEATRE

031 369 9438 • www.kznphil.org.za

Conductor:

Daniel Boico

Soloist:

Anna Dmytrenko, piano

Liszt

Les préludes, S.97 (Symphonic Poem No. 3)

WORLD SYMPHONY SERIES

Saint-Saëns

Piano Concerto No. 2 in g minor, Op. 22

Tchaikovsky

Symphony No. 4 in f minor, Op. 36

SUMMER SEASON 2018

THURSDAY, 1 MARCH 2018, 7:30PM, PLAYHOUSE OPERA THEATRE

WITH OUTSTANDING SOLOISTS

Conductor:

Kwamé Ryan

Soloist:

Liesl Stoltz, flute

Fauré

Masques et bergamasques Suite, Op. 112: Overture

Chaminade

Concertino for Flute and Orchestra in D major, Op. 107

Debussy

Prelude a “L’apres-midi d’un faune”

Bizet/Borne

Carmen Fantasy for Flute and Orchestra

Franck

Symphony in d minor

AND STAR CONDUCTORS, THE KZN PHILHARMONIC PRESENTS THE SUMMER SEASON OF ITS

THURSDAY, 8 MARCH 2018, 7:30PM, PLAYHOUSE OPERA THEATRE Conductor:

Arjan Tien

RENOWNED WORLD SYMPHONY

Soloist:

Daniel Röhn, violin

SERIES 2018 FROM 22 FEBRUARY

Schubert

Overture to Rosamunde

TO 15 MARCH.

Schubert

Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, D. 485

Beethoven

Concerto for Violin in D major, Op. 61

THURSDAY, 15 MARCH 2018, 7:30PM, PLAYHOUSE OPERA THEATRE Conductor:

Arjan Tien

Soloists:

Alexander and Max Baillie, cello and violin (father and son)

Mozart

Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527

Brahms

Double Concerto for Violin and Violoncello in a minor, Op. 102

Sibelius

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43

Bongani Tembe, Artistic Director

“The

KZN

Philharmonic

is

committed

to

Single tickets priced from R68 – R240 are available at Computicket.

All concerts commence at 7:30pm at the Playhouse Opera Theatre.

enriching the cultural life of South Africa’s diverse

Pre-concert talks are held from 6pm - 6:40pm. The Playhouse

audiences by presenting world-class concerts

precinct, including surrounding parking garages, is patrolled by a

and implementing education and community

dedicated security team.

engagement programmes.”

2 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Kwamé Ryan

Liesl Stoltz

Daniel Röhn

Daniel Boico

Anna Dmytrenko

ARTISTS

Alexander Baillie

PERFORMING IN THE SUMMER SEASON 2018

Arjan Tien

The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra

Max Baillie

Cover image: Steven Cohen’s put your heart under your feet… and walk!

PHOTO Pierre Planchenault

cover story 16

STEVEN COHEN: LIVING ART Arts critic and academic, Robyn Sassen, provides a compelling, in-depth look into the life and work of visual and performance artist Steven Cohen.

arts and culture 20 DANCING THROUGH THE GRIEF Throughout his legendary career, Steven Cohen has

38 MAGIC TRICKS, DEATH-DEFYING STUNTS & ACTS OF BREATHTAKING WONDER After record-breaking runs in New York, London and Asia,

The Illusionists Direct from Broadway will be in South Africa for the first time ever.

40 A NEW AVENUE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART JEWELLERY Creative Feel in partnership with FADA Gallery is proud

contents often presented works at Dance Umbrella. This year, as

to announce the inaugural South African Contemporary

the festival turns 30, Cohen’s put your heart under your

Jewellery Awards Exhibition.

feet… and walk! serves as one of the festival’s highlights.

24 DANCE UMBRELLA: 30 YEARS ON Dance Umbrella 2018 will take place from 6 to 18 March

2018 at various venues across Johannesburg, celebrating

42 EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY OF LA MOTTE WITH FLEURS DE LA MOTTE

30 years of new contemporary choreography and dance.

La Motte Museum’s new art exhibition, Fleurs de La

28 MOZART EN POINTE Cape Town City Ballet opens 2018 with a bang with a rousing adaptation of Aleksandr Puškin’s short story, Mozart and Salieri. Exquisite period costumes, a superb score and cutting edge projections: this is ballet like Cape Town has never seen before.

36 WOZA ALBERT! AND THE COLOR PURPLE COME TO JOBURG CITY THEATRES

Motte, now introduces a new way to enjoy the estate’s offering.

44 SANLAM PORTRAIT AWARD 2017

TOP 40 EXHIBITION In its third presentation in 2017, the Sanlam Portrait

Award has become a star feature on the biennial South African art competition calendar.

48 I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE: A SEARCH FOR UBUNTU WITH PERMISSION TO DREAM

The first major international staging of the musical

The Standard Bank Gallery joins hands with renowned

The Color Purple since the Broadway revival opens in

artist and curator, Usha Seejarim to present an inspiring

Joburg this month with an all-South African company.

exhibition of artworks lifted from the bank’s corporate art collection from 2 February to 31 March 2018.

March 6 - 18, 2018 Johannesburg

Principal Funder

Book through www.webtickets.co.za • For more information visit www.danceforumsouthafrica.co.za

50 ASPIRE ART AUCTIONS OFFERS MAJOR ARTWORKS ON SUMMER CAPE TOWN SALE Fresh from the remarkable successes of its recent

Johannesburg auction in November 2017, Aspire Art

60 RECONNECTING Cate Terblanche takes an in-depth look into Reconnect, an exhibition by award-winning visual artist Ingrid Bolton.

Avenue, the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on 25

64 FINDING VOICE: A VISUAL ARTS APPROACH TO ENGAGING SOCIAL CHANGE

March 2018.

Auctions is lining up another top roster of highquality fine art in its upcoming Summer sale at The

52 DRIFTART Late last year FotoZA, a gallery in the Mall

of Rosebank in Johannesburg dedicated to photographic fine art, presented DriftArt by Markus Wörsdörfer – a fascinating exhibition formed from

Review and interview by Lore Watterson.

lifestyle and entertainment 70

BOOK REVIEWS

early morning walks on the beautiful tropical

contents beaches of Zanzibar.

56 STRAUSS & CO TO LAUNCH CONTEMPORARY SALE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S OLDEST WORKING HARBOUR

contributors 30

Bra Willie: A poet whose words & wisdom will be in the breeze.

Strauss & Co is pleased to announce details of its first-ever dedicated contemporary art sale, due to be held on 17 February 2018. The venue for the 71-lot sale is an impressive former warehouse overlooking

32

58 THE GIFT OF WATER

Shakespeare in the Park.

62

Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).

exhibition, The Gift Of Water, took place at One11 Water Chapter II at AVA Gallery.

BUSINESS & ARTS

Business & Arts is a monthly column by

Fine art photographer SaySay.Love’s first solo Gallery late last year, shortly followed by The Gift of

THE ART OF PERFORMANCE

Coming full circle: Notcutt, Maynardville, and

the Duncan Docks, a harbour facility at the Port of Cape Town.

ARTLOOKS & ARTLINES

68

LITERARY LANDSCAPES In this first of a two-part series, Wussow writes on her visit back to Latvia.

EDITOR’S NOTE Go well, Hugh Masekela Ramapolo Hugh Masekela 4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018

T

his year has started on a very sombre note. We had to say goodbye to Keorapetse Kgositsile, South Africa’s only poet laureate, as well as the landscape painter Walter Meyer, in this our first issue of 2018. As we went to print, we heard that Hugh Masekela passed away. What sad news. I feel that with his passing, a whole era of South African music has come to an end. I was fortunate enough to get to know him rather well and my memories are full of laughter and his witty comments. I first saw him at the

Homecoming concerts together with other great returning exiles like his ex-wife, Miriam Makeba. Both had left South Africa in 1959 to join the cast of Todd Matshikiza’s all-African jazz opera, King Kong, in London and did not return until Mandela walked out of prison – an event anticipated in Masekela’s anti-apartheid anthem ‘Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)’ (1986), which had been a rallying cry around the world.

When I interviewed him about his autobiography, Still Grazing, he was the first to admit that he ‘lived a rich and relentless life. Infused with love and loss, drugs, exile and, of course, with music.’ It was Hugh Masekela who, as a pioneer of Afro-Jazz, had brought the voice and spirit of Africa to the west.

Creative Feel has featured this great man several times and, most recently, with this stunning cover image by Brett Rubin in March 2016. During his cover interview, he told us how music always came first for him: ‘When I went into music there was no industry. I only did music because I love music,’ Masekela said. He had then been a musician for 71 years and coolly acknowledged that he began when he was just an infant.

There was no beginning and no end for him. He laughed as he shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘I think I was bewitched, as a child, with music. So when you’re bewitched you don’t need a source of energy. Uloyiwe, uloyiwe – bakuthakathile! (You’re bewitched, you’re bewitched – they’ve bewitched you!),’ he laughed with the fullness of a melody. Music captured him before he could remember. For Masekela, ‘it all comes from music.’

He was involved in a variety of artistic outputs, as he had ventured into theatre, television and other forms and he confidently stated that he was ready for anything. Stemming from music, he had found that ‘art is universal’ in the way that it opens itself up to other forms of creativity. He also believed in art as a gift from nature that taps into a greater sense of being; it is limitless.

When asked about greatness, he responded: ‘If you only want to achieve human things and you think that you are beyond nature and you don’t realise that you are a minuscule part of nature, you already have diminished your potential.’ He did not perceive himself as a great artist; merely a very lucky man.

It is difficult to imagine that an icon of South African jazz and history, who has received a number of Lifetime Achievement awards, several honorary doctorates, and worked with the most renowned names of jazz worldwide, did not conceive of himself as great.

Go well, Hugh Masekela, a legend who is mourned today here at home and around the world.

Lore

Penny Siopis, Cake (detail) Estimate R600 000 - 800 000

Contemporary Art Auction, Saturday 17 February 2018 at 6pm Block B, Cape Town Cruise Terminal Duncan Road, V&A Waterfront Cape Town

Enquiries +27 21 683 6560 ct@straussart.co.za

Strauss & Co: The global leader in the South African art market

www.straussart.co.za

We love this!

T

E

A

M

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lore Watterson; lore@desklink.co.za COPUBLISHER & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Chris Watterson; chris@desklink.co.za DEPUTY EDITOR Tamaryn Greer; tammy@desklink.co.za DIGITAL CONTENT CURATOR Angelia Muller; angelia@desklink.co.za ADDITIONAL EDITORIAL CONTENT: Ismail Mahomed Indra Wussow Michelle Constant Dave Mann SALES & MARKETING sales@desklink.co.za sales@creativefeel.co.za SALES & MARKETING COORDINATOR Zama-Africa Mkhize; zama@desklink.co.za DESIGN Leigh Forrest; leigh@desklink.co.za DISPATCH Khumbulani Dube SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION subs@creativefeel.co.za Published by DeskLink™ Media PO Box 3670, Randburg, 2125 Tel: 011 787 0252 Fax: 011 787 8204 www.creativefeel.co.za www.desklink.co.za PRINTING Raptor Print (Pty) Ltd © Copyright DeskLink™ Media The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

While every last effort has been made to check that the information in this magazine is correct at the time of going to press, the publisher and their agents will not be held liable for any damages incurred through any inaccuracies.

Sit en Staan (Sit and Stand) by internationally renown sculptor, Angus Taylor. The work is set to be auctioned on Aspire’s Contents of Deodar House Auction on 11 February, with the estimate set at R1 400 000 – 1 800 000. A minimum amount of R10 million from the proceeds of this entire auction will be used to seed a dedicated South African Leukaemia Fund, which will provide financial assistance to underprivileged children suffering from leukaemia who have no alternative means of receiving treatment.

JOHNNY CLEGG: KING OF TIME One of South Africa’s most celebrated icons, Johnny Clegg, recently released King Of Time, a seven-track album comprising brand-new original music. Creative Feel spoke to the singer, songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and musical activist about this new release.

K

ing Of Time bears the fingerprints of all those

of My Skin’. ‘OceanEarth’ was written for an animated

who had a hand in its production. Johnny Clegg’s

documentary about the pacific vortex. ‘The documentary never

signature ‘hybrid brand of crossover music’ blends

happened, but the song did,’ says Clegg. ‘That’s happened to me

with the ‘young’ sound of renowned producers

once before, with “December African Rain”.’ Clegg was asked to

Denholm Harding (of Just Jinjer fame) and John Paul De

write the song for a movie that unfortunately ran out of budget

Stefani of B# Studios in Johannesburg to create an infectious

mid-shoot. Released on Johnny Clegg and Juluka’s 1983 album

pop album with an ‘African flavour to it’. The album is unusual

Work For All, the song quickly became a hit –perhaps history

in that it consists of seven singles that are internally coherent

will repeat itself with ‘OceanEarth’.

on their own, rather than having a cohesive sound, which Clegg says was a new way of writing for him.

The second track, ‘I’ve Been Looking’ is written by and

The cover art for King of Time was created via a ‘virtual relationship’, with Clegg never having met the designer.

Starting with real human figures, the cover developed, via

performed with Jesse Clegg – the first time the father and

WhatsApp messages, into the more surreal style that takes

son have collaborated. The two singer/songwriters have kept

its cues from Salvador Dalí.

their careers very separate thus far in order to give Jesse the

The Final Journey tour, a ‘goodbye to my public audience

space to develop his own sound and voice, without being

who supported me over the years’ has been quite emotional.

overshadowed by his father or being expected to sing in Zulu.

From Canada and America, to London, the UAE and South

When Johnny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015

Africa, fans have come in hordes to celebrate Clegg’s music.

and announced his last tour, Jesse told his father that he had

‘It’s amazing to me. Reading the comments on the Johnny

written this song and would like to record it as a duet. ‘And I

Clegg Facebook page, people have been really deeply

said, “Wow, what an honour.” It’s quite a bitter sweet thing. He

affected. They’ve never been to South Africa, they’ve never

supported me in Canada and America now when we did the

seen the country, they don’t speak Zulu, but the music has

Final Journey Tour there. You know, for me, I feel like I could

given them a deep sense of something personal in their

do this forever, but I know I have a very limited window here.’

own journey and moved them and they feel connected with

Clegg’s younger son, Jaron has also collaborated with his father. In 2016, the Vancouver Film School graduate directed the music video for the High Society Remix of Johnny Clegg

what I’m doing. That’s a huge validation for me.’

King of Time is available

and Savuka’s ‘Take My Heart Away’. He is now working on the

for pre-order and is already on

music video for the first single off the album, ‘King of Time’.

all major streaming services.

Further collaborations for King of Time include backing

Fans can also look forward to

vocals by Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter

Clegg’s autobiography, which

and activist, Angélique Kidjo, on the political track ‘Colour

is set to be released at the end of 2018. CF

Memories of Keorapetse Kgositsile (1938-2018), or Bra Willie, as he was affectionately known, are of a poet who always had a smile on his face, who exuded gentleness, and was soft-spoken.

He died on 3 January 2018.

A tribute to Keorapetse Kgositsile, South Africa’s only poet laureate

I

n his schooldays Bra Willie (79) managed to get access to

were the samizdat of the oppressed under apartheid, which

African American poets Langston Hughes’ and Richard

is how we learnt of his poems.

Wright’s poems. This was no mean feat in apartheid South Africa when schools for African children either

As soon as apartheid censorship ended in 1990, the Congress of South African Writers brought out a selection of his

didn’t have libraries or they were poorly-stocked, and

poems When the Clouds Clear. Willie returned to South Africa

African students were denied access to literature deemed to

from exile, and was elected vice-president of the organisation.

be ‘seditious’. Even my ‘whites only’ school library had no

Kgositsile wrote of the 1976 Soweto generation who

books with African-American poems, still less the apartheid

revolted against apartheid, following the imposition of

English setwork books.

Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.

His first job was working for a 1950s left newspaper, the

In our land fear is dead

New Age, which had strong links to the African National

The young are no longer young …

Congress. The apartheid regime banned it in 1962.

South Africa’s youth reciprocated this admiration:

In 1962 Kgositsile went into exile in the US. His career

again and again a youthful poet would recite from memory

flourished in Harlem; he gave numerous readings at African-

a Kgositsile poem, mimicking his voice to perfection. They

American jazz clubs, and graduated with a Master of Fine

enjoyed doing this to his face as much as in his absence.

Arts from Columbia University.

Kgositsile published ten collections of poetry. The first was Spirits Unchained (1969). Perhaps the most influential were My Name is Africa (1971), The Present is a Dangerous Place to Live (1975) and When the Clouds Clear (1990).

In 1975 Kgositsile sacrificed his flourishing career to

In today’s literary establishment, none of the country’s literati command this sort of respect.

He was made South Africa’s national poet laureate in 2006, the only person to have been given the honour.

Kgositsile won several literary awards including the Harlem Cultural Council Poetry Award and in South Africa

return to Africa to work for the ANC in Dar es Salaam,

the Herman Charles Bosman Prize, and in 2008 the Order of

Tanzania. In 1977 he founded the ANC’s Department of

Ikhamanga (Silver) for excellent achievements in the field of

Education in exile, and in 1983 its Department of Arts and

literature and using these exceptional talents to expose the

Culture in 1983.

evils of the system of apartheid.

He continued to produce poetry and music, melding African and diasporic poetry influenced by jazz.

Kgositsile’s impact on a generation of South African left

He was married to Melba Johnson, and later to Baleka Mbete, a fellow poet and currently Speaker of the National Assembly.

They divorced in 1992. He is survived by his three children.

literary activists during the 1970s and 1980s was immense.

– Keith Gottschalk

Tattered photostats of his work passed from hand to hand

Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape

12 / Creative Feel / February 2018

RRR, the three Rs: Romance, Rest and Rejuvenation…

O

n the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg you will find the best-kept secret in Gauteng, hidden among two hectares of lush subtropical gardens: Casta Diva Boutique Hotel.

With 28 elegantly decorated guest rooms, this oasis in the

province offers so much more than just accommodation to its guests. They say February is the month of love because of the 14th, but at Casta Diva, each day is Valentine’s Day. Here you will find several romantic spots to have a dinner, to celebrate your own special Valentine’s Day. If you simply want a little

Boutique Hotel

break from everyday life during the romantic month, book a room and or dinner; enjoy the peace and tranquillity offered by the spacious garden and beautiful scenery.

With á la carte menus, Casta Diva’s Charisma Restaurant

A unique venue, nestled high on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg amidst peaceful and tranquil surroundings that offer stunning views and an unsurpassed setting of natural beauty and elegance in an oasis of peace and serenity in the city.

offers a selection of mouth-watering dishes. If you keep an eye on their Facebook page (Casta Diva’s Charisma Restaurant) you might find a night when there will be live entertainment on the grand piano. Casta Diva is often hosting classical concerts on a Sunday afternoon. This is more than just a restaurant, it is a place to unwind, spend time with good friends and enjoy good and honest food.

The intimate theatre/art gallery is mainly focused on the development of arts and culture, artists and their craft. Casta

Restaurant Guaranteed the true Decadent, Divine, Delightful fine dining experience, the perfect fusion between the magic of Casta Diva, fresh ingredients, a dedicated culinary team and the friendliest service of South Africa.

Diva’s Vissi d’Arte has a nice line-up of shows by artists of various disciplines, these events are updated on the Facebook page: Casta Diva’s Vissi d’Arte.

On stage at Casta Diva Vissi d’Arte: Shirley and Me Acclaimed international cabaret artist Tonya Koenderman is coming to town with her latest show, Shirley and Me, a tribute to the great Dame Shirley Bassey.

After over 60 years in show business, Bassey shows no sign of retiring any time soon. The show pays tribute to her extraordinary journey from rags to riches, as well as the songs she made famous: ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Never Never Never’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Nobody Does it Like Me’, and ‘This is My Life’, among others. Koenderman narrates Bassey’s struggles, her heartbreak and her losses. She also speaks of the influence Bassey had over her life, as the shy little girl with the big belting voice.

Shirley and Me is on for one night only on 24 February. Tickets are R140. To book, email info@castadiva.co.za So, spoil yourself or a loved one and take a break ‘with love’ to enjoy the things that are important in life – love, health and happiness. Visit their website at www.castadiva.co.za and view the rooms to find the one that will ‘fit just right’.

Casta Diva, the place to… break away, wind-down, breathe and simply just… be. CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 13

Walter Meyer:

Leaving tracks on the landscape Images courtesy Strauss & Co

Parked Cars, Walter Meyer, Signed and dated 95.

Oil on canvas. 69 by 89cm

Karesburg Church, Walter Meyer, Signed and dated 12. Oil on canvas. 49 by 59cm

Farmshed with Windmill, Walter Meyer, Signed and dated 95. Oil on canvas. 69,5 by 89cm

South African painter and graphic artist Walter Meyer passed away in December 2017 at 52. He is remembered for his evocative portrayals of derelict buildings and strikingly atmospheric, simple towns and landscapes.

B

orn 31 January 1965 in Aliwal North, Eastern Cape,

‘Meyer’s paintings speak little of the rural world as

Walter Meyer grew up, and studied fine art, in

an exotic holiday destination where time stands still and

Pretoria and was living in Upington in the Northern

life is free, easy and uncomplicated. Instead, through

Cape at the time of his death.

his eyes the remote countryside is for most part dotted

Meyer rose to prominence in the early 1990s with his

with empty and lonely places. Here the relatively few

distinctive landscape studies. Writing in 2009, Sean O’Toole

human inhabitants are seldom seen, and very little seems

described his work as such: ‘Eschewing the romantic idealism

to happen. But signs of human drama – of physical and

typical of so much local landscape painting, Meyer’s work,

mental struggle, shattered dreams and often complete

at its best, lingers on what is distinct and intrinsically banal

failure in a virtually hostile landscape – are everywhere:

about small-town South Africa… Although stylistically diverse,

in derelict old houses and bare and neglected backyards,

Meyer is best known for his photorealist renderings of desolate

rusted cars, empty town streets and deserted Kalahari

country scenes. In a 1997 article on his work, art historian Liese

plains where the struggle to survive is seen in the

van der Watt argued that it was “through the kind of realism

crumpled shapes of dry trees and shrubs.

which he utilises now that Meyer manages to break away from the medium of traditional landscape painting”.’

In a 2005 essay, artist Cobus van Bosch took an in-depth

‘These melancholy depictions of largely forgotten and deserted worlds furthermore linger in the memory because we not only distinctly recognise these landscapes as physical

look at Meyer’s subject matter: ‘The landscape – being

parts of Southern Africa, but are also reminded, as we have

continuously transformed by nature or human activity – has

specifically realised in the last decade, that the old must

many faces, and many stories to tell… As we inhabit and

eventually give way to the new.

transform the landscape, the terrain and its elements also

We also see another side of ourselves in these works: that

impact on us – physically and emotionally. This interplay of

we are also drifters through time and space – sometimes

forces has a major influence on the identity and condition of

accepted by the land, and often rejected by it. On both

both the landscape and the people who inhabit it.

accounts, this leaves marks on us, as we leave our tracks on

‘Instead of depicting beautiful and serene scenes – as so many decorative artists do – Meyer has become known

the landscape.’

The news of Meyer’s sudden and tragic death has left the

for expressing at best the mundane and at worst the less

art world reeling, with many lamenting the loss of one of the

desirable side of reality.

country’s top landscape artists. CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 15

World Symphony Series

Summer Season 2018 28 FEBRUARY - 22 MARCH 2018, LINDER AUDITORIUM, PARKTOWN, JOHANNESBURG

Concert 1

28-01

FEBRUARY - MARCH 2018

PROGRAMME Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in e minor, Op. 27

Daniel Röhn

Daniel Boico

VIOLINIST

CONDUCTOR

Daniel Röhn draws on traditions of musical expression that had been virtually consigned to the past.

Describing his playing style requires more than merely mentioning his impressive technical brilliance, and needs to be heard live to be appreciated.

Described by critics as “Dynamic, vigorous, exciting and imaginative - an undisputed star who combines magnetic charisma with a skilled technique” conductor Daniel Boico is the Associate Guest Conductor of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, Durban, and former Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic.

Concert 2

07-08 MARCH 2018

PROGRAMME George Frideric Handel: The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in d minor Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, “Pastoral”

Pallavi Mahidhara

Kwamé Ryan

PIANIST

CONDUCTOR

Known for her artistic versatility, pianist Pallavi Mahidhara combines mature musical insight, an astounding technique, and a charismatic stage presence.

Kwamé Ryan was born in Canada and grew up on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. He was recently announced as a 2017 Laureate of the prestigious Anthony N. Sabga Award for Excellence in the field of Arts and Letters

VISIT JPO.CO.ZA FOR MORE INFO

“The action of making and sharing great music is one of the most profound and uplifting experiences known to humanity. It is the surest way of bringing people of diverse ages and cultural backgrounds together in a spirit of harmony, goodwill and understanding.”

BONGANI TEMBE - CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Concert 3

14-15 MARCH 2018

PROGRAMME Gabriel Fauré: Masques et bergamasques Suite, Op. 112 Cécile Chaminade: Concertino for Flute and Orchestra in D major, Op. 107 Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun Georges Bizet / François Borne: Carmen Fantasy for Flute and Orchestra Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in c minor, Op. 78, “Organ”

Liesl Stoltz

Lykele Temmingh

FLAUTIST

CONDUCTOR

Liesl Stoltz is the first prize winner of the 12th Frederich Kuhlau International Flute Competition. She also lectures part-time at the UCT College of Music, and is the recipient of the Humanities and Social Sciences award for best musical composition for her project: Explorations: South African flute music.

Lykele Temmingh is the resident conductor of the KZN Philharmonic and appears regularly on the orchestra’s concert podium. In 2004 he proudly accepted the role of selector and conductor of the National Youth Concerto Festival.

He is also the Artistic Director and conductor of the KZN Youth Orchestra.

Concert 4

21-22 MARCH 2018

PROGRAMME Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni Overture, K. 527 Johannes Brahms: Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in a minor, Op. 102 Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43

Max Baillie

Arjan Tien

VIOLINIST/VIOLIST

CONDUCTOR

Maverick viola and violin player Max Baillie leads a unique career as a soloist, chamber musician, director and collaborator. He excels across an exciting spectrum of musical fields and has appeared on stages from Carnegie Hall to Glastonbury.

Arjan Tien made his South African debut with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in 1998, shorty after winning the first prize “Rotary-Faller” at the International Conducting Master Class competition in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, 1997.

STEVEN COHEN:

Arts critic and academic, Robyn Sassen, provides a compelling, in-depth look into the life and work of visual and performance artist Steven Cohen.

U

nafraid. That’s how you understand South African-

Cohen, engaging very directly with the complexity of

born performance artist Steven Cohen when you

being Jewish, gay, white and male, as well as with the politics

look at the prolific body of work he’s created in

of hate, loss and ageing, has been upbraided in a commercial

over two decades.

bridal show and a horse race; he’s been condemned and

In the 1990s, he teetered into the domain of Afrikaans

homophobic rugby lovers, wearing a corset, impossibly high shoes and a tiny handbag. This was Ugly Girl, an archetype he

lauded, as he has frightened impromptu audiences and redefined what seems permissible.

Based in Lille, France, he’s come head-to-head with French

developed as a part of his award-winning performance debut

law, accused of indecent exposure. He’s the reason why many

Living Art. Men poked him, looked up his dress, felt his body,

a dance festival has raised its hackles and shut its doors in the

made lewd remarks. In another performance, he was chased

face of his ideas, but he’s been sought after to perform anyway.

away from Pretoria’s Fort Klapperkop during a celebration

Cohen came of age at the appalling height of apartheid

of the anniversary of the Great Trek. The assailants? Fierce

and alongside his dance collaborator and lover, Elu (1968-

white men armed with muscles and hatred. His garb? A long

2016), with audaciousness, changed the parameters of

black dress with a prominent Star of David.

contemporary dance in South Africa.

18 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Steven Cohen in put your heart under your feet... and walk!

PHOTOS Pierre Planchnoult

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 19

Above all, his work is compelling and beautiful in a

psychology, Cohen acknowledges the body was always

way that shatters rules. There’s a heady mix of humour

central to his understanding of self. When he was in his 20s,

and sadness, of fierce intelligence and reluctance to skirt

a neglected glandular fever condition forced him to reflect

controversy in them. Cohen, born in 1962, has, since the late

on his mortality. His sexuality was pointed out for him by his

1980s, charged with abandon into terrain where the world

peers when he was a child – they recognised him as different,

was more comfortable to tiptoe and whisper.

making him grist for a bullying mill.

So what is it that has made a practitioner such as Cohen

A mandatory stint in the South African Defence Force

so deeply important to audience members, fans and critics,

in the 1980s redefined his perspectives sexually and

and to the discipline of contemporary dance itself, all over

intellectually. Among other things, Cohen’s army service was

the world?

a time of Alice in Wonderland and photographs of wounded

‘It is about un-dance,’ he once told an interviewer,

feet, of magnified vermin and the Voortrekker Monument.

echoing the sentiment of the Dadaists, nihilist European

Like German collagists Hannah Höch and John Heartfield

artists after the end of the First World War. But he didn’t

before him, Cohen used the platform of political rhetoric and

start his career as a dancer – or an un-dancer.

grotesque anachronism as a platform for his canvases.

A medical student at Wits University for a few days, before he changed his mind and studied literature and

20 / Creative Feel / February 2018

He silkscreened works, using rudimentary means of transferring photographic images to his screens. Filmic

Steven Cohen in put your heart under your feet... and walk! PHOTOS Pierre Planchnoult

more than an upholsterer or a maker of pictures that people could close their eyes to, if they wished. Thus Cohen emerged as a guerrilla performer, upsetting the galleries’ or dance establishments’ understanding of what art is or could be. pictures of Frankenstein vied with giant penises. Jewish

You might think of Cohen and consider the work of

symbols redefined themselves in the folds of pornographic

American supermasochist Bob Flanagan, or that of the

smut. The works featured concatenations of images from all

grandmother of performance culture Marina Abramović.

over the place – ones that fought one another ideologically,

You would not be wrong in understanding these seeds of

intellectually and visually.

Cohen’s thinking, but in order to grasp the full impact of

One thing led to another, and the flat canvases grew

his work, you would need also to foray into the burlesque

conceptually into furniture upholstery – giving new life to

traditions which tiptoed into nudity, and into traditions of

period furniture Cohen found in junk stores: abandoned

dance as protest, and into a reflection on what authentic

by Johannesburg’s elderly. Louis XIV and Art Deco chairs

emotion means.

became unlikely neighbours in the mishmash of stylistic

Cohen is not an actor. He doesn’t construct contexts

possibility that Cohen created from his semi-detached house

in order to whip up controversy – that happens by itself.

in the down-at-heel suburb of Troyeville, as he played with

The element that arguably holds audiences at attention

discordance, exploring the limits of the heart, mind and soul.

when they hear his name, is rawness. There’s an outrageous

A further leap in his working methodology took the

sense of realness that makes Cohen’s work what it is –

images from furniture on which the body sits to the body

continuously influencing younger performance artists, but

itself in performance, allowing him to understand himself as

never looking self-consciously back. CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 21

S T E V E N C O H E N AT D A N C E U M B R E L L A 2 0 1 8

THROUGH THE GRIEF Throughout his legendary career, Steven Cohen has often presented works at Dance Umbrella. This year, as the festival turns 30, Cohen’s put your heart under your feet… and walk! serves as one of the festival’s highlights. Dave Mann spoke to Georgina Thomson, Director of Dance Umbrella.

22 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Steven Cohen in put your heart under your feet… and walk!

PHOTOS Pierre Planchenault

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 23

G

rief is not a very linear process. Some of us remember too strongly, or forget too much, while others attempt to move on, but struggle to keep a hold on the things that matter. If Steven Cohen’s

latest body of work is anything to go by, grief is best handled by celebrating what was and, quite simply, carrying on.

A multi-faceted project that’s part performance and part exhibition, put your heart under your feet… and walk! is a deeply moving body of work by Cohen that debuted at the 2017 Montpellier Danse Festival before running as a solo exhibition at Johannesburg’s Stevenson gallery in the same year.

Now, with the 30th anniversary of the Dance Umbrella, the piece returns to the stage as a performative work, coproduced by the festival.

Following the death of Cohen’s partner and artistic collaborator Elu, put your heart under your feet… and walk! is both a tribute to Elu and a testament to the art of living through intense periods of grief and mourning. Director of the Dance Umbrella, Georgina Thomson, says that the inclusion of Cohen’s performance in this year’s programme is a welcome continuation of his long history with the festival.

‘Steven Cohen “discovered” Dance Umbrella via Elu, who presented works annually at the Dance Umbrella for over ten years. Steven entered the Dance Umbrella for the first time in the early 1990s,’ Thomson explains. ‘His work immediately created controversy simply because he created very challenging and sometimes difficult work that made the audiences either cheer or say, “oh no, how can you programme this?” I personally was challenged by Steven when he presented a blue movie on the performance night instead of the footage he had worked with during the rehearsals.’

Considering both Cohen and Elu’s longstanding history of

the inspiration behind it. Speaking briefly on Elu’s childhood years, Cohen explained how the dancer experienced

provocation and innovation with Dance Umbrella, as well as their

constant bullying from his peers and fierce discouragement

personal histories as collaborators and life partners, the piece

from his parents. ‘So I guess you could say that Elu never

serves as not only a tribute to Elu and the art of performance, but

danced purely for the enjoyment of it,’ Cohen tells Siopis.

also to the process of dancing as a form of healing.

‘He danced to survive.’

A week after the opening of the exhibition component

Festivals such as Dance Umbrella, then, become

of put your heart under your feet… and walk!, artist Penny

even more significant in the fostering and celebrating of

Siopis sat in conversation with Cohen about the work, and

contemporary dance and performance when you consider

24 / Creative Feel / February 2018

“His work immediately created controversy simply because he created very challenging and sometimes difficult work”

and a brilliant dancer. He was different in that he, like Steven, worked with challenging issues and styles of work.’

In its 30 years of existence, Dance Umbrella has been home to many groundbreaking performances and artists.

This year’s programme seeks to celebrate this rich history, as well as champion new and exciting works. Gregory Maqoma and Vincent Mantsoe who are presenting a double bill of works performed by Vuyani Dance Theatre, are both artists who started choreographing on Dance Umbrella over 20 years ago, while Gerard Bester, who appeared in the first edition of the Dance Umbrella, comes full circle through a collaboration with Cape Town choreographer Alan Parker.

Other artists include Germany-based Constanza Macras, Durban-based Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Dance 2017 Musa Hlatshwayo, and Johannesburg-based Gustin Makgeledisa, Phumlani Nyanga, Thabo Kobeli, Sello Pesa, Themba Mbuli, and Thulani Chauke who make up the main programme artists. A bonus, says Thomson, is the New Steven Cohen in put your heart under your feet… and walk!

PHOTOS Pierre Planchenault

Dance platform which will host over 30 new works from young choreographers.

Looking towards this year’s Dance Umbrella and Cohen’s involvement, Thomson adds that the internationally-

the life and career of dancers such as Elu, whose works for

renowned performer is one of many highlights in what

the festival have included Broken Bird as well as the Ballet

looks to be a truly incredible programme. ‘I personally feel

Atlantique-commissioned piece I Wouldn’t Be Seen Dead in

that Steven is one of the most important artists the Dance

That, which was presented at Dance Umbrella in 2004.

Umbrella has given the space to present their work, and

‘Dance is a language that needs no words. It opens up the

he’s gone on to an international career that supports this,’

audience’s opportunity to take from it what they want or to

she says. ‘I believe the Dance Umbrella programme will

reject what they don’t want. Contemporary dance especially

offer some exciting and challenging new work that should

is a language that invites any form of movement to recreate

entertain, provoke debate, and hopefully celebrate our

itself,’ explains Thomson. ‘Elu was a unique choreographer

amazing choreographers.’ CF

Dance Umbrella:

30 Years On Dance Umbrella 2018 will take place from 6 to 18 March 2018 at various venues across Johannesburg, celebrating 30 years of new contemporary choreography and dance.

Robyn Orlin’s And So You See... Our Honourable Blue Sky And Ever-Enduring Sun... Can Only Be Consumed Slice By Slice PHOTO Jerome Seron 26 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Nicholas Aphane and Shawn Motupi in Noah by PJ Sabbagha PHOTO John Hogg

O

ne of the most celebrated events on the

first autobiographical solo that looks at his upbringing and

Johannesburg calendar, Dance Umbrella 2018

confronts the concepts of indoctrination that he consciously

presents a line-up of cutting edge contemporary

and subconsciously adopted and which shaped the person

dance by some of South Africa’s top established

he is.

and emerging dancers and choreographers.

And So You See…. Our Honourable Blue Sky And Ever-

Another double bill will be presented by Louise Coetzer and Musa Hlatswayo. IN C, by Cape Town-based Coetzer, is

Enduring Sun… Can Only Be Consumed Slice By Slice is a

a vibrant and energetic portrayal of the contrast between

new work by Robyn Orlin, with the beautifully fearless

synchronicity and counterpoint. IN C is given the 21st-

Albert Ibokwe Khoza and Thabo Pule. Not afraid to colonise

century treatment in its adaptation of Terry Riley’s landmark

Mozart’s Requiem, they journey through the seven deadly

1964 composition by Without Eyes, and the neo-classical

sins finding themselves up close and personal with the

dancers and choreography highlight its fleeting moments

norms of our world.

of connect and disconnect. IN C was funded by and

Gregory Vuyani Maqoma and Vincent Sekwati Mantsoe, whose history with Dance Umbrella goes back to when the two were still working with Moving into Dance Mophatong (MIDM),

commissioned for the Baxter Theatre Centre’s annual Baxter Dance Festival in 2016.

DODA by Hlatshwayo is a dance theatre duet that

present a double bill featuring Vuyani Dance Theatre. Mayhem

explores black male identity and issues around modern

by Maqoma reflects on our altered state of mind, our country

day and traditional masculinity in a society that is faced

in confusion, the madness, the feeling of being in suspense in

with the struggle of (re)negotiating its collective political

this confined space of words and chaos where we are left with a

sociopolitical identity. The piece was inspired by the recent

body of work that strips away the beauty and gives us a mirror

incidents in South Africa’s political scene – the ongoing

to interrogate ourselves, our actions and our responses.

deaths of young black women and the campaigns that were

In Mantsoe’s Gula Matari, the dancers become the birds that whistle and use their heads to communicate with other birds.

Auth(o)rise and Memory Box is a double bill, with both

created in response to such actions.

Sick and In-Time by Gustin Makgeledisa and Phumlani Nyanga and Thabo Kobeli, respectively, form an exciting

works by Themba Mbuli. Auth(o)rise, which questions ‘how

double bill. Makgeledisa’s Sick is drawn from research

do women become authors of their own lives if they’ve

material based on human trafficking and prostitution. It

been told how they should be living socially, traditionally

captures real-life stories of the innocents – the doers and

and/or religiously?’ Memory Box is the choreographer’s

watchers; where my rights begin, and where yours end.

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 27

ranging from ages 5 to 22 from the Hillbrow Theatre Project, three professional dancers have created Hillbrowfication – a work exploring a Hillbrow of the future – to challenge and inspire the young cast to reimagine their neighbourhood and to develop material based on their perceptions and experiences of xenophobia and violence in the city.

Combining creative forces as choreographer and theatre director respectively, Owen Lonzar and Sylvaine Strike explore the life of an online order, ownership, desire, disappointment, objectification and Harvey Weinstein in Doll.

Fana Tshabalala and Vladimir Ippolitov’s Men is a work inspired by the idea of the ‘ideal kind of Man’ within society and how the roles and responsibilities have changed through the years, leaving ‘Man’ in a state of bewilderment.

A ‘Man’ in society is expected to be brave, industrious and domineering and if this is not achieved, most ‘Men’ end up losing their image and ego as the dominant figure in society.

This work will explore the role of ‘Men’ as strong and muscular, as being more a cliché in modern society; it explores other types of ‘Men’ – gentle, sensitive, caring, a ‘Man’ not afraid of giving voice to his feelings; ‘Men’ who, when needed, will shoulder the burden of taking care of the next person.

Vuyani Dance Theatre PHOTO John Hogg Partnered by the Forgotten Angle Dance Theatre/Ebhudlweni Arts Centre, In-Time looks at how we are imprisoned within the tick-tocks of the clock that beats to give breath to our existence.

Chained in the circles-of-life events, sadness, happiness, life and death, we lose the time that is in-between.

Alan Parker and Gerard Bester’s Sometimes I have to lean in... is a conversation between two bodies. The Wits Theatre, where both performers made their professional debuts at Dance Umbrella, becomes a space of nostalgia and memory.

The moment of their (re)encounter, now in 2018, represents the leaning in of two different bodies within a common space and platform ten and 30 years later.

In a world that is increasingly polarised, the landscape seems to be restricted to black and white. But what about the shades of grey; that wide range of colours reflected by the skins of a global majority, that is still nevertheless labeled as a minority? Moya Michael, in collaboration with Tracey Rose, will explore common visual images that will reflect their histories and where they are today in Coloured Swans.

Hillbrowfication, directed by Constanza Macras and co-choreographed by Lisi Estarás, will premiere at Dance Umbrella before being performed at the Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin, in mid-2018. Working with 21 children and youths

Mamela Nyamza PHOTO John Hogg 28 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Bag Beatings by Sello Pesa (2018) PHOTO Stella Olivier Courtesy of the Centre for the Less Good Idea

Two completely diverse dance companies, the Cape

Thulani Chauke’s Nothing Makes Sense is an interrogation

Dance Company and Tribhangi Dance Theatre play, explore

of violence with a specific focus on the violence that emerges

and find joy in the synergy of two or more styles, nuanced

because of our continued human obsession with systems

creatively to showcase skills transfer from diverse talents in

of classification based on sex, race, gender, sexuality, class,

Elements, composed by Jayesperi Moopen.

culture and physical ability. The work is an investigation

Embracing Gravity comes with a multitude of MIDM

into the full spectrum of violence that we are all subjected

symbolisms. It speaks to one of the basic components of the

to as a result of these systems, from full-blown physical acts

Afrofusion Technique pioneered by Sylvia Glasser through

of racist, sexist, homophobic or classist violence to much

MIDM. This triple-bill includes newly commissioned works

subtler forms of violence that restrict, restrain, moderate or

by past and present dancers, creating new works on the

mould our behaviour.

current MIDM Dance Company. It also brings together a

Other highlights include the New Dance Programme,

collage of repertoire paying tribute to Living Legend and

where you can discover the new up-and-coming dance

Founder of MIDM, Glasser.

creators and celebrate our diversity: featuring work from

In collaboration with Athena Mazarakis, Nicholas

Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town; Sello Pesa’s Bag

Aphane and Shawn Motupi, PJ Sabbagha presents Noah, a

Beatings, which originally premiered at the Centre For The

return to and the final part of his ‘Noah’s’ trilogy. Started in

Less Good Idea; and a series of masterclasses and face-to-face

1998 with Noah’s Phobia and followed by Noah’s Drowning,

conversations with some of the country’s top choreographers.

the final part of the trilogy brings into sharp focus the ever

For dates, times, venues and ticket prices, visit

present realities of environmental degradation, climate

www.danceforumsouthafrica.co.za or www.creativefeel.co.za

change and an immediate future in which the environment

for the most up-to-date information. Early bird tickets close on

we occupy is an active agent in amplifying the fragility and

15 February (call 011 673 0035 to book), with general bookings

volatility of our imploding present.

opening on 17 February on www.webtickets.co.za. CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 29

Cape Town City Ballet opens 2018 with a bang with a rousing adaptation of Aleksandr Puťkin’s short story, Mozart and Salieri. Exquisite period costumes, a superb score and cutting edge projections: this is ballet like Cape Town has never seen before.

30 / Creative Feel / February 2018

M

arc Goldberg, choreographer of the acclaimed work, The Vortex, has combined a classical story with a 21st-century design to bring a sweeping and cinematic experience to modern ballet. A

ground-breaking adaptation of Aleksandr Puškin’s short story of the same name, this world premiere promises digital sets framing distinct 17th-century silhouettes.

The story – familiar to some from the multi-awardwinning 1984 film Amadeus, an adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play of the same name – follows the apocryphal legend that court composer Antonio Salieri poisoned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart out of jealousy at his extraordinary musical skill.

Intertwined with the love story of Mozart and his wife Constanze, the ballet gives us scenes of Mozart within his own creative process, exploring the genius behind such a

Martin Milner and Mariette Opperman

prolific body of work. But the dark undercurrents of envy from Salieri are inescapable, slicing the scenes of love and commitment with shadows of political intrigue and vindictive sabotage, and all the while Mozart’s rapturous music binds everything together in a whirling ebb and flow of creative energy.

The music is of course drawn from Mozart’s instantly recognisable repertoire, and with lighting design by Denis Hutchinson and animation by Pieter Steyn, this new production boasts sumptuous visuals not just in its dancing but in the stunning elaborate costumes crafted by three different designers. Martin Milner, Daniel Szybkowski and a surprise guest artist from Europe dance the role of Mozart.

Laura Bosenberg, Mariette Opperman and Kirstel Jensen alternate as Constanze and Daniel Szybkowski, Anthony Maloney and the choreographer himself take on the complexities of Antonio Salieri.

If you have ever felt that perhaps ballet wasn’t your thing, Mozart and Salieri will ask you to rethink what you know about ballet in South Africa. CF

Date: 7 to 17 February 2018 Times: Wednesday and Saturday 19:30 | matinees on Saturday at 14:00 and Sunday at 15:00 Venue: Artscape Opera House Cost: R150 to R270 Martin Milner and Daniel Szybkowski Martin Milner Creative Feel / February 2018 / 31

Artlooks & Artlines Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column written by Ismail Mahomed, CEO of the Market Theatre Foundation.

Bra Willie: A poet whose words & wisdom will be in the breeze

I

t was a packed house at the John Kani Theatre at the

The memorial service at the Market Theatre was more

Market Theatre complex when artists, politicians,

than a reading of poems and singing of songs. It was a deep

academics, social activists and ordinary folk gathered

reflection of the role that Bra Willie had played as a public

to celebrate the life of South African poet laureate,

intellectual, politician and a shaper of South Africa’s cultural

Keorapetse William Kgositsile, popularly known as Bra Willie.

Opening the memorial celebration, renown poet and coprogramme director for the event, Lebogang Mashile said, ‘When I look around this theatre today, I see a gathering of

landscape. Poets and artists reflected on his life with more than just nostalgia. It was an afternoon of critical reflection and analysis.

‘At the artists’ memorial for our poet laureate at the

some of the best creative and political minds in our country.’

Market Theatre, academics were singing and the poets were

Throughout his life, Bra Willie possessed a remarkable

delivering cutting analyses and making us cry anyway. The

ability to bring people together – people from all walks of

singers and the musicians and dearest soul who raised his

life; and this was so very evident in the diverse audience that

arms for that therapy we call art! And we who are elders were

had gathered at the Market Theatre to pay tribute to his life

told to make way for the young. And be careful what you ask

and works. A message from poet and photographer Iris Dawn

for. Our tongues are hard-won,’ continued De Villiers.

Parker summed it all up as she held back her tears, ‘Bra Willie was an alchemist!’

With the direction of the Market Theatre’s

Poet Vangile Gantsho received a rousing standing ovation for her poem, ‘I Expect More From You’, which provided a deep analysis of just how Bra Willie’s struggles have been

Artistic Director James Ngcobo and under the baton

derailed by politicians whom she hoped would have done so

of programmes directors, renown poet Lebogang

much more. Before Gantsho performed her hugely acclaimed

Mashile and Market Theatre Foundation Chairman

poem, she took to the stage announcing, ‘Some years ago

Kwanele Gumbi, the three-hour memorial service was a

when speaking got me into trouble, it was Prof Kgositsile who

remarkable celebration of a man who touched so many

reminded me that speaking out was important.’

lives with his words and wisdom.

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, poet and close associate of

Gantsho’s rendition of her poem was certainly one of the most powerful pieces of ‘performance poetry’ staged at

the late Bra Willie, wrote on her Facebook page after the

the Market Theatre in a long time. It was delivered with an

memorial service at the Market Theatre, ‘I have been healed

immense commitment that went straight to the heart. It

by the generous presence of the Kgositsile family, encouraged

brought a lump to the throat and it resonated with every fibre

by the large number of people paying their respects. In this

of one’s being. It was also probably one of the most significant

terrible loss may we find the mending of friendship, the

summaries of what Bra Willie expected from everyone who he

rediscovery of comradeship, a shadow of hope.’

frankly, but always charmingly, held accountable.

32 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Emcees: Chairperson of the Market Theatre Foundation, Kwanele Gumbi, and poet Lebo Mashile PHOTO Michael Mokobo Phasha

“A great tree has fallen. Death has robbed us of your humility and infectious smile. You are immortalised through your piercing words, searching intellect and teachings” Poet Vangile Gantsho PHOTO Michael Mokobo Phasha

In the 79 years of his life, Professor Kgositsile touched

through his poetry, teachings and publications. He lived

the lives of many through his poetry and political activism.

in several countries including the US, Botswana, Tanzania

In his lifetime, he mentored a countless number of cultural

and Kenya. Upon his return to South Africa following the

practitioners, academics and political activists.

jettisoning of the apartheid regime in 1994, he worked with

‘A great tree has fallen. Death has robbed us of your humility and infectious smile. You are immortalised through

several academic and government institutions.

Three years earlier to the date of Bra Willie’s memorial

your piercing words, searching intellect and teachings. You

service, he was at the Newtown Precinct to pay tribute to

were an everyday example of soft power, engaging, forever

the memory of the legendary poet, playwright, novelist,

learning and teaching young people. To know and witness

essayist and activist, Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones). He died on

your colossal contribution to our struggle, literary world

9 January 2014. There is no doubt that Amiri Baraka will be

and our ache for dignity and prosperity – is your greatest

gathering the celestial world to welcome Bra Willie as he did

achievement and legacy. The power of your example

when Bra Willie was honoured by the Black Arts Movement

shall remain an inspiration and compass to us as the next

in the USA in 2012.

generation leaders,’ was the opening lines from a message delivered by Kwanele Gumbi.

Keorapetse Kgositsile went into exile in 1961. In his three decades of exile, Kgositsile continued to fight injustices

Though he may be gone from this world, his spirit will continue to inspire generations. The words of poet Wally Serote sum it up, ‘We will listen to the breeze where you have left your voice and wisdom.’ CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 33

The Art of Performance Dave Mann is an editor and award-winning arts journalist.

Coming full circle: Notcutt, Maynardville, and Shakespeare in the Park

Alicia McCormick as Kate and Daneel van der Walt as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew PHOTO Jesse Kramer

I

t’s an early Saturday morning at a coffee shop in Cape Town’s Greenpoint and the place is packed. Cyclists, joggers, and other fit folk are moving in and out of the space, getting take-away coffees (almond milk, no sugar please) and discussing their disdain at having to once

again share the road with vehicle traffic, now that everyone’s back at work.

A large group of talkative cyclists strolls out, bikes in tow, and in walks writer, director and theatre-producer Tara Notcutt.

Tara Notcutt PHOTO Sophie Kirsch

34 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Alicia McCormick as Kate and Daneel van der Walt as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew PHOTO Jesse Kramer

Shrew (assistant-directed by Dara Beth) will see a merging of classic text with modern twists. The latter will comprise ‘90s fashion, lip-synching, and an all-women cast playing both men and women, supported by an all-women creative team.

To top it off, the show marks her fiftieth show as a director, and sees Notcutt being the youngest director to ever stage a play at Maynardville. 15km runs be damned.

A few days later, rehearsals are already underway and Notcutt explains via email how directing this year’s Shakespeare-In-The-Park play is something that’s decidedly close to her heart. ‘It is a very special thing to be doing this at this time,’ says Notcutt. ‘A lot of things have come full circle – Maynardville was my first job out of drama school, which was ten years ago, so technically this is my anniversary. Isn’t that strange to think? It’s amazing how time passes.’

Growing up in Cape Town, the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre is also something Notcutt came to know from an early age, with her father often taking her to see plays there as a child. Needless to say, those starry evenings spent watching reworked classics on the sloping lawns of the amphitheatre will have an impact on her own show. Being a teenager in the ‘90s, however, was another highly influential period when it comes to directing this production, explains Notcutt.

‘People are so into their fitness routines here,’ she says

‘I really wanted to look at misogyny in the modern world.

after taking a seat. ‘It’s like, you’ve just woken up and left

In the play, misogyny is so engrained and part of the fabric

your house for the first time to get a coffee, and they’re all

of who the men are, so I wanted to find a time in our recent

talking about how well their 15km morning run went. It

history, or our present, that reflected the same attitudes and

makes you wonder what you’re doing with your life, really!’

gentle, pervasive misogyny and entitlement,’ she says. ‘As

While Notcutt may not be a keen jogger, she’s still one

someone who was a teenager in the late ‘90s/early 2000s, it’s

of the busiest people I know. With Mafikeng Road, …miskien,

staggering listening to songs from that time as an adult today.

Undermined, and Three Little Pigs being just a few of the award-

The lyrics are, in a word, shocking, and the entitlement and

winning shows to her name, Notcutt’s taken shows to Perth,

ownership with which some of them sing about womxn is

Amsterdam, has toured major festivals across South Africa

something that I find strongly resonates with the play.’

and is frequently noted as being one of the busiest directors

To take a cursory glance at the original Taming of the

at the annual National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. Now, at

Shrew, you would indeed find a play that’s wrought with the

31, she’s embarking on her latest production – a contemporary

macho-brand subterfuge of many Shakespearean classics. The

reimagining of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew at Cape

story begins with Lucentio, a young man who has travelled

Town’s Maynardville Open-Air Theatre.

to Padua from Florence, and his servant Tranio witnessing a

Presented by Siv Ngesi and The Pink Couch, in association

scene between the poster-dad for patriarchy, Baptista Minola,

with Artscape, the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre Trust, and

and his two daughters Katherine and Bianca. While Bianca

Liquidmatch Productions, Notcutt’s version of Taming of the

has more than one young man wishing to wed her, her father

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 35

Buhle Ngaba as Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew PHOTO Jesse Kramer rules that absolutely no one’s getting hitched until her elder,

Kate Pinchuck as Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew PHOTO Jesse Kramer Of course, Notcutt is not doing all of this alone.

shrewish sister, Katherine is married off. What follows is a tale

Cast-wise, she’s brought together a spectacular group of

involving disguises, lies, tricks and more than a few instances

performers. Alicia McCormick and Daneel van der Walt take

of peacocking.

up the lead roles of Kate and Petruchio, while the well-

And if I’ve just done a terrible job at explaining the play,

known Lynita Crofford plays Baptista. Dianne Simpson

you’ll perhaps get a better idea of the plot by watching the

brings a comedic edge as Gremio, while Kathleen Stephens,

cult-classic teen flick 10 Things I Hate About You, which

Naledi Majola, and Masali Baduza play Lucentio, Tranio

takes its premise from Taming of the Shrew. While I never

and Biondello respectively. Following her visit to the Royal

studied Taming of the Shrew in school, I remember watching

Shakespeare Company last year, Buhle Ngaba plays Bianca,

Heath Ledger do his thing in 10 Things I Hate About You and

while Ann Juries plays an upbeat and comedic Grumio. Stage

thinking how great it would be if all of Shakespeare’s works

actress and stand-up comic Kate Pinchuck then rounds up

could be accompanied by a contemporary and heartthrob-

the team with her role as Hortensio.

heavy set of adapted films. Then again, I did study Othello

‘They are simply wonderful,’ says Notcutt. ‘They are

and The Merchant of Venice in school, and benefitted greatly

wickedly funny, incredibly smart, and extremely hard-

from seeing them reimagined on the stage at Maynardville.

working. I’ve only worked with two of the ten actresses, and

Which is why Notcutt’s take on Taming of the Shrew is so important. Maynardville’s annual Shakespeare-In-The-Park

I’m excited to learn from and work with new people.’

And when all is said and done, what is it that Notcutt

is something of an institution in Cape Town. Over the last 62

hopes to have personally achieved with her play? Her

years, the plays have attracted an average attendance of 15 000

answer comes in three short and resolute points: ‘I want to

patrons per year, many of these patrons coming from schools

present something honest on the stage. I want to create a

across the Western Cape. While studying Shakespeare’s works

warm, safe environment for a company to work. And I want

in school can be a hugely beneficial part of the curriculum,

to make sure that the next time someone is casting a show

from what I remember of my school days, there wasn’t

or looking for designers, they start to actively make more

much room for unpacking the ways in which Shakespeare’s

diverse choices.’

characters could fit into the modern-day context, or how we –

While I’ve been a fan of her work for many years, I’m

as confused schoolkids – could adapt and apply their various

not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that Notcutt is

faults and merits to our own lives. Being able to witness a

one of the most important contemporary directors in South

version of Taming of the Shrew that tackles issues of gender,

Africa, and that Maynardville is one of our true theatrical

representation and more through the lens of humour, while still

gems. To see Notcutt’s vision brought to life with her team

staying true to the original story, can be nothing short of life-

at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre is something that no

changing for a high school student – and many an adult too!

theatre-lover should miss. CF

36 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Creative Feel www.creativefeel.co.za

18

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF 02018 519004 771607

A compelling, in-depth look into the life and work of Steven Cohen

9

SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - February 2018

FEBRUARY 2018 JUNE 2017

eforumsouthafrica.co.za

DANCE UMBRELLA

15/01/2018 9:01 AM

Creative Feel Magazine subscription for 6 months for only R205 or 12 months for R365. Visit www.creativefeel.co.za/shop/

J O I N T H E C O N V E R S AT I O N Creative Feel

|

@CreativeFeel |

@creative_feel

W W W. C R E AT I V E F E E L . C O. Z A

Bheki Mkhwane and Hamilton Dlamini in Woza Albert!

WOZA ALBERT!

Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema and Barney Simon’s Woza Albert! will enjoy a run at The Soweto Theatre from 22 February to 11 March 2018 and at the Joburg Theatre Fringe Theatre from 1 to 17 June 2018.

I

n the past year, young South Africans have become more

opportunity for critical thinking and analysis, skills that will

and more vocal about the South Africa that they envisage

assist young people in addressing the day-to-day challenges

and the South Africa that they want to live in. We have

they face, allowing them to realise what they dare to imagine.

seen this demonstrated through the #FeesMustFall

Woza Albert!, by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema and Barney

movement in a more activist manner and in the day-to-day

Simon, is a two-man play which captures the dehumanising

lives of young people through popular culture. While the

nature of apartheid and the undying vibrancy of the human

youth are constantly absorbing new information and keeping

spirit. Starring Hamilton Dlamini alongside Bheki Mkhwane,

up with the latest trends, they are individualists. They are

Woza Albert! remains one of the most enjoyed examples of

heavily influenced by mainstream media and are also affected

satirical anti-apartheid South African theatre. It demonstrates

by their own lived experience. Woza Albert!, which is shown

innovation and creativity during a seminal period of theatre

at the Soweto Theatre annually, adds a rich layer, a content,

in this country. All young people should be well versed in the

that our young people can benefit from and grow to be more

texture and the feeling of the time, such that we never return

amazing than they imagined. The production provides an

there as a people.

38 / Creative Feel / February 2018

The play portrays so much truth and clarifies a simple approach to the human condition, which therefore makes it relevant to South Africa. The two actors play the roles of various black South Africans – a vendor, barber, domestic worker, manual labourer and soldier – receiving the news that Christ (Morena) has arrived in South Africa, where a Calvinist white elite imposes apartheid.

Woza Albert! is a political satire that imagines the second coming of Christ during the apartheid era in South Africa. It looks at a wide range of characters in South Africa at the beginning of the 1980s and attacks the pass laws that prevented black

THE COLOR PURPLE comes to Johannesburg!

people from moving freely at the time. The production uses the metaphor of Morena (Jesus) to show what would happen if he

The first major international staging of the musical

came back to South Africa during apartheid.

The Color Purple since the Broadway revival opens in

Would he like what he saw? And if he saw the atrocities of the time, then why would he not do anything about them?

After each production, the cast returns to answer questions from the audience, primarily school students, which adds immense value to the teaching and learning experience. Learners in the past have used this as an opportunity to understand

Joburg this month with an all-South African company.

‘W

hat is set to be the highlight of the South African theatre calendar in 2018,’ says Bernard Jay, Executive Producer of the South African premier production of the musical The Color Purple, ‘will thrill, excite, engage, enthral and emote

audiences like no other musical before it.’

The Color Purple is glorious among musicals in that it entertains and

the work more personally through the

ultimately uplifts audiences to a state of sheer joy, while taking them on a

experience of the actors. The seasoned

passionate journey of an inspiring family saga – telling the unforgettable

actors in this production have performed in

story of a woman who, through love, finds the strength to triumph over

Woza Albert! for so many years that it is not

adversity and discover her unique voice in the world.

only in their blood but in their psyche. CF

The musical The Color Purple is based on the 1982 novel written by Alice Walker and the 1985 motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

This production is an excellent teaching

The musical’s book is by Marsha Norman, with music and lyrics by Brenda

and learning activity for schools and shows

Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. Set to a joyous score featuring jazz,

Tuesday to Friday at 15:00 as well as at 20:00

ragtime, gospel and blues, it’s a story of hope – a testament to the healing

on Saturdays and at 15:00 on Sundays for

power of love and a celebration of life.

the general public.

The Color Purple will be presented by Joburg Theatre and Bernard Jay on the stage of The Nelson Mandela Theatre at Joburg Theatre, with an official

Tickets are R120 for the public and

opening date set for 4 February 2018. The season will continue until 4

R80 for school groups.

March 2018. The producers have already spent four years negotiating for the

Buy tickets today via www.sowetotheatre.com,

rights and preparing for this South African theatrical coup: the first major

0861 670 670 or contact Khosi for school

international staging of the musical following the 2015 Broadway revival.

bookings on 011 930 7461 or khosi@ sowetotheatre.com

‘I promise that South African audiences will laugh, will cry, will cheer,’ says Jay, ‘but they will never forget The Color Purple.’ CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 39

After record-breaking runs in New York, London and Asia, The Illusionists Direct from Broadway

Den Den

will be in South Africa for the first time ever. The show is packed with thrilling and sophisticated magic of unprecedented proportions, showcasing the jaw-dropping talents of eight of the most incredible illusionists. Creative Feel spoke to Jinger Leigh, The Conjuress, one half of the duo Kalin & Jinger.

Magic tricks, death-defying stunts & acts of breathtaking wonder

I

n addition to Kalin & Jinger, South African audiences

the Reno Hilton. A modern sorceress in a very ancient art,

can expect to see the talents of award-winning New York

Jinger Leigh’s unique blend of elegance and theatricality

comedian, Harrison Greenbaum, The Trickster; the magical

has redefined the role of the magician. Working together as

illusions of Krendl, The Escapist; America’s foremost master

Kalin & Jinger, the duo has developed a reputation for their

of the crossbow, Ben Blaque, The Weapon Master; the card

mix of innovative illusions and their distinctive, modern

trickery of Korean-born Den Den, The Manipulator; Chris Cox,

style. They were awarded Magicians of the Year from the

The Mentalist – a mind reader who can’t read minds; and Darcy

Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle), the highest

Oakes, The Grand Illusionist who will transport audiences with

honour in magic, recognising their unique achievements and

his charm, sleight of hand and logic-defying illusions.

charismatic performances.

Kalin & Jinger is made up of husband and wife Mark

Leigh began her professional career as a dancer at

Kalin and Jinger Leigh. Kalin, The Showman, who has

just 14. She was one of the ‘Young Americans’, toured for

previously performed in Sun City, is one of the most

companies like Disney and Fuji Television, and starred in

influential magicians of the last decade, bringing his

Southern California dinner theatre productions. It was while

amazing illusions to the stage and on television shows as

working as a dancer in Guam that Leigh first met Kalin. The

well as his own experimental theatre in Reno Nevada. As a

results were magical, in every sense of the word, combining

young man, Kalin’s speciality was sleight-of-hand magic, but

the arts of dance and illusion.

he later expanded his act, with Jinger Leigh, The Conjuress,

The opening night of the Montecasino Teatro show

to include tigers, panthers and sensational, split-second

– 14 February – marks 25 years since Kalin and Leigh got

marvels. Together they presented the largest stage illusion

engaged. And despite it being a silver anniversary, Leigh

of all time: vanishing an American Airlines jumbo jet at

says that magic is going through another golden age. ‘There

40 / Creative Feel / February 2018

is a resurgence of innovation and numerous magic outlets for entertainers, paired with a heightened interest from audiences! Magic has a wide appeal for all ages and I think people are rediscovering what they personally get out of experiencing it live.’

Having worked together for so long, Leigh says, ‘the rate at which we create new magic these days has definitely accelerated.’ Despite this, she says, ‘even some of our classic material will always remain “works in progress”, no matter how many performances. Magic for us has always been a challenging art to learn from. But the most important variable that makes things fresh for us are the new audiences and the interactive happenings that occur with different outcomes based on the nature of a live show. In particular, Mark and I perform two routines together with guests from the crowd that are our favourites because people are unpredictable and keep us on our toes.’

Psychology, she says, plays a huge role in putting together a thrilling act. ‘It’s what fascinates me the most.

The best magic is one that touches you and makes someone feel emotionally but you have to know how one thinks in order to get to how they feel – that’s just my theory.

‘I think comedy is just as important, because that’s an emotional sense that you feel as well. Laughter is organic and involuntary, and that’s what makes it real! Sharing those #realmagicmoments is what Kalin & Jinger are all about.’

Bringing The Illusionists Direct from Broadway to South Kalin & Jinger

Africa is something Leigh is excited about – ‘it was one of Mark’s favourite places to visit and I’ve had to hear about it for the past 25 years so I’m beyond excited to share in the South African magic!

‘The Illusionists Direct from Broadway is by far the best collaborative production presented today. The best talent, performing cutting-edge magic to the highest quality level. South African audiences hopefully will be blown away!’ CF The Illusionists Direct from Broadway opens at GrandWest on 7 February for a limited season ending on 11 February 2018. The show then moves to Montecasino’s Teatro from Valentine’s Day to 11 March 2018. To book, visit www.computicket.com or call 0861 915 8000.

Darcy Oakes

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 41

A NEW AVENUE FOR CONTEMPORARY

art jewellery Creative Feel in partnership with FADA Gallery is proud to announce the inaugural South African Contemporary Jewellery Awards Exhibition.

T

he South African Contemporary Jewellery Awards

nationally there has been relatively little beneficiation of

Exhibition will showcase finalist pieces selected

these local raw materials. A focus of this competition is,

from a national jewellery design and manufacture

therefore, to encourage artists to innovate and create; to

competition introduced at the launch of Africa’s

combine materials, techniques and finishes and to push

first Contemporary Jewellery Forum (CJF) in the Jewellery

boundaries beyond the obvious and mundane and ultimately

Department of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in October

to maximise the local economic contribution.

2017. These initiatives are premised on promoting jewellery

The awards exhibition aims to bring together established

as a creative medium for personal expression and providing

jewellers, as well as young and aspiring artists, in the creation

a platform for the development of cutting-edge concepts and

of one-of-a-kind expressive or installation pieces. There

techniques while creating fine and distinctive art jewellery.

are no limitations as artists are called upon to visualise

South Africa has been a major player in the mining of

and realise their ideas. The winner and runner-up of the

minerals for many years, supplying gold, platinum and

competition will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on

diamonds to the global jewellery manufacturing sector while

15 March 2018 after which the South African Contemporary

42 / Creative Feel / February 2018

“Contemporary jewellers are in the unique position of being able to make work that crosses many boundaries – art, design, fashion, craft, engineering – and the intimate scale of jewellery and its close relationship to the body also make it a great vehicle for communication.”

– Geraldine Fenn – Contemporary South African Jeweller

Jewellery Awards Exhibition will open at the FADA Gallery on the Bunting Road Campus of the University of Johannesburg.

International and local judges will ensure works selected are deserving of their inclusion in this well-established niche market. All pieces on exhibition will be for sale, presenting an opportunity for art collectors and the public to add jewellery to their collections. A comprehensive catalogue of all work on exhibition will be forthcoming, contributing to research and development in this field and stimulating much-needed growth in this niche market.

Exposure of the winning artist’s pieces and that of the runner-up in the April 2018 issue of Creative Feel will gain them national and international recognition. CF For more information, visit SA Contemporary Jewellery Awards Exhibition on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fadagallery1/

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 43

Experience the beauty of La Motte with

La Motte Wine Estate is renowned for the innovative ways in which it shares the estate’s fine wine, cuisine, historic charm and beautiful landscapes with guests to its Franschhoek address. Translated as The Flowers of La Motte and inspired by the fynbos on the mountainside and flora from the estate gardens, the La Motte Museum’s new art exhibition, Fleurs de La Motte, now introduces a new way to enjoy the estate’s offering.

T

he vibrancy of the detailed paintings by Stellenbosch-based artist, Paula van Coller-Louw, makes one forget about the drought in the Cape Winelands. Acclaimed for her intriguing blossoms

and symbolic commentary of plant life through four solo and 50 group exhibitions over the last 17 years, she explores a new and developed perspective with her work for this exhibition.

The special selection of flora on the estate includes the Serruria Florida (Blushing Bride), Erica’s, Pincushions, Proteas, Hanneli Rupert roses as well as Disas and the tiniest detail of the delicate flowers is captured in an exceptional emotion of layered colours that adds to the artist’s symbolic interpretation of plant life.

Adding an interactive and educational element to the fivemonth-long exhibition, established sculptor, Toby Megaw, will

44 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Paula van Coller-Louw (above) and Toby Megaw (right) in studio – a preview of Fleurs de La Motte for the La Motte Museum

be completing a life-size sculpture in clay, The Blushing Bride, in the La Motte Museum. Also the commissioned artist of the four-metre-tall Wine Bearer sculpture welcoming visitors to La Motte, Megaw’s focus is on capturing the beauty of humanity in subtle form and gesture.

The Fleurs de La Motte Exhibition opens in the La Motte Museum on 1 February 2018 and runs until 15 July 2018. The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00 and entrance is complimentary.

The exhibition also extends to the Fleurs de La Motte Experience, a Tuesday morning guided tour of the exhibition inclusive of a walkabout with artist Paula van Coller-Louw or demonstration by sculptor Toby Megaw followed by tea and treats in the gardens of Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant. CF The Fleurs de La Motte Experience takes place on Tuesday mornings at 10:00 and costs R150 per person.

Reservations are essential and can be made online at la-motte.com, by calling +27 (0) 21 876 8850 or emailing museum@la-motte.co.za

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 45

Sanlam Portrait Award 2017

TOP 40 EXHIBITION In its third presentation in 2017, the Sanlam Portrait Award has become a star feature on the biennial South African art competition calendar.

Genna and Felix, Kate Arthur, winner of the 2017 Sanlam Portrait Award. Oil on canvas 46 / Creative Feel / February 2018

L

aunched in 2013 in collaboration with the Rust-enVrede Gallery in Durbanville, Cape Town, the Sanlam Portrait Award is modelled on the UK’s BP Portrait Award, presented in partnership with the National

Portrait Gallery.

Unlike the BP Portrait Award, which invites worldwide

entries and is restricted to paintings only, the Sanlam Portrait Award is open to entries of any two-dimensional work in any medium, excluding photography or lens-based media, but restricted to persons with permanent residence in South Africa.

The inaugural competition in 2013 exceeded expectations, with work of a high standard received from South African-based emerging, amateur and established artists. The relatively small Rust-en-Vrede Gallery had to call

“The entries have grown more diverse as artists have explored combined media, compositional variations, odd formats and reworked iconic portraits from the past.”

in all of its volunteers to assist with processing the entries – which were in excess of 1 800. This was a steep learning curve for the gallery, which now handles the entries with efficiency and ease.

Portrait of a Young Man by Heather Gourlay-Conyngham, the winning work for 2013, set a precedent for the next

Genna and Felix, also pushed the conventional with a group

competition, which took place in 2015. The second run of the

portrait featuring two individuals confronting the viewer

competition saw quality over quantity. While fewer entries

head-on. Kate Arthur had made the top 40 in 2015 and in

were submitted than before, the work was of a markedly

2017 she not only won but also had another portrait, Kwena,

higher standard.

included in the selection.

Much like its UK counterpart, the majority of the entries

Judging such a competition is no easy feat. It requires

that the Sanlam Portrait Award receives are conventional

stamina, knowledge and openness to difference, debate and

interpretations of a portrait – where the head and shoulder,

conflicting visions. Since 2013, each winning work and the

full-frontal view predominates. Yet, among these there are

further 39 works that make up the top 40 exhibition have

also images that manipulate the standard understanding

been selected by a different panel of three judges – one of

of what a portrait is and grab the viewer’s imagination. The

whom is invited from outside South Africa. On all three

entries have grown more diverse as artists have explored

occasions, this person has been BP Portrait Award winner:

combined media, compositional variations, odd formats and

Susanne Du Toit (2013), Craig Wylie (2008) and Peter

reworked iconic portraits from the past.

Monkman (2009). Complemented by two local judges from

The 2015 winning portrait was of a young boy. In After

academic and curatorial backgrounds, the three-headed

the Match, John Pace eloquently captured the bedraggled

judging panels have demonstrated an independence of

face of disappointment on his son. The freshness of the

mind and sagacity that makes the Sanlam Portrait Award

paint and the uncomplicated presentation captured the

exhibition a credible reflection of some of the top talented

judges’ attention and, after much discussion and argument,

artists in the country.

they awarded it the top prize.

In 2017, entries to the competition increased sharply

For any artist to have succeeded in being selected for the top 40 touring exhibition is a significant achievement

again and the selection of artworks in the top 40, though

and an acknowledgement of quality. As Peter Monkman

dominated by paintings, included a greater proportion of

pointed out, persistence and diligence eventually pay off

drawings than ever before. Kate Arthur’s winning portrait

– he had entered the BP Portrait Award some eleven times

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 47

Portrait of a Young Man, Heather Gourlay-Conyngham, winner of the 2013 Sanlam Portrait Award. Oil on canvas

After the Match, John Pace, winner of the 2015 Sanlam Portrait Award.

Oil on canvas

before having a work accepted for exhibition in the final round of judging.

The Sanlam Portrait Award 2017 Top 40 exhibition

EXHIBITION INFORMATION: The Sanlam Portrait Award 2017 Top 40 exhibition will be

begins its nationwide tour at the University of

on view at the University of Johannesburg Art Gallery from

Johannesburg Art Gallery in February 2018 and will be

8 February to 7 March. The opening event takes place on 7

hosted in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Knysna

February at 18:00.

and George during the course of the year.

For participating artists, this presents nationwide

TOUR 2018:

exposure. For Sanlam Private Wealth, the support

KwaZulu-Natal Society of Arts Gallery, Bulwer, Durban, 11 to

of this exhibition and the R100 000 prize fits well

29 April 2018

with its philosophy of tailoring their services to

GFI Gallery, Port Elizabeth, May to June 2018

individuals. For the Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, this

Centenary Gallery, Free State Festival, UFS, Bloemfontein,

competition has provided a very necessary source of

8 to 27 July 2018

funds and creative energy that is required by any NPO

Knysna Fine Arts, Knysna, August 2018

to remain active and relevant in its community.

George Museum, George, September 2018

The next Sanlam Portrait Award will be presented in 2019. If 2017 is anything to go by, the next award winner and exhibition will undoubtedly be something to look forward to. CF

48 / Creative Feel / February 2018

(exact dates TBC)

Kate Arthur Genna and Felix oil on canvas Sanlam Portrait Award Winner 2017

Sanlam Portrait Award 2017 Exhibition

University of Johannesburg Art Gallery c/o Kingsway and University Road, Auckland Park, Johannesburg Tel: 011 559 2099 Email: aedempsey@uj.ac.za

8 February 2018 – 7 March 2018 Monday – Friday: 12:00 – 18:00 Saturdays: 09:00 – 13:00 Closed on public holidays www.rust-en-vrede.com www.sanlamportraitaward.co.za

Head (Skull and Skin), Gerhard Marx, 2014. Plant, tissue, acrylic, canvas board. 120 x 120cm

I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE: A search for Ubuntu with permission to dream

The Standard Bank Gallery joins hands with renowned artist and curator, Usha Seejarim to present an inspiring exhibition of artworks lifted from the bank’s corporate art collection from 2 February to 31 March 2018.

A

thought-provoking and boldly curated

Kentridge. There are also the poignant pictures of the late, great

exhibition, I am because you are: A search for

Thami Mnyele, young creatives like Hasan and Husain Essop,

Ubuntu with permission to dream, comprises

along with the works of Alan Crump, and other great artists.

various works of art by leading contemporary

and modern South African artists.

These include historic drawings by Dumile Feni, the striking work by Diane Victor, and a number of iconic works by William

50 / Creative Feel / February 2018

The work on exhibit is presented against the backdrop of South Africa’s current sociopolitical context, which includes 24 years of democracy as a nation, and what would have been Nelson Mandela’s centenary – hence the

Three Figures, Lucky Sibiya, undated. Carved and painted wood. 90 x 120cm

inclusion of Johannes Segogela’s Mandela’s Birthday Party.

The Minister of Enterprise, Kudzanai Chiurai, 2009. Ultrachrome ink on photo fibre paper. 150 x 100cm

The Standard Bank Corporate Art Collection is one of

The palpable greed in our political arena, for instance, is

the most comprehensive repositories of South African art

illustrated in images such as The Minister of Enterprise by

in the world, comprising over 1 200 works by more than 250

Chiurai Kudzanai.

South African artists. This exhibition is part of the bank’s

The exhibition I am because you are: A search for Ubuntu with permission to dream aims to encourage its viewers to contemplate the African values of Ubuntu in the context of South Africa’s contemporary conditions.

I am because you are: A search for Ubuntu with permission

continued partnership with leading South African curators to present shows at the Standard Bank Gallery.

The Standard Bank Gallery – located on the corner of Simmonds and Frederick streets in central Johannesburg – offers free, safe undercover parking on the corner of

to dream is a visual mission to find Ubuntu, a pursuit of ideals

Harrison and Frederick streets. Gallery hours: Mondays to

perhaps forgotten in mindsets of frustration, anger and even

Fridays from 8:00 to 16:30, and Saturdays from 9:00 to 13:00.

embarrassment. The exhibition thus draws from the word

Entrance to the exhibition is free.

‘Ubuntu’ as an African philosophy and human quality that,

The Standard Bank Gallery will be open on First Thursday

as noted by curator Usha Seejarim, ‘is not specific to South

evenings during the exhibition. For further information,

Africa, but common to many African countries.’

please contact 011 631 4467. CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 51

Aspire Art Auctions offers major artworks

O N S U M M E R C A P E TO W N S A L E Fresh from the remarkable successes of its recent Johannesburg auction in November 2017, Aspire Art Auctions is lining up another top roster of high-quality fine art in its upcoming Summer Sale at The Avenue, the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on 25 March 2018.

A

spire’s last auction sale demonstrated their expertise in each of the major segments of historic, modern and contemporary art, with records being achieved across the board. The work on offer in

the forthcoming sale shows the same depth and excellence, offering buyers another opportunity to add quality and rarity to their collections.

A leading highlight on the sale is a rare and unusual work by revered South African modern artist Alexis Preller. Gold Angel (Arêté), from 1970, combines the artist’s interest in African masks and Egyptian and Greek murals, gleaned from his extensive travels in Europe and North Africa. In addition to his interest in these themes, Preller developed a highly idiosyncratic personal cosmology in which a variety of ‘angel’ and regal ‘king’ figures are depicted, often just their heads, and often, like this one, in profile. This Egyptian-inspired angel head is subtitled ‘Arêté’, a Greek word meaning ‘excellence’, or ‘living up to one’s potential’ – a key concept in Preller’s visual cosmology. This striking work is executed in the artist’s innovative intaglio method: the image appears at a distance to be in high relief but is in fact produced as a negative, a concave form, cast in fibreglass resin. The cast is then meticulously painted to create the illusion of a convex rendering of the form.

Another significant modern artist on the sale is Cape Town’s own Peter Clarke. Clarke’s work has been a great success in recent Aspire auctions, one fetching a world record price of R932 176 in Johannesburg in November. This is the highest ever price at auction for one of his gouache works. An early gouache Untitled (Frame XVI), Mohau Modisakeng

52 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Gold Angel (Arêté), Alexis Preller

Uzukile the Elder, Athi-Patra Ruga

and watercolour work goes on auction in Cape Town, Bathers

in establishing Modisakeng’s characteristic visual style – a

from 1967. It is on the sale alongside an even earlier oil on

cool, abstracted and stylised photographic performance in

paper still life by Clarke, Fruit Bowl from 1958.

which the artist stages his own body in ‘frames’ of implicit

Maggie Laubser needs no introduction to most serious

violence, indicative of the global situation of the black body.

buyers and collectors, and one of South Africa’s most

In this particular instance from the series, the trope of the

significant modern painters has a beautiful still life on the

blinkers implies both violence and control over the subject.

Cape Town show. Still life with vase and sunflowers (1940)

Another significant contemporary work on auction

is a representative painting from the artist’s mature

is the tapestry work by Athi-Patra Ruga from 2013,

period, when she had become something of an icon for a

Uzukile the Elder. This arresting piece is newly arrived

younger generation of contemporary SA artists, the so-

on consignment from the prestigious Fondation Louis

called ‘New Group’.

Vuitton show in Paris entitled Being There, which featured

Judged on the outstanding success of the sale of Sydney Kumalo’s Mythological Rider in the Aspire November 2017

new South African talent.

Emma Bedford is director, senior art specialist and head

sale, where it achieved a world record price of almost

of Aspire’s Cape Town office. She was also the senior curator

R2 million, buyers will be interested in another arresting

of contemporary art at Iziko South African National Gallery,

sculpture by the venerated Amadlozi artist. Figure on a Bull

where she worked for 25 years. She comments: ‘We are very

is from an edition of nine, but has the distinction of being a

excited to bring such a considered and valuable range of

posthumous cast.

work to the local market. Given that the record-breaking

Lastly, the upcoming show has a special focus on

successes in our last sale ranged from the world-record price

contemporary art, an area in which Aspire has consistently

for a sculpture by Kumalo to a South African record for a

led the secondary auction market, and which forms a

drawing by contemporary doyen William Kentridge, we can

strategic focus area for the company.

confidently assert that we are demonstrating our expertise

One of the contemporary highlights at the Cape Town

in the art market across the board. We are especially looking

auction is by one of the most exciting contemporary artists

forward to further affirming our presence and expertise in

in the country at the moment. Mohau Modisakeng’s star

the contemporary market with this sale.’ CF

continues to rise. The work on auction is from 2012’s Frames series, Untitled (Frame XVI). This series was instrumental

For more information, visit wwwaspireart.net or call 011 243 5243.

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 53

DriftArt

Washed ashore and shaped by nature

Markus Wörsdörfer Late last year FotoZA, a gallery in the Mall of Rosebank in Johannesburg dedicated to photographic fine art, presented DriftArt by Markus Wörsdörfer – a fascinating exhibition formed from early morning walks on the beautiful tropical beaches of Zanzibar.

DriftArt looks at what happens when a piece of clothing washes ashore. When the sun, sand, wind and water, the ebb and flow starts to play with it. Shaping it, moving it around, washing it, tearing it, bleaching it.

54 / Creative Feel / February 2018

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 55

DriftArt

Washed ashore and shaped by nature

DriftArt looks at what happens when man meets nature. When we keep our eyes open to even the smallest detail and let our

Markus Wörsdörfer

that was very successful I think, and it was well appreciated. I like to do different things, so I change it all the time.’

Are there certain similarities between his profession as a watchmaker and photography? ‘To me it is similar. I think what watchmaking has brought to me in photography

imagination have free reign. Look from a

is a very detailed approach. I like a lot of detail in my

distance or go in close, we all might see

seeing – you can stand at a distance and look at it and

something different and our mind plays tricks on us.

photographs, so especially with DriftArt, it’s well worth you’ll see something and then when you move very close, you can see all of the beautiful details, the sand, the textiles, all the fabrics, and I think it is there that watchmaking has helped me a lot.’

T

he DriftArt exhibition was accompanied by an

Wörsdörfer explains that DriftArt came about during

extensive interview with Wörsdörfer by Fujifilm

a holiday in Zanzibar. ‘I was actually just enjoying the

South Africa for their podcast series SOOC Straight

beach and walking around and taking images of the

Out Of Camera, which gave special background

fishermen going out to sea when I came across a piece

information. ‘I was fascinated with nature at first. I did a lot

of fabric sticking out of the sand. I started looking at it

of travelling in South Africa and that’s how my interest in

and walked around it, and looked at it from all sides and

photography grew. I bought my first camera, which was not a

suddenly I saw a fish in it and that’s how it started. it’s all

Fuji, but that was a long time ago, and that’s how I started. I

about fabrics that have been washed up onto the beach

did a couple of courses in photography, both in South Africa

and where the tides flow, sun, sand, wind and water has

and abroad in Germany, and I started exhibiting in Germany.

shaped it around and turned it into real pieces of art.

I photographed architecture, which I exhibited in Düsseldorf,

‘During the next week, I deliberately started looking

Germany. But I don’t have a fixed subject; I like to explore

for pieces of clothing, fabrics and paper that had washed

all genres of photography. I don’t like to be put in a box; I’ve

on to the white beaches around the island. Not as easy

done various other things. I did a photo shoot with Fujifilm a

a task as one would think because the beaches are

couple of years ago on a completely different subject – nude

generally very clean. They’re not just lying around, so I

photography – which we did for the World Cup in 2014 and

started looking for them on my walks.’

How did Wörsdörfer go from seeing at first a piece of fabric in the sand to creating this exhibition? How did he go about distilling a thought process into a creative process, especially given that though these works are very distinctly his, there is still a commonality in the way that we see the things around us? Wörsdörfer compared it to looking into the clouds ‘you know when we grew up, we used to lie on our backs and look at the sky and we saw all sorts of things appear in the sky like dogs and Mickey Mouse and that is what happened to me when I was walking on the beach. Suddenly, these items of clothing and textiles appeared to me as more than just pieces of clothing – they

Markus Wörsdörfer was born suddenly had an identity. There was a howling wolf; there was a couple dancing...’

DriftArt allows everybody to see something else in the images. ‘I deliberately left the images on exhibition without titles so that whoever came to see it could use their own imagination to see something different.

and raised in Germany and is a watchmaker by profession.

He moved to Johannesburg in the late 1980s where his

We don’t need to agree what we see; it’s all up to the

interest in photography started,

imagination of the onlooker.’

his compositions include

Wörsdörfer took great care in the framing process to ensure that the images are the centre of focus and not the

classical portraiture and fine

frames. For him, the transition from a snap or a straight

art nude, landscape and macro

photograph to fine art is that an image needs to be printed to be fine art. When it’s on Instagram or a social media page, for example, it doesn’t have the same feel to him. For Wörsdörfer, only a print can show the real textures and fine nuances of a photograph. CF

photography. He was successfully exhibited in group exhibitions in South Africa, Germany and China.

Strauss & Co is pleased to announce details of its firstever dedicated contemporary art sale, due to be held on 17 February 2018. The venue for the 71-lot sale is an impressive former warehouse overlooking the Duncan Docks, a harbour facility at the Port of Cape Town.

Drunk in the Docks, Robert Hodgins. Estimate: R800 000 – 1 200 000

Strauss & Co to launch contemporary sale IN SOUTH AFRICA’S OLDEST WORKING HARBOUR

F

ormerly a cold-storage facility, the venue now forms

from his film Felix in Exile (1994), estimates R2 – 2.5 million;

part of a complex of buildings being transformed

an early Cake (1983) painting by Penny Siopis, estimates

by the V&A Waterfront into a multi-billion-rand

R600 000 – R 800 000; Joachim Schönfeldt’s esteemed

cruise liner terminal and is located a convenient

portfolio of 27 painted and embossed works on paper, The

five-minute walk from the V&A Waterfront’s Silo District and

Model Men (2000 – 2012), estimates R800 000 – R1.2 million;

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.

a pyramid sculpture, Third World Disorder (2010), by Kendell

The sale, which focuses on outstanding examples of contemporary art made by South African, African and diaspora artists, will coincide with the 2018 Investec Cape

Geers, estimates R600 000 – R800 000; and Robert Hodgins, Drunk in the Docks, estimates R800 000 – R1.2 million.

The sale also includes works by noted contemporary

Town Art Fair (16 – 18 February 2018). This pace-setting

painters, such as Lisa Brice, Kate Gottgens, Georgina

event at the start of the 2018 South African art calendar is

Gratrix, Helen Sebidi and Jessica Webster, as well as

held annually in the Cape Town International Convention

striking early works by Zander Blom and Ayanda Mabulu.

Centre, very close to Duncan Dock.

Recognising the emergence of photography in the period

Highlights from the contemporary sale include an important charcoal and pastel drawing by William Kentridge

58 / Creative Feel / February 2018

since 1990, photographic works by Leonce Raphael Agbodjélou, Kudzanai Chiurai, Abrie Fourie, Cyrus Kabiru,

contemporary art. Strauss & Co has achieved over R200 million in sales from just contemporary art in this period.

A broadening of tastes among South African collectors has seen artists like Jane Alexander, Deborah Bell, Norman Catherine, Robert Hodgins, William Kentridge and Penny Siopis perform consistently well at auction. Kentridge now ranks among the top performing artists at auction in South Africa, alongside blue-chip artists like JH Pierneef, Gerard Sekoto and Irma Stern.

Strauss & Co has successfully sold 240 Kentridge lots since 2009, with a cumulative value of R81 847 896. The two other top-performing contemporaries are Hodgins and Catherine.

Hodgins brought in R43 969 038 from 195 lots sold since 2009, while Catherine has achieved R11 151 202 from 157 lots sold over the same extended period.

Strauss & Co’s commitment to bringing singular works to market saw it achieve a world record in 2011 when it sold an untitled figure sculpture by Jane Alexander, originally exhibited with her iconic The Butcher Boys (1985-86), for R5 456 640.

Recent Strauss & Co live sales have witnessed enthusiastic bidding for a newer generation of artists. Last year, an edition of Mary Sibande’s photo Her Majesty, Queen Sophie sold for R193 256, well above its high estimate.

Similarly, Billie Zangewa’s silk tapestry Working Nights fetched R204 624, quadrupling its high estimate.

An illustrated catalogue, with detailed entries on each lot, accompanies Strauss & Co’s contemporary sale. The sale will take place at Cruise Terminal, E Berth, Duncan Docks, Kiss Kiss, Georgina Gratrix. Estimate: R80 000 – 120 000

Duncan Road, V&A Waterfront on Saturday, 17 February 2018 at 18:00. CF CONTEMPORARY ART AUCTION Saturday 17 February 2018 at 18:00

David Goldblatt, Mohau Modisakeng, Tracey Rose, Mikhael

Lots 1-71

Subotzky and Guy Tillim will be offered.

‘The launch of our first contemporary art auction during

VENUE: Block B, Cape Town Cruise Terminal

the Cape Town Art Fair heralds an exciting new direction

Duncan Road, V&A Waterfront

for Strauss & Co and should, in time, further enhance our

PREVIEW: 15 February, 10:00 to 17:00

relevance and sustainability,’ says Strauss & Co Chairperson,

16 - 17 February, 10:00 to 18:00

Frank Kilbourn. Together with Strauss & Co’s joint managing

WALKABOUTS: Thursday 15 February at 11:00

directors, Bina Genovese and Vanessa Phillips, Kilbourn has

Saturday 17 February at 12:30

been instrumental in guiding the company towards a more

ENQUIRIES AND CATALOGUES: +27 (0) 21 683 6560

diversified offering that now includes six online auctions

Mobile +27 (0) 78 044 8185

and a contemporary sale as well as their four live auctions.

Fax: +27 (0) 21 683 6085

Strauss & Co has reason to be bullish about the market for contemporary art. Since it launched in 2009,

Illustrated catalogue R200

the company’s four annual live auctions – two apiece in

All lots are sold subject to the conditions of business printed

Cape Town and Johannesburg – have always included

at the back of the catalogue

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 59

WATER

What Are You, SaySay.Love. Your cool glassy shine, refreshing my soul. Revitalising my senses.

THE GIFT OF Fine art photographer SaySay.Love’s first solo exhibition, The Gift Of Water,

took place at One11 Gallery late last year, shortly followed by The Gift of Water Chapter II at AVA Gallery.

I

nspired by his emotional connection to nature, SaySay.Love – a fine art photographer working only with his iPhone – sees the limitations of using his phone as both a challenge and an opportunity. Born with an

optical disability that hinders his perception of depth, speed and distance, SaySay.Love’s artistic vision remains pure. It is vibrant, quick and eclectic, and transports his viewers into the very fabric of our being, lending an insight and breakthrough into the very workings of our complex planet. SaySay.Love’s photographic works present a calm and considered observation of nature, expressed through his own personal painterly style as feeling throughout the various images.

60 / Creative Feel / February 2018

tides – brings new life to our shores. Water is a gift provided by nature for the sustainability and rebirth of life, SaySay.Love hopes his work will inspire this too.

In his essay A Revival, Cape Town-based artist, writer and curator Lonwabo Kilani explores some of SaySay.Love’s work: ‘Anew, armed with an iPhone in hand, paths are cleared and carved. Every swipe and click becomes a new discovery, the effervescence. Cool blues in dotted lines that string together what seems to be life-forming particles. We are told that this is the labyrinth of our life code that gives meaning to our being.

‘This new formation, the birth of an artist, is unlike that of the newborn devoid of memories. Instead, new memories are created. It is an afterlife of a journey travelled to its peak. In this life after, this new beginning, one is compelled to ask what SaySay is searching for? What is this that stared at him in his Mystery Road, refreshing his soul and revitalising his senses leading to his ponder, what are you?

‘We see love, the explicit expression in his pseudonym.

“Pseudonym”, the implication that one is using, according to the Oxford dictionary, a “fictitious name, especially one assumed by an author.” Meaning, the old name is not discarded to make way for the new, therefore, this neither signals a new beginning nor a discard of the old. It seems, love, the addition, not to the old, but an other within.

‘Comic characters tend to possess such qualities where one discovers, at a certain point in their lives, extraordinary powers that exceed those of mere mortals. Hidden within, such discoveries cannot be shared with the general public that will, as the norm presupposes, turn one into a freak show. Their overreaching superpowers become the source of social inadequacy that renders them incapable social beings. Only with time, when one has assumed the carriage as the self Radiance 2, SaySay.Love. As in life, the energy emitted in any given moment, has a ripple effect, changing landscapes and life, emit love and the world changes to a better place.

other, the pseudo, does he feel compelled to reach out and express these powers. The expression itself is meant to be an affection for others, the broader community, his Radiance 1. Such affection tends to come with baggage from the other that is the real. Since the powers

SaySay.Love seeks out the beautiful convolution of nature,

are beyond human reach, the function of the baggage is meant to

presenting it in emotive and mesmerising motifs that draw the

humanise and tone down the power to get the audience to feel for and

viewer in – compelled on a journey lured by the visual clues

be affectionate towards the superhero, our Radiance 2…

that take you further and further away from your existing

‘Self directed, one reads The Gift Of Water as that which

reality. This is SaySay.Love’s universe. He unlocks familiar

quenches the being. Here, art seems to be the love, the quench,

memories and experiences from our subconscious – time

the temporality that must be constantly revived. It revives.

spent as a child exploring rock pools, walking with a loved one

It is the resource, the code giving meaning to the being. The

in a familiar setting, or times when you were inspired by the

aesthetic is self directed. A reinvention.’ CF

unlimited beauty and flow in nature. SaySay.Love’s images at once transport you into the depths of the Earth, simultaneously

Association for Visual Arts (AVA) Stand F5 @ Investec Cape Town

placing you in a distant galaxy.

Art Fair 16 –18 Feb 2018

The Gift Of Water, captured primarily in Cape Town, is

Upcoming exhibitions:

inspired by the life-force that is water. SaySay.Love’s art

The Melrose Gallery, Johannesburg, 22 Feb – 24 Mar 2018

reshapes our understanding of this gift, and his colourful

AGOG Gallery | 10 March – 7 April 2018

expressions reflect his understanding of preserving this life-

Website: www.saysay.love | Facebook: saysay.love or

binding agent that fills our rivers and seas. Its ebb and flow

saysay.love photography

– meticulously timed with the phases and movements of the

Instagram: @saysay.love

RECONNECTING Cate Terblanche takes an in-depth look into Reconnect, an exhibition by awardwinning visual artist Ingrid Bolton. Terblanche holds a Masters of Arts in Art History (Cum Laude). She is currently a lecturer in art history at Unisa and is the art curator for the Sasol Art Collection.

62 / Creative Feel / February 2018

T

his exhibition entitled Reconnect is a continued

make economic sense. A few lone voices still denying the

exploration of the works exhibited by Ingrid Bolton

global environmental crisis, are often those with vested

in her first solo exhibition that was held at the

interests in commercial ventures that exploit natural

Pretoria Art Museum in 2013, as part of her prize for

resources. Still others would say that the act of recycling

winning the Sasol New Signatures competition the previous

simply makes us feel better by alleviating our feelings

year. Entitled Connect/Disconnect, showing with Berman

of guilt produced by indiscriminate consumerism. There

Contemporary at the 2018 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, the

are those, on the other hand, who see recycling as an

exhibition investigates the importance of copper, specifically

opportunity, not only to reduce waste and our impact on

copper cabling, in the process of communication.

the environment, but also to create jobs and to provide

In this new body of work, Bolton returns to the

employment. For the majority of us, recycling is a process

questions relating to technology and its ability to either

born from good intentions despite the lack of supportive

enable or disrupt communication. As the title suggests,

infrastructures.

Bolton not only wishes to reconnect with the subject

E-waste, especially, is an increasingly problematic

matter, but also with the issues that concern her. In order

by-product of our rampant consumerism and throwaway

to understand Bolton’s work, one needs to be aware of her

culture. The problem is compounded by the fact that many

acute interest in environmental issues. Her background

countries have no specific laws or policies for dealing with

in microbiology has served as inspiration for her art on

e-waste, leaving many poorer countries vulnerable to

several occasions.

becoming dumping grounds for the discarded technology

Bolton uses the cables as a metaphor, not only for the

no longer required by more affluent countries. Not only do

transfer of information, but as a structural component

these countries then have to deal with the physical disposal

of her cityscapes. Our cities, our world, cannot exist, or

of tons of redundant technological objects, but recycling of

even function, without the crazy network of cabling that

these products is often toxic and highly hazardous to the

surrounds us. This network allows for communication,

environment, as well as the people working in these areas.

global communication, as well as constructing our daily

In some instances, cables are burnt to retrieve the metals,

experiences as city dwellers. Cut at a 90-degree angle,

releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere, threatening both

the cables reveal their secret landscapes. These hidden

the individual and the community’s health.

geometric patterns form shapes reminiscent of glass

It is this tension between the creative and destructive

jewellery from Murano, those fragile beads of glass that

forces of technology that informs much of Bolton’s work.

both delight and terrify us. One wrong move and the

Even the highly technical manner in which the cables

precious glass bead is shattered, broken, never to be

are cut to reveal the inner cores without destroying

restored. That is, of course, unless it finds its way into

them in the process, reflects this tension. Her cityscapes

a recycling bin. In a similar way, Bolton’s cityscapes are

are deceptively beautiful aesthetic objects, products

simultaneously fragile and highly complex ecosystems

of our malevolent obsession and over-consumption of

always bordering on the brink of collapse, but always with

technological products.

the potential for revival.

The issue of sustainability is also at the heart of her

The need to protect our environment is becoming all the more urgent. Bolton’s work is a call to reconnect

work. While recycling is generally encouraged as a moral and

with our values, the environment and our own role in

ethical act towards saving our planet for future generations,

ensuring the sustainable and ethical use of our limited

some would argue that the ‘real’ cost of recycling does not

natural resources. CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 63

Business & Arts Business & Arts is a monthly column by Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).

Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela (Ethiopia)

B

usiness and Arts South Africa is currently working

by the Italians in the 20th century. It is at the forefront of

in a diversity of countries in Africa. Of late we have

palaeontology with the discovery of ‘Lucy’ the hominid. In

been working with the British Council in Ethiopia.

the 4th century, it was one of the first regions in the world to

The goal is to support businesses in their future

adopt Christianity as one of the country’s official religions.

engagement with the creative sector, while working closely

This is of interest, because of the dominant imagery intrinsic

with the arts sector in skills and opportunity development.

to the country’s brand – the Coptic crosses, and the storyline

The work has taken place over a good few weeks and has

that unfolds through the extraordinary vision of King Lalibela

forced us to acknowledge how much we still can learn and

over 900 years ago. The town of Lalibela, in the Northern

must learn for a truly diverse and transformed global society.

Amhara region, hosts a UNESCO site of eleven monolithic,

It is deeply challenging – a powerful reminder of the constant

rock hewn churches – all of them still active, all joined by

need to grow thoughtfully.

a network of warren-like underground passages. A visit to

Ethiopia is a fascinating country, one with a profound and

these churches leaves one in awe of the potential of humans

diverse heritage. It is the only African country that was never

to achieve what appears to be the impossible. Much like a

colonised, apart from a short, futile foray into the region

viewing of the pyramids in Egypt, the deep mystery of life and

64 / Creative Feel / February 2018

the power of human will, are apparent in Lalibela.

The country is also currently fraught with ethnic strife,

The political scientist Milton C. Cummings defines cultural diplomacy as ‘the exchange of ideas,

and the city of Addis Ababa, while promising diverse

information, art and other aspects of culture among

activities, is chaotic and difficult to navigate.

nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual

I mention all of this because although BASA has

understanding.’ This definition is probably one that

worked closely with partners in the SADC region –

we would hold at BASA, although the document from

Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia, all of which

whence the quote comes, The Art of Soft Power, released

feel culturally so much closer to home – Ethiopia is a

by King’s College London, does highlight the fact

different experience, one that requires deep interrogation

that Cummings, in speaking of ‘a sense of reciprocity,

An artist’s rendering of ‘Lucy’ the hominid of the pedagogy of cultural intelligence and indeed

openness and willingness to learn from others,’ describes

cultural diplomacy. Language, class, culture, ethnicity,

a definition that is ‘strikingly apolitical’.

values, diversity, gender – the list is an endless series of differences and occasional similarities.

Interestingly, the spaces where I felt that I was most able

BASA, in its projects, specifically in Africa, while focusing on engagement with both the private and the cultural sector ultimately acts as a cultural ambassador for our partners

to learn, came from my few days in Lalibela, and at a series

(including the Department of Arts and Culture) but also for

of arts events – ostensibly set up as arts based interventions

our country. We do see the cultural and creative sector as a real

to demonstrate some of our processes to the Ethiopian

opportunity – a type of ‘cultural calling card’ for South Africa.

private sector – highlighting the ease and ability of culture

The gift that it offers us is deep learning – cultural and emotional

and creativity to drive relationship building.

intelligence, transformation and diversity. While we might, step

The Lalibela experience demonstrated the capacity of

by tiny step, be learning in another world, it allows us to return

cultural tourism, the ability of cultural routes and roots to

home with a deep love for our country and continent, a re-

support a country economically, but also to nurture a deeper

engagement with what we term ‘home’, and an excitement about

understanding of one another both locally and globally.

a more diverse yet holistic future. We are lucky. CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 65

Kim Berman pulling a print with APS master printer Pontsho Sikhosana

Finding Voice

Review and interview by Lore Watterson

Finding Voice: A Visual Arts Approach to Engaging Social Change

By Kim S. Berman Publisher: University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, New Public Scholarship Series ISBN: 20202019201820174321

K

im Berman, the author of the fascinating and

inquiry is how the visual arts contribute to positive social

inspirational book Finding Voice, is the well-

change. Finding Voice represents the notion that the visual

known founder and executive director of

arts are an expression of the aspirations of people in their

Artist Proof Studio (APS), a community-based

hope for a more just and democratic society. It emphasises

printmaking centre in Newtown, Johannesburg, and an

the power and potential of collective voice in the visual

associate professor in the department of Visual Arts at the

portrayal of historical injustice and the envisioning of a

University of Johannesburg (UJ), as well as a wonderful artist

new paradigm in which to move forward.’

in her own right.

Kim has always been deeply committed to political

Kim explains how Finding Voice values co-creation, community participation, and citizen action. She features

and social transformation in South Africa and in the

the visual arts as a mode of knowledge that ‘requires

introduction to her book she writes, ‘The basis of this

keeping ourselves reflexively open to diversity and to the

66 / Creative Feel / February 2018

unexpected, in order to discern those elements that do not

egalitarian society. Like most community visual arts centres

fit into our theories or dominant codes.’

globally, it has had many challenges and achievements.

Finding Voice is a book of many layers. It speaks to the

‘Indeed, the major challenge that I and the founding

serious reader, the activist, as well as to anybody interested

artists faced during the first decade of APS’s existence was

in the arts in South Africa. It is an account of Artist Proof

to address the insidious long-term effects of racism and

Studio, its history and the present day. Kim describes how in

dehumanisation that impeded our efforts to address the

February 1990, on a television screen in Boston, she watched

lack of opportunities for artistic and educational training.

Nelson Mandela walk out of prison. She wanted to be part of

Since the students and almost all of the other founding

building a post-apartheid South Africa. She sold her car and

artists were black, whereas I am white, language and cultural

possessions, bought a French Tool etching press – the Rolls-

differences sometimes made communication difficult.

Royce of studio presses – and took home her vision to start

But we overcame this obstacle by using other modes of

a studio in South Africa based on the professional model of

communication. For instance, one evening when some of us

the Artist Proof Studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where

were making monoprints, the late Gordon Gabashane, who

she had been an apprentice for six years.

was a musician as well as a visual artist, started dancing to

On her return, Kim and the late Nhlanhla Xaba

the rhythms created by the colour and energy of the work

founded Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg to ‘reflect the

that was taking place. That moment of using a different

spirit of a healthy democracy’ and the non-racial ideals

creative mode of expression became a significant indicator

expressed in the new constitution. Printmaking was seen

for understanding the value of multimodal arts-based

as a counterforce to the suspicion and division left from

approaches for engaging change.’

the apartheid years and, as a democratic medium, it was considered especially appropriate in helping to build a truly

Finding Voice describes the devastating fire that destroyed the studio and in which Xaba lost his life. The

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 67

tragedy was enormous: over 100 artists lost not only all their work but also a much-loved teacher, mentor, and friend. Kim shows how the trauma affected everyone connected to APS and how difficult it was to start again and for the students to come back and continue with their studies.

Today we know what a big contribution to building a post-apartheid South Africa Kim has made by following her dream. APS is now one of the largest and most vibrant community and professional printmaking facilities in Southern Africa, accommodating up to 100 students per year, of which 60 to 80 are fully subsidised by hosting, publishing and collaborative projects with many artists and organisations each year. APS has approximately 30 staff members and interns on the payroll. Some of these graduates have been further sponsored to achieve a university degree and some of the well-known artists today have either graduated from or been associated with APS, like Nicholas Hlobo who became a Protégé in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé programme and whose artwork can be seen at major art fairs around the world, Phillemon Hlungwani, Mongezi Ncaphayi, Jan Tshikhuthula, Themba Khumalo and Nelson Makamo are APS alumni. Other artists associated with APS include William Kentridge, Walter Oltmann, Norman Catherine, Diane Victor, Gerhard Marx, Willem Boshoff, Colbert Mashile, Doris Bloom, Mmapula Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, among many others.

Finding Voice also presents a methodology of change in the form of the Paper Prayers campaign. The story of Paper Prayers is set in the context of denialism and shame, resultant from the HIV and AIDS pandemic that had the potential to destroy so many of the gains of Mandela’s vision of a new South Africa. It focuses on former president Thabo Mbeki’s period of AIDS denialism and APS’s response to it.

Kim also describes the ongoing struggle to source funding, like using her own personal artist prize money to implement a special AIDS activist project at APS. She had been awarded this prize as an artist in the prestigious Sasol Wax competition. She talks about the continued struggle to encourage the students and to keep her dream alive through the selling of artworks, the help of corporate sponsorship and the strong supporting board members of APS. Kim tells how an artist like William Kentridge is a key collaborator at APS, and his print projects that use special hand-made paper also keep the Phumani Archival Papermill going.

68 / Creative Feel / February 2018

The book is also a fascinating account of how Kim questions her own role as founder and executive director over the 26 years of APS’s existence and how she struggles with stepping back. She has an academic position of associate professor at UJ to allow APS to develop its own voice.

Finding Voice covers in detail the stories of building arts organisations such as APS and the Phumani Paper papermaking craft projects around the country, while addressing methodologies and methods of change; engaging with government and academy; and ways of assessing arts for social change.

The conclusion states that ‘the common elements running through each of the narratives and case studies in this book show that each intervention is based on the democratic values of human rights and equity.

‘Each intervention described is aimed at encouraging individuals and their communities to believe in themselves and to take steps toward self-actualisation.

‘This approach requires individuals to constantly address conflict and difficulty and find ways to shift lethargy, despair, and denial.’

Finding Voice has been published by the University of

footnotes in a different section of the book are fun. At the

Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, within their series The New

heart of the publication are stories told in the warm caring

Public Scholarship which is designed to attract serious

voice of Kim Berman who feels that her book ‘proposes

readers who are invested in both creating and thinking

a primary role for activists who move beyond traditional

about public culture and public life, I found Finding Voice a

theories of social justice to advocate new frameworks…’

book that was most interesting and inspirational, even the

Finding Voice goes beyond that! CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 69

Literary Landscapes Literary Landscapes is a monthly column by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of the Sylt Foundation. In this first of a two-part series, Wussow writes on her visit back to Latvia.

I

n the publication Jurmala, author Indra Wussow

spewing bunches of people into summer joy. But today,

travelled down memory lane with her friend Ojars,

only a few figures fight their way through the cold. Yes,

capturing childhood memories of summers near Riga

this string of villages, with its population of around 50

in Latvia. Being right here in the snow of Jurmala they

000, is also inhabited in winter. And yet the summer

might be able to find a new beginning that overcomes all the

retreat seems deserted – hotels are locked, holiday homes

losses suffered by their families. An extract, translated from

and villas forsaken. The pedestrian zones are shrouded in

the German by Maren Bodenstein, follows.

ghostly quiet. The sunken does not merely dampen our footsteps, it strangles the sound completely.

I

Today, the path to the sea, to our summer longing, is not

Seldom is our summer paradise as tangible as when

lined with noisy tourists carrying their bags and lilos in front

driving the ten minutes along the four-lane highway

of them like indispensable holiday accessories. Dressed in

from the centre of Riga, into our summer vacation.

our thick Russian boots and schapkas, we are the only ones

Already the bridge over the Daugava River, flowing into

bracing ourselves against the merciless north wind that is

the Baltic only a few kilometres from here, leads us over

trying to chase us away from the sea. ‘Even the sea needs to

the water. A harbinger of the sea, the shimmering waters

recuperate!’ it seems to be shouting.

compete with the blue sky. Waves dance, intoxicated by the joy of summer.

Just as we are about to give up, we reach the beach, which is as white as we had remembered it. And the sea too

In winter the Daugava lies like a line of separation

is still there where we once left it. The ice floes gnash, telling

between the southern part of the city and its centre. Edging

their ancient stories of the forces of nature, destruction

our memories of summer into the realms of myth, the cold

and transience. This is no whisper. The sound is brutal and

hard river becomes a worldly Styx that mercilessly pushes

loud. Through this cacophony of ice, nature forces us to

us from summer into the dark unfriendliness of winter. The

understand something that we have already known for a

thick blanket of ice robs the river of all movement – not even

long time – this place is no paradise.

ice floes can float towards the sea. It is as if the Daugava has sunk into a wintery sleep, dreaming of the sea, of the

Or maybe it is a paradise, a lost one, still burning in many hearts.

promise of warmth and the freedom that lies beyond its prison of ice.

III Our paradise spans the coastline for almost 40 kilometres.

II

And over time the longing to occupy it, to merge with

Dreaming of summer, in winter one makes one’s way

it, has driven people to build summer homes here –

towards Jurmala as if towards a fata morgana. You ask

monuments to the deep connection us mortals have with

yourself: does this place really exist, or is it merely a

the transience of summer. In Jurmala, the snow white

dream fuelled by the longing for sun and light? And then

filigree wooden villas, standing only a few metres from the

you see a single building in the snow – the station lies

sea and separated from each other by large gardens and

before you. In summer the trains arrive every minute,

a pine forest, form a kilometre-long seam of upper-class

70 / Creative Feel / February 2018

living. These monuments to delight still hold the nostalgic dreams of their previous owners; each one of these villas telling their own story of being acquired. Of leaving. Of love and loss.

Now it is winter and every door is locked and bolted.

The windows shuttered. No light penetrates the interiors; the glittering whiteness is locked out and everything is black. The houses seem to be resting, storing up life for the summer months, conserving their energy. How different everything looks in July and August. And yet, compared to the frenzy of Riga – the white forlornness of this place, its desolation – offers some normality.

IV

“Jurmala Space is a reflection of power, Large kingdoms spread themselves out in it.

Time is a reflection of powerlessness, In it everything finds its end” – Gerald Zschorsch who, with her husband, had built a house here. A house that

I trudge through this winter world with Ojars, my

in its time was filled with life, where the family met to revel

sentimental friend from Latvia who has joined me

in summer pleasures. Here were held house concerts, friends

reluctantly. He of the big poet’s heart who has swapped

visited from the city, and dances. And later there was the

poetry for business.

futile flight from an increasingly complex world which one

‘What are we doing here in this empty desolate place?

Our roots are inside us. We won’t find them by looking for connections to the past in a holiday resort.’

We have known this place separately and at completely different times and Ojars doesn’t realise that this familiar place binds us together much stronger than any fleeting love affair.

Growing up under Soviet rule, he experienced it as a typical socialist-style holiday place, a playground where the wealthy could romp about in their summer idyll.

I, on the other hand, only knew this place from the stories told by my Grandmother Erwine. And from Oma Bella

could not even escape in Jurmala.

But right now, in the snow and ice, this world opens up to us. Right here in this ghostly, empty place the memories and stories come alive in their huge and seemingly insurmountable contrast to reality.

And it seems as if our memories, created by experiences and by the tales told to us, have not only been written into us, but also into this place.

‘If we discover our memories here, we will definitely discover something about the essence of this place.’

Ojars shrugs and braces himself against the wind.

To be continued... CF

Creative Feel / February 2018 / 71

Book Reviews Recently published

The alphabet now ends at Y Sue Grafton, mastermind of the beloved and hugely popular alphabet series of mystery novels, which kicked off with A is for Alibi in 1982, has died at 77, according to her daughter, Jamie Clark. Grafton reached ‘Y’ in the series when she published Y is for Yesterday in 2017. Her books have been published in 28 countries and translated into 26 languages, and she has a ‘readership in the millions’.

I

n her note, Clark said that Grafton had been battling cancer

detective as a viable alternative to the males who had

over the past two years. She reiterated that Grafton did not

dominated the genre. Millhone, an ex-cop and twice

want any of her books to be adapted into movies, nor did

divorced, was a tough character, but in Grafton’s hands,

she want to have a ghostwriter ever write under her name.

she also had a deep understanding of the effects the crimes

As such, ‘because of all of these things, and out of the deep

she investigated had on people. Grafton set her books in a

abiding love and respect for our dear sweet Sue, as far as we in

Californian city called Santa Teresa, a fictionalised version of

the family are concerned, the alphabet now ends at Y.’

Santa Barbara.

Sue Grafton was a trailblazing writer of American

Much of Millhone came from Grafton’s own experience.

detective stories. Her 25 novels featuring the private

She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where her father,

eye Kinsey Millhone established the hard-boiled female

Chip Grafton, was a bond lawyer who also wrote detective

72 / Creative Feel / February 2018

novels under the name CW Grafton, and her mother, Vivian (nee Harnsburger), was a teacher. Both were alcoholics, and from an early age, Grafton was left to look after herself.

After a year at the University of Louisville, she transferred to Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now Western Kentucky University), where she married James Flood and had two children. The relationship ended quickly. After her mother’s suicide in 1960, she returned to graduate from Louisville in 1961. She dropped out of graduate school after marrying again – to Al Schmidt – and followed her husband to Santa Barbara. There she worked in office jobs while writing in her spare time.

Grafton said she taught herself to write her first mystery by reading how-to books and teaching herself California criminal law, private eye and police procedures – ‘anything that seemed relevant to the job.’

In the late 1960s, her second marriage ended in a protracted divorce and custody battle so brutal that she would jot down notes of ways to kill her husband, which later found their way into her novels. She married Steven Humphrey, a philosophy professor, in 1978. They collaborated on teleplays, including two Agatha Christie adaptations – A Caribbean Mystery, starring Helen Hayes as Miss Marple, and Sparkling Cyanide, with Anthony

Y is for Yesterday is the twenty-fifth in the Kinsey Millhone

Andrews as Tony Browne, both airing in 1983. The couple

mystery series about the darkest and most disturbing case

eventually split their time between Santa Barbara and

report from the files of Kinsey Millhone. Y begins in 1979,

an estate in Louisville, with Humphrey teaching at

when four teenage boys from an elite private school sexually

universities in both cities.

assault a fourteen-year-old classmate – and film the attack.

Her breakthrough came when she started her Alphabet

Not long after, the tape goes missing and the suspected thief,

series after it took her five years to write her first novel,

a fellow classmate, is murdered. In the investigation that

and three to write the next. A review in Newsweek aided

follows, one boy turns in evidence for the state and two of

this breakthrough in declaring that ‘Grafton has created a

his peers are convicted. But the ringleader escapes without

woman we feel we know, a tough cookie with a soft centre, a

a trace.

gregarious loner,’ and calling A is for Alibi ‘smart, well paced,

Now, it’s 1989 and one of the perpetrators, Fritz

and very funny.’ That was all the encouragement she needed.

McCabe, has been released from prison. Moody,

‘It just undid me,’ she said in an interview. ‘Gosh, someone’s

unrepentant, and angry, he is a virtual prisoner of his ever-

paying attention.’ She then began writing a book a year.

watchful parents – until a copy of the missing tape arrives

As early as 1991, Grafton had announced that the final

with a ransom demand. That’s when the McCabes call

book in the series would be called Z is for Zero, but after Y is

Kinsey Millhone for help. As she is drawn into their family

for Yesterday she became ill with cancer and was unable to

drama, she keeps a watchful eye on Fritz. But he’s not the

even begin that last novel. Her family has ruled out further

only one being haunted by the past. A vicious sociopath

adaptations of her books or any use of ghostwriters to

with a grudge against Millhone may be leaving traces of

continue the Millhone series. CF

himself for her to find...

Creative Feel / November 2017 / 73

encore Thabo Seshoka is the recently appointed Assistant Art Curator for Absa. He is

responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Absa Gallery, while concurrently curating one of the largest Corporate Art Collections globally. His present

achievements include being appointed acting chief curator and head of a museum and enrolling for a PhD, both at the ripe old age of 23.

Name one artist you would love to meet.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

It would have to be Gogo Esther Mahlangu. She is a vessel of knowledge and I

Despair. A few years ago, I dropped out of my first master’s

think that there is so much that I could learn from a conversation with her.

programme after 18 months. Gripped with the fear of failing and suffering from imposter syndrome, I went through a period of

What are you reading at the moment?

despair, because I did not know how to comprehend the idea of

Year of Yes – How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by

failure. I managed to overcome that fear, registered for a new

Shonda Rhimes. I want to experience different things this year, push beyond

degree and completed it. The lesson that came from that was to

my personal boundaries and get out of my comfort zone.

never give up.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

What is it that makes you happy?

I would not change anything, I believe that every experience that I have had

I love being in the outdoors, which brings both peace and exhilaration.

in my life so far has happened for a reason. It has shaped who I have become

It doesn’t matter where it is and which season it is. If I find myself in the

and how I experience life. I constantly treat all my experiences as life lessons,

great outdoors, I will forget about everything and enjoy the moment.

often reflecting back on them and reminding myself where I have come from and using them to navigate the unknown path of adulthood.

Describe a defining moment in your life.

I believe that I have numerous defining moments, however, if I

How have the arts industries in South Africa changed over the last

had to choose one I would have to say that it was the volunteering

ten years?

experience that I had in 2012, with Ntinga Ntaba Ka Ndoda, an NGO

There has been an increase in the amount of research that is being

based in Keiskammahoek, Eastern Cape. The former was my first

conducted into the arts and creative industries over the past few years.

volunteer experience whereby I was not doing ‘in and out’ volunteer

With the establishment of the South African Cultural Observatory in

work. It was the first time I lived with and learnt from individuals

2015, we have seen a more formalised approach with regard to research

and a community that was doing the groundwork and benefitting

relating to the economic and social impact and contribution of the arts,

from their own work. I had the opportunity to interact with people

culture and heritage sector in society. This has been necessary and will

and understand people’s daily reality beyond a superficial level and

contribute to the development of more comprehensive policies and better

I also learnt the meaning of Ubuntu and true happiness in a small

implementation strategies that will benefit the sector as a whole.

rural village in the Eastern Cape. It was this experience that shaped my desire to constantly want to get involved in developmental work

Name one thing you think would improve the arts and culture

of any kind, and it also inspired me to constantly strive to become an

industry in South Africa.

agent of change in my own sphere of influence.

Investing in and creating more opportunities for not just young South African artists but reaching across our borders using Absa L’Atelier as

What projects will you be busy with during 2018 and into 2019?

a platform for growth. As a country we have a lot of untapped talent in

I will be part of a team of people working on the prestigious

our youth, however, we do not invest much time or money into their

Absa L’Atelier art competition, now entering its 33rd year.

development. Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to meet

The Absa Art Auction, which will be raising money for arts

a number of brilliant young people, but there aren’t enough opportunities

scholarships; the upcoming KKNK art festival, whereby we will

for them. I believe that young people have the potential to bring about

be creating a number of functional beautification artworks for

the much-needed change and innovation that South Africa’s cultural

the town of Oudtshoorn. We are also in the process of putting

institutions are yearning for, if afforded the opportunity.

together a number of diverse and innovative exhibitions in the Art Gallery showcasing works of our previous L’Atelier

What is your most treasured possession?

contributors and winners.

A grey hoodie that I received as a gift from my late aunt a few years ago before she passed away. Every time I wear it I feel closer to her and I also

Name one goal you would like to achieve in the next twelve months.

feel that everything will be fine despite the difficulties that I might be

I want to make a difference in someone’s life. I am still trying to figure

encountering at the time.

out how I am going to do it. CF

e CONTENTS OF DEODAR HOUSE AUCTION Modern and Contemporary Art, Furniture, Decorative Arts, Wine & Jewellery Deodar House, 34 3rd Street, Illovo, Johannesburg Public Preview | Wednesday 7 – Saturday 10 February | 10am – 4pm Auction | Sunday 11 February at 3pm For enquiries contact Jacqui Carney ja jacqui@aspireart.net | +27 71 675 2991 | +27 11 243 5243 | www.aspireart.net

A minimum amount of R10 million from the proceeds of this auction will be used to seed a dedicated South African Leukemia Fund, which will provide financial assistance to underprivileged children suffering from leukemia who have no alternative means of receiving treatment.

Athi-Patra Ruga, Uzukile the Elder, 2013, wool, thread, artificial flowers and spray paint on tapestry canvas, 200 x 190 cm Estimate: R320 000 – 380 000

SUMMER AUCTION IN CAPE TOWN Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art Avenue | V&A Waterfront | 40 Dock Road PUBLIC PREVIEW Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 March | 10am to 5pm & Sunday 25 March 2018 | 10am – 3pm AUCTION Sund 25 March at 5pm Sunday SALE CONTACT & ENQUIRIES: 083 283 7427 | cpt@aspireart.net | www.aspireart.net