Creative Feel October 2015

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SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - October 2015

SIMPHIWE DANA

Cafe-de-Move-On, Croesus, 1964, Silver gelatin photograph on fibre-based paper, approx. 30 x 40cm, Edition of 10 Authorised Financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP15).

The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (Reg. No. 1962/000738/06). Moving Forward is a trademark of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited. SBSA 212301-8/15.

David Goldblatt

The Pursuit of Values Standard Bank Gallery Cnr Frederick and Harrison Streets, Johannesburg

22 October to 5 December 2015 Monday to Friday 8am – 4.30pm and Saturdays 9am – 1pm Tel: 011 631 4467 www.standardbankarts.co.za

presents

“Conversations” Oil on Belgian Linen. Signed: “Van Vuuren” (Lower/Right) 90 x 120cm. Dated: 2015

Graham Britz: +27 (0)83 605 5000 Christina Allum: +27 (0)82 330 0926 Gallery: +27 (0)11 463 7869

The Gallery, 68 on Hobart Corner William Nicol Drive & Dover Road, Bryanston Johannesburg, South Africa www.grahamsgallery.co.za Grahams Fine Art Gallery

ANDRÉ VAN VUUREN

IN THE MIND OF AN ARTIST: A CELEBRATION OF FIFTY SOLO EXHIBITIONS 17 September - 17 October 2015

Contemporary Collections Allem, Renée Aspinall, Bassa Battiss, Walter Whall Bell, Deborah Margaret Blomkamp, Paul Bouscharain, Claude Marie Madeleine Catherine, Norman Clive Cilliers-Barnard, Bettie Clarke, Peter Epstein, David Hodgins, Robert Griffiths Laubscher, Frederik Bester Howard (Erik) Law, Jimmy Maluka, Mustafa Mason, Judith McWilliams, Mark Menck, Clare

Meyer, Carl Walter Morrison, Jennifer Navarro, Eduardo Neethling, Jan Nel, Karel Anthony Payne, Tracy Paynter, Catherine Pettit, Michael Francis Pinker, Stanley Faraday Siopis, Penelope (Penny) Starcke, Helmut Stone, Simon Patrick Swart, Mark Symonds, Henry van Heerden, Johan Van Vuuren, André Francois Villa, Edoardo

EDITOR’S NOTE The Wonderful World of Jazz

J

azz music has always been part of my life and it has

all these wonderful snobbish things that seem so important

been much fun introducing the many artists of the

when growing up. Sitting all evening nurturing one pot of tea

2015 Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in the recent issues of

(the cheapest on the menu in the club) while listening to live

Creative Feel. Growing up in Germany, it was American jazz

jazz, attending the Thursday night open-air jazz concerts that

we loved and listened to. The music of Louis Armstrong,

the City of Hamburg provided free of charge.

Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan,

Jazz was also the message of change, like the songs

Gene Krupa, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins,

by civil rights activists Nina Simone and of course there

Billy Holiday, Bessie Smith, Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Nina

was Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’, a song

Simone and many more. We were privileged to be able to

that had been intended as an antidote for the increasingly

buy their records (if you had some money left over from your

racially and politically charged climate of everyday life in

last birthday), the radio stations were playing ‘our jazz’ and

the United States.

most importantly for us of course were the visits of some of these great jazz musicians when they came to entertain the

Perhaps we should listen more to the lyrics in South Africa these days?

American Armed Forces who were stationed during the Cold War in Germany – right until the dramatic events of the late

I see trees of green, red roses too

1980s, the opening of the Berlin Wall, German reunification,

I see them bloom for me and you

and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I was fortunate to have an older brother who already earned money and took me to see Louis Armstrong live on stage. What

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

an experience, great seats right in front and what a showman

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

he was, how generous with his encore after encore.

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

While growing up there was of course also the music of Elvis Presley who had been stationed as a regular soldier in

The colours of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

the American Armed Forces and who became hugely popular

Are also on the faces of people going by

in Germany as well. Being young and snobbish, there was no

I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do

way that you would listen to Elvis if you were a jazz fan. It

But they’re really saying I love you.

seriously affected friendships if your friend happened to be an Elvis fan and admired ducktail styled hair.

To be a jazz fan was to dress the part, black of course,

I hear baby’s cry, and I watched them grow They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know

reading Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Friedrich Nietzsche,

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Dostoyevsky, liking classical music, opera and the theatre,

Yes, I think to myself what a wonderful world.

An unique homage to an enigmatic hunter of local myth and fable

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SIMPHIWE DANA

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an impressive and prolific hunter whose distinctive call has become synonymous with the nighttime African bush.

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JOHANNESBURG REBELLION &

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OCTOBER 2015

SIMPHIWE DANA

OCTOBER 2015

5102 REBMETPES

5102 rebmetpeS - )TAV .lcni( 09,63R AS

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R50 (1/2 oz) 24 carat gold

Celebrate one of our most iconic nocturnal hunters with this beautifully crafted set.

The South African Mint marks the auspicious 21st anniversary of the Natura pure-gold coin series with the Nocturnal Hunters: black backed jackal coins. The second in the series, it features this highly intelligent animal an impressive and prolific hunter whose distinctive call has become synonymous with the nighttime African bush.

SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - October 2015

R100 (1 oz) 24 carat gold

771607 519004 9 9 771607 519004

R50 (1/2 oz) 24 carat gold

Celebrate one of our most iconic nocturnal hunters with this beautifully crafted set.

The South African Mint marks the auspicious 21st anniversary of the Natura pure-gold coin series with the Nocturnal Hunters: black backed jackal coins. The second in the series, it features this highly intelligent animal an impressive and prolific hunter whose distinctive call has become synonymous with the nighttime African bush.

www.creativefeel.co.za

R20 (1/4 oz) 24 carat gold

www.creativefeel.co.za

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OCTOBER 2015

Either Creative Feel print/Creative Feel + UK Gramophone print bundle/Creative Feel digital Contact us: subs@creativefeel.co.za 011 787 0252

Natura 2015 24ct gold coin series

Celebrate one of our most iconic nocturnal hunters with this beautifully crafted set.

The South African Mint marks the auspicious 21st anniversary of the Natura pure-gold coin series with the Nocturnal Hunters: black backed jackal coins. The second in the series, it features this highly intelligent animal an impressive and prolific hunter whose distinctive call has become synonymous with the nighttime African bush.

0 50091051 5

Common obverse

SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - October 2015

R100 (1 oz) 24 carat gold

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R50 (1/2 oz) 24 carat gold

Creative Feel

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CREATIVE FEEL MAGAZINE/CREATIVE FEEL & UK GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE BUNDLE

Creative Feel

SUBSCRIBE

SIMPHIWE DANA

T

We love this creation

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 FEATURES EDITOR Natalie Watermeyer; natalie@desklink.co.za SALES AND MARKETING EXECUTIVES sales@desklink.co.za sales@creativefeel.co.za SPECIAL PROJECTS Noelene Strauss Kotzé; noelene@desklink.co.za MARKETING INTERN Oupa Sibeko; oupa@desklink.co.za DESIGN Mxolisi Gumbi; mxolisi@desklink.co.za FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Debbi Gregory; debbi@desklink.co.za RECEPTION Angelina Ramano DISPATCH Khumbulani Dube SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION Debbi Gregory; debbi@desklink.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 ColorPress (Pty) Ltd © Copyright DeskLink™ Media The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

The beautiful neckpieces adorning Simphiwe Dana on the cover of her latest album, Firebrand were created by Cape Town-based creator Katherine-Mary Pichulik of PICHULIK. PICHULIK is inspired by the intimate relationship women have with jewellery – it speaks of her travels, her mother or grandmother and the people she has loved.

8 / Creative Feel / October 2015

CONTRIBUTORS: Nondumiso Msimanga; nondumiso.msimanga@yahoo.com Ismail Mahomed; ismail@nationalartsfestival.co.za Michelle Constant; michelle@basa.co.za Indra Wussow; indra@syltfoundation.com

Cover image: Simphiwe Dana

cover story 24

THE EVOLUTION OF SIMPHIWE DANA

Celebrating ten years in the music industry this

year, Simphiwe Dana has reached a point of

confidence and comfort in her career, she tells

Creative Feel’s Nondumiso Msimanga.

arts and culture

34

UBUNTU - THE OPERA

The world premiere of a major new South African

composition is unveiled on Durban’s Playhouse

Opera stage in November.

36

THE PURSUIT OF VALUES

Renowned photographer David Goldblatt

pursues subjects that reveal the values of our

society.

42

ERIK LAUBSCHER

Sean O’Toole considers the life of artist Erik

Laubscher as his work Women Arranging Flowers goes

under the hammer at Strauss & Co. this October.

44

SASOL NEW SIGNATURES 2015

Nelmarie du Preez’s To Shout is the winner of Sasol

New Signatures 2015 , with Mareli Janse van

contents 28

THE NATIONAL YOUTH JAZZ BAND

Selected just prior to the 2015 National Arts

Festival, the 2015/2016 Standard Bank National

Youth Jazz Band, conducted by Concord Nkabinde,

will be making an anticipated appearance at the

Standard Bank Joy of Jazz on the Diphala stage.

30

THE 3 COHENS

The 3 Cohens is a rare family band made up of

equally prodigious talents.

32

SAMRO SCHOLARSHIPS VICTORS GIVE VOICE TO THE FUTURE

Two new singing stars were crowned at the SAMRO

Overseas Scholarships Competition final.

10 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Rensburg’s The Final Moments of Immanuel Sithole

earning her second place.

48

TESTIMONY

Adejoke Tugbiyele’s solo exhibition TESTIMONY

opened at Goodman Gallery Cape Town on 5

September and will close on 10 October 2015.

50

PORTRAITS

62

DIFF 2015

Nigerian artist Victor Ekpuk exhibits at the

Creative experimentation was the order of the day

Sulger-Buel-Lovell Gallery in London from 29

in the African films shown at this year’s Durban

September to 4 October 2015.

International Film Festival (DIFF).

52

ECOMOBILITY FESTIVAL

During the month of October, the streets of Sandton

will be predominantly closed to private vehicles, as

the second EcoMobility World Festival takes place.

54

RISE JOZI, RISE

Fak’ugesi: The African Digital Innovation Festival

2015 took place in Braamfontein during August and

lifestyle and entertainment 64 66 68

BOOK REVIEWS CD REVIEWS CINEMA NOUVEAU

contributors

contents September.

56

A SEASONED AMBASSADOR

Ambassador Sam Kotane was recently appointed as

co-chair for South Africa for the Joint Organising

Committee of the SA-UK Seasons.

57

THE SEASON SO FAR

Bongani Tembe has announced that the second

round of the SA Season in the UK has once again

been a phenomenal success.

60

SLAM FOR YOUR LIFE

The first national Slam For Your Life youth poetry

competition finals are being hosted this October.

16

ARTLOOKS & ARTLINES

Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column

by Ismail Mahomed, Artistic Director of the

National Arts Festival.

18

BUSINESS & ARTS

Business and Arts is a monthly column by

Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts

South Africa (BASA).

20

LITERARY LANDSCAPES

Literary Landscapes is a monthly column written

by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of

the Sylt Foundation.

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 11

William Kentridge, Eight Figures, 2010

Artist Proof Studio opens their archive for the 2015 Endowment Education Fund Auction This year, Artist Proof Studio (APS) is holding a milestone live Education Endowment Auction on the 19th November 2015 as the climax to a week-long Strauss & Co. online auction of APS works launching on November 12th 2015.

F

or this public sale, we have opened up ten years of APS archives to showcase and auction some

Khumalo, Sizwe Khoza, Jan Tshikuthula and many others.

Artist Proof Studio (APS) is an innovative and

of the best work in our collection including

engaged community printmaking centre of excellence.

seminal prints from some of our sold-out editions

The organisation focuses on all aspects of professional

by William Kentridge, Philemon Hlungwane, Norman

printmaking: creation, sales, training and community

Catherine, Nelson Makamo, Bambo Sibiya, Lehlohonolo

engagement. The studio is divided into four business units,

Mashaba, Mongezi Ncaphayi, Walter Oltmann, Diane Victor

which encompass its professional printmaking operations:

and others. Not only will there be prints but we have also approached these and other artists to also contribute.

We will also be launching some exciting and as yet

The Education Unit offers a three-year, professional printmaking training programme to talented students from South Africa as well as other African countries. The

unreleased work by Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones from

programme trains students in a full range of printmaking

Handspring Puppet Company (of War Horse fame), Themba

skills, drawing, visual literacy, and business practice.

12 / Creative Feel / October 2015

The Special Projects Unit provides community

artists to create and edition their work. Their abilities are

outreach and awareness programmes, particularly

in demand, and the studio has truly reached a new level

focusing on the enormous impact that the creative

of professional excellence in printmaking. Artist Proof

industries can have in addressing issues surrounding

Studio has an active international exchange programme

HIV/AIDS, especially in raising awareness of the disease

that attracts some of South Africa’s foremost artists to

and facilitating a culture of healing and positive living

collaborate and publish print portfolios

through the processes of art and craft.

The unit has many outreach programmes, including Paper

The APS Gallery showcases the work of students and graduates, as well as other APS-affiliated printmakers, by

Prayers, At-Risk Children and Orphans with NOAH’s arks –

exhibiting and promoting prints and offering opportunities

Artists in Arks, public art commissions and advocacy murals,

for emerging artists to market their work. Featured

as well as partnerships. Additionally, the Special Projects Unit

artists include: William Kentridge, Philemon Hlungwane,

has developed a holistic approach to promoting social change

Mongezi Ncaphayi, Jan Tshikhuthula, Doris Bloom, Themba

through art and craft by making innovative connections with

Khumalo, Chloe Read, Bevan de Wet and Kim Berman.

the Education Unit. Engagement with various social issues

The Gallery Unit holds regular exhibitions at APS and

provides an opportunity for the students to give back to their

other sites such as the Johannesburg Art Fair, Arts on

communities while gaining significant life and work experience.

Main, and Turbine Hall. These may feature solo or group

The Professional Printmaking Studio is a professional

exhibitions of students, graduates, staff, and affiliated

income-generating unit that facilitates print editions and

artists. The unit staff offers tours of the studio and the

collaborations between artists and a team of technicians.

gallery, enabling visitors to experience the vibrancy and

It specialises in fine-art printing mediums such as intaglio,

energy of APS as well as to engage with a range of artists,

etching, relief printing, screen printing and lithography, as

teachers, and printmakers.

well as providing state of the art equipment and materials

This is a unique chance to acquire outstanding

for printmaking collaborations. Artist Proof Studio has

artworks, be there, pledge your bit and support one of the

five full time professional printers who collaborate with

best arts organisations in South Africa. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 13

Great news for classical music in Johannesburg Bongani Tembe, CEO of the KwaZuluNatal Philharmonic Orchestra, has been announced as incoming CEO of the JPO. He will continue as CEO at the KZN Philharmonic, but the two organisations will cooperate closely in securing support and funding.

B

ongani Tembe, who has led the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra (KZN Phil) for 21 years, has been appointed chief executive and artistic director of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO).

However, Tembe will not be relinquishing his post as chief executive

and artistic director of Durban’s acclaimed KZN Philharmonic, and he will lead both orchestras from January 2016.

The board of the JPO announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding with the board of the KZN Philharmonic, which had pledged to combine strengths to ensure the long-term sustainability of the orchestras in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. This is intended to maintain regular symphony concerts in both provinces, to ensure consistent and excellent performances and also to expand outreach and educational programmes.

Tembe has been extremely successful in leading the KZN Philharmonic and has created a stable, world-class orchestra that has been lauded for its performance excellence in South Africa and Europe.

Tembe brings extensive international functional leadership experience as the commissioner-general of the SA-UK Seasons 2014 and 2015 – a cultural exchange partnership by South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture and the UK’s British Council. Previously he oversaw the highly successful France-South Africa Seasons in 2012 and 2013 as commissioner-general.

South Africa’s preeminent arts manager of classical music, Tembe is an opera singer and a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York.

He has received accolades for bringing to South Africa leading artists and orchestras, including Renée Fleming, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Pinchas Zuckerman and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Great news for the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) and the music lovers of the City of Johannesburg, a world-class orchestra for a world-class city! CF

14 / Creative Feel / October 2015

A Wine for Every Palate

D

on’t forget to tag RMB WineX for Wednesday 28th to Friday 30th October at the Sandton Convention Centre. SA’s premier wine show, now in its 16th year,

always promises the greatest selection of wines under one roof – a time to muse through a myriad of varietals and cuvées that tantalise the palate, soak up the ‘Art-of-Wine’, hob nob with winemakers and Jozi jetsetters and stock up on favourites via Shop@Show. In support of the Eco Mobility Festival, hosted by the City of Johannesburg in Sandton during October, RMB WineX-lovers should plan their ‘getting there’ via the number of transport options on offer as optional alternatives to parking in the neighbouring parkades. Enjoy the international feel of a great evening of wine and restaurant dining in a congestion-free neighbourhood.

Dates: Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October 2015 Venue: The Pavilion, Sandton Convention Centre, Maude Street, Sandton Time: 17:00 to 21:00 each night Bookings: Book all tickets and packages online via www.computicket.com or call 0861 915 8000. Use the “Print at home” facility for easy access to tickets.

Early Bird tickets available until 12th October: Wednesday R150, Thursday and Friday R160.

Full price: Wednesday R175, Thursday and Friday R195.

Group discount tickets available for 10 tickets or more for Wednesday night only available via the organisers at winex@ outsorceress.co.za .

Packages: RMB WineX Two Night Pass: Double ticket discount for Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th October only: R280 – available for bookings made by 12th October.

Getting there and home – watch the press for updates or visit www.winex.co.za closer to the time for all the options: Gautrain (www.gautrain.co.za): catch the train and walk to the Sandton Convention Centre Park and Ride sites Public transport Uber: partnered with WineX as Everybody’s Private Driver to transport wine lovers safely and in style via registration with the smart phone app.

Refreshments during the show: Mastrantonio will be serving delicious ‘on-the-move’ deli food.

Event Queries: See www.winex.co.za for all details, list of exhibitors and wines in the lead-up to the show, and to register for Shop@Show.

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 15

STANDARD BANK YOUNG ARTIST AWARD WINNERS NEVER STOP MOVING FORWARD

A Life in Dance F

or Vuyani Dance Theatre (VDT), 2015 started off on a high note, with a calendar already so packed that the dancers had to end their holidays a week early. ‘It’s very rare that a contemporary dance company

has multiple engagements right at the beginning of the year,’ notes Gregory Maqoma, choreographer, executive director and founder of VDT; and 2002 Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance.

Maqoma has not rested on his laurels since winning the award. His is one career that

In addition to a slew of corporate engagements, performance commitments and developing their own work, each of VDT’s senior dancers spends time each week working with a school or community project, as part of their Outreach and Development Project.

Meanwhile, fund-raising continues apace as VDT looks forward to building their own studio in Soweto next year.

has touched the lives of many, inspiring and

Mid-year, the presentation

galvanising others through a passion for dance

of Maqoma’s new work Rain

and a dedication to growing the local industry.

Dance during the Market

His dance company continues to move from

Theatre’s Africa month, drew

strength to strength. VDT celebrated its

15 year anniversary in 2014, during which time they have worked with everyone from Black Coffee and David Tlale to

close-to-capacity audiences,

Hugh Masekela, Sibongile Khumalo, Simphiwe Dana, Salif

thereby debunking the myth

Keita, the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys.

that ‘there’s no audience for

By all accounts, 2015 has been a red letter year for

contemporary dance,’ as Maqoma

Maqoma and his team right from the get-go, when the

points out. ‘With all the work that we’ve been

dance company headed off on a tour of Switzerland. Then,

doing, we’ve managed to maintain and build new audiences.’

VDT’s young choreographer Lulu Mlangeni won the Naledi’s

That’s in South Africa; international audiences have long kept

Sophie Mgcina Best Emerging Voice Award, which led to

VDT busy winging back and forth across the ocean.

her presenting a specially commissioned work, Page 27,

This year sees Gregory Maqoma marking a quarter

at the Market Theatre. She was mentored throughout the

of a century in dance. VDT will therefore stage an end of

process by VDT’s Artistic Director Luyanda Sidiya, this year’s

year show at the Lyric Theatre, bringing back some of the

Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance – meaning that two of

brilliant – and varied – artists who have collaborated with

the country’s most coveted dance awards went to members of

Maqoma. It’s time to celebrate 25 years of always Moving

the same, hardworking company.

Forward; and may you never stop, Gregory Maqoma! CF

16 / Creative Feel / October 2015

CASTADIVA

Boutique Hotel

Nestled on the slopes of the Magaliesberg, this stunningly beautiful hotel is hidden away in the northern parts of Pretoria.

With luxurious rooms, beautiful garden paths, on-site entertainment and access to hiking trails on the mountain, Casta Diva truly offers an escape from the city. These little treasures can be found spread over the property – of almost two hectares – amongst breath-taking views and serene surroundings. One does not expect to find such a tranquil environment so near to the activities of a busy city. Perfect for a retreat on any day of the week, Casta Diva offers conference facilities, as well as four-star accommodation.

If you simply want to take a day off, why not relax next to the halfOlympic size swimming pool? Where the delightfully friendly Front of House team will ensure you have all you need.

Take that special someone, enjoy a weekend away at Pretoria’s bestkept-secret, and experience the elegance and rejuvenation of Casta Diva Boutique Hotel.

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.

CHARISMA Restaurant

Casta Diva’s Charisma Restaurant This 40-seater restaurant boasts an à la carte menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Open to public bookings, Charisma delivers exactly

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 in South Africa.

what the name insinuates – charm, personality, appeal, magnetism and allure.

Casta Diva’s Charisma often celebrates ‘Classical with a touch of Charm’ as they host performances by established as well as up-and-coming artists as often as possible. The likes of Jo-Nette Le Kay, Ilse Myburgh, Thomas de Bruin and Lara Kirsten (to name but a few) have graced the elegant setting with their talents. Booking for the delightful restaurant is essential.

Casta Diva’s Vissi d’Arte The name Vissi d’Arte is inspired by the famous soprano’s aria, taken from Act II of Tosca by Giacomo Puccini. The aria begins with ‘I lived for my art, I lived for love, I never did harm to a living soul!’

It is only natural, then, that the main focus of the venue is the exposure and development of arts and culture.

So, if you are on the look-out for new talent, or if you are new talent waiting to announce yourself, Casta Diva’s Vissi d’Arte truly is the perfect place to ‘show off your talents.’

Functions Conferences Concerts Restaurant Theatre Art Gallery

67 Albatros Street, Ninapark, Pretoria Tel: 012 542 4449 | Fax: 012 542 3085 info@castadiva.co.za | www.castadiva.co.za Creative Feel / October 2015 / 17

Artlooks & Artlines Artlooks and Artlines is a monthly column written by Ismail Mahomed, Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival.

F

or over the past 20 years, artists and arts organisations in South Africa have developed strong networks with festivals, theatres and artists’ residencies abroad. This is a long walk from the days when South Africa was a pariah

and was culturally isolated by the rest of the globe.

There are significantly large audiences for South African

artists in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. Notably, most of the support for South African artists taking their work to these countries has come from agencies such as the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), Pro Helvetia, the Goethe Institute and the Embassy of the Netherlands in South Africa.

Amongst the artists who have become leading names in Europe are choreographers and dancers, Gregory Maqoma, Vincent Mantsoe, Dada Masilo and Mamela Nyamza. They join the ranks of South African artists Robyn Orlin and Steven Cohen who have more opportunities performing abroad than they do back home.

In recent years, South African theatre producers have been able to export their productions with the backing of the World Fringe Alliance to Prague and Australia. Amongst the most successful artists who have been supported by the World Fringe Alliance are Tara Louis Nottcutt, Stuart

Fred Abrahamse’s Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet featuring James MacGregor. Photograph by Pat Bromilow-Downing

Lightbody and Jemma Kahn.

Artists who have ventured into France, the UK, Argentina and China have mainly been supported by the Department of Arts and Culture as part of bilateral agreements (the Seasons) between the governments of these countries.

In Canada, South African audiences have been fortunate to be supported by ex-pat South African academic Marcia Blumberg. She remains a strong advocate who goes out of her way to connect South African artists with organisations and institutions across Canada. A most recent beneficiary of her generous spirit has been Clive Mathibe, a young theatre director who was recently in Canada on an exchange programme. When Marcia heard that he was in Toronto, she made time to meet with him and to offer him much of her respected wisdom.

18 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Dada Masilo’s Swan Lake. Photograph by John Hogg

Fred Abrahamse’s Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet featuring James MacGregor and Alistair Moulton Black. Photograph by Pat Bromilow-Downing

In recent years, theatre director Fred Abrahamse has

Over the past four years, there has been much discussion

become a hit in the USA. He has been able to scoop more than

about the development of a Touring Fund to support artists

one invitation to present his brilliant productions at the annual

who receive invitations from credible festivals abroad. This

festival that celebrates the works of Tennessee Williams.

Mzanzi Golden Economy dream conjured by Paul Mashatile,

Arts producer Nikki Froneman has been able to grow audiences for South African theatre in Argentina. At the recent arts market that was held in Buenos Aires, it became evident

former Minister of Arts and Culture, has yet to be turned into policy and action.

At the recent Market for the Culture & Arts Industries

that Latin American audiences in other South American

(MICA) that was held in South America, the Argentine

countries are hungry for South African performances. Much of

Minister of Arts and Culture said to artists in her opening

this has to do with the shared histories of the two continents

address, ‘Art and culture is work. Don’t let anyone tell you

in their fights against colonialism and its lasting imprints that

otherwise.’ It was with this spirit that Argentine artists were

both continents are working towards altering.

inspired to find networks with newer international markets

Whilst most South African artists who have been able to travel abroad have been fortunate to do so with the generosity

knowing that they have the backing of their government.

It would be music to the ears of South African artists

and the vision of foreign diplomatic missions and foundations

if they were to be told the same by South Africa’s arts

abroad, there is still a massive gap in how South Africa’s own

bureaucracy; and to confidently know that government’s

Department of Arts and Culture can play its part to help to

backing to grow international markets for the arts can also

advance markets for South African productions abroad.

be fuelled by passion, vision and an economic sensibility. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 19

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

W

e talk about the role of culture in all its diversity in this magazine; the social shift it both drives and passes commentary on. I love my job, through it I am constantly able

to see this in action, and a recent week of cultural activity highlighted this for me.

The opening of the short run of Animal Farm, adapted and directed by Standard Bank Young Artist Neil Coppen, was a striking example of theatre which drives debate and also comments on social and political shift in our country.

Currently being performed for students (George Orwell’s novel is a set work), the Market Theatre production was apparently a slightly more ‘adult’ adaptation. Orwell’s book is already a powerful allegory on the abuse of power, and the sometimes corrupt nature of political power; the metaphor of ‘feeding at the trough’ is highly applicable here. Exceptionally designed, and superbly performed

Scene from Animal Farm

20 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Chester Missing with Conrad Koch

by a team of five actresses, the production left me in a

explosive; Mombelli’s music is riveting – it offers a sense of

contradictory state of anxiety and exhilaration.

narrative and change. I left feeling as though I have had a

It was at the Comedy Central recording of Chester Missing and Conrad Koch the following night that I started to really

transformative, deeply spiritual experience.

It was from this space that I joined Deloitte in

feel that there is a different, powerful creative voice that is

Stellenbosch to support them on their #KickstART project.

acting as a positive disrupter in society today. Koch presents

The small Stellenbosch team are doing excellent work

an excellent case for intelligent cultural activism, and his

supporting young teenagers from extremely disadvantaged

performances with Missing address difficult issues of real

backgrounds, offering them arts bursaries. Over the years,

transformation through comedy. In particular, a conversation

we have seen the impact that arts education has had on

between Missing and his ‘handler’ Koch was worth

young people – it offers a greater sense of discipline, focus

mentioning. On that particular night Koch apologised to

and confidence, all crucial in society. The youngsters were

Missing for his ‘white privilege’. This is a point of tension that

taken on a walk-about by father and son artists Anton and

has been raging on social media and in the public domain.

Lionel Smit, focusing on their diverse works to be found on

And correctly so. This privilege must be acknowledged if we

the Delaire Graff Wine Estate. In particular Anton’s story

are to move forward. Koch’s apology was met with a charged

of becoming an artist against the odds of his own father,

moment of silence by the audience – unusual in the comedy

obviously struck the youngsters, offering insights into the

environment, and it was an extraordinarily effective moment.

challenges and journey of an artist.

That it took a comedian (and a puppet) to highlight the

I was also impressed by Michael Van Wyk, Senior Partner

import and enormity of the action, was obviously not lost on

at Deloitte & Touche in Stellenbosch, who said, ‘A society

the audience. I left in awe.

without creativity is not a sustainable society and will

And it was with awe that I watched Carlo Mombelli

disappear in years to come. Art plays such an important role

and his jazz quartet at the Orbit the following night.

in the history and culture of places, that to ignore it would

Mombelli, a bassist of note, performed with Kesivan Naidoo

be to ignore history, which would be detrimental to all of us.’

on drums, Kyle Shepherd on piano and Mbuso Khoza on

Given the conversations that the arts are able to address,

vocals. Indeed it was Naidoo’s last eve in South Africa

there is no doubt that they are not only crucial to our history,

before he jetted off to study in the States. The evening was

but play an important role in shifting the future as well. CF

Mbuso Khoza

Carlo Mombelli Quartet: Kesivan Naidoo, Carlo Mombelli, Mbuso Khoza and Kyle Shepherd

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 21

Literary Landscapes Literary Landscapes is a monthly column by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of the Sylt Foundation.

RW28 Kliptown © Achim Mohné and VG BildKunst

W

hen we talk about literature we tend to

connected to the place, cultural institution or the artists

think about books, audio files, radio plays

themselves. One roof of the University of São Paulo was

and the fairy tales and bedtime stories told

painted with words of famous Brazilian philosopher Vilem

by our elders.

Flusser from one of his most important essays Por Que

Literature can come around in so many different

forms and one project I have found completely convincing

Duvido (Why do I doubt?).

REMOTEWORDS’ first roof message was installed

and worth supporting is that of the German artist group

as early as 2008 (‘In art we trust’ at the Museum

REMOTEWORDS from Cologne.

Fuhrwerkswaage in Cologne) and in the past seven years

REMOTEWORDS is a long-term artistic project initiated by the German artists Achim Mohné and Uta Kopp. Referencing art, literature, design and navigation

they have been in South Africa three times, including an art show at Arts on Main.

They were invited to Johannesburg in 2009 already and

technology, REMOTEWORDS installs messages on roofs

worked together with South African writer Niq Mhlongo

of cultural institutions. Applied in capital letters, the

to install three messages on three roofs around the city. In

messages are not directly visible on location but are best

March 2009, they created the roof ‘Maboneng’ at the new

viewed from outer space via satellite photography.

Arts on Main complex in Doornfontein (RW 8th project)

They are spread worldwide via virtual globes on Google Earth and Bing Maps.

So far the prolific artists have painted messages on

together with the writer from Soweto. Niq Mhlongo suggested a quotation from his novel After Tears that had been published in 2007. ‘I’m glad you finally arrived, my

30 roofs around the world – each of them a collaboration

Advo. Good to see you, and welcome to Jozi Maboneng, the

with writers, curators and philosophers who are closely

place of lights, he said, trying to hug me.’

22 / Creative Feel / October 2015

RW8 Maboneng © Achim Mohné and VG BildKunst

(Excerpt from After Tears, Niq Mhlongo, Kwela Books, 2007, page 11) Niq Mhlongo understood his message above all as a reminder of those who, for a very long time, were

computer, iPad or smart phone and embark on a conducted tour on one virtual globe:

ONE EARTH UNITES MANY WORLDS Peter Weibel’s sentence will start in Kliptown in

prevented from standing tall in the light and had to create

Soweto, where the word ‘ONE’ is painted on one of the

an own imagination of their Maboneng – their city of light.

rooftops of the SKY (Soweto Kliptown Youth) NGO, a South

Mhlongo grew up in Soweto during the apartheid era and

African institution founded and run by Kliptown resident

made a name for himself with his descriptions of present-

Bob Nameng, who has been working successfully for years

day life in this biggest township in Africa.

to empower the local kids in one of the poorest areas in

From March 2009 onwards, the word ‘Maboneng’ was an intervention first seen from the sky and from the flyover

Soweto by means of arts and education.

ONE on its own is a powerful reminder that we must stand

of the Joe Slovo drive and then via Google Earth since the

together and also refers to the troubled past of South Africa – a

World Cup in 2010. Not much later, the architects and

past of division, disinterest and neglect, in which a privileged

investors of the district gave their whole new development

minority marginalised and dispossessed the majority of its

its new name, ‘Maboneng’ – a wonderful example of how

people. The consequences are still affecting so many people

powerful the arts can be.

and places in South Africa and Kliptown is not only a landmark

In July 2015, Achim Mohné and Uta Kopp came back to

due to the adoption of the ANC´s Freedom Charter on 26 June

Johannesburg to start an exciting new global artwork with

1955 but unfortunately still a place of poverty and unfulfilled

the installation of the first word in this project, initiated

dreams of the majority of its inhabitants.

by German curator, artist and director of the ZKM I (Centre

To show how the arts can unite and overcome separation,

for Art and Media in Karlsruhe), Peter Weibel, for the

the phrase continues on the other four continents and so

international GLOBALE art show at the ZKM.

connects different spaces and continents: in Auckland in

Regarding the development towards an increasing

New Zealand (University of Auckland, EARTH), in Karlsruhe

globalisation of artistic practise the REMOTEWORDS team

in Germany at the ZKM Museum (UNITES), at the Taipeh

questions the idea of ‘globalism’, within this project as one

Artist Village in Taipeh, Taiwan (MANY) and at the Ghetto

phrase is not only planned to be installed on one single

Biennale in Port-Au-Prince in Haiti (WORLDS).

roof but to be spread globally via five locations. In such,

What a powerful reminder of the power of the word and

the globe will be treated as an expanded art territory and as

maybe if there is life in outer space, the first images they

one unitary field of action.

will see of our earth are the messages REMOTEWORDS is

By the actual local inscriptions, this entire phrase is spread world-wide and made accessible for everyone through technology. The viewer can travel virtually with his

sending into space.

Visit www.remotewords.net for more information on their 30 roofs so far, interviews and on-site photographs. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 23

LARRY CARLTON (USA) DINALEDI STAGE

THURSDAY 24TH SEPT

DAY THURSDAY 24 September

DINALEDI STAGE (SA PROJECT) PRINCE LENGOASA presents the JOJ aMaqhawekazi Big Band YELLOW JACKETS (USA) LARRY CARLTON (USA)

DAY

DINALEDI STAGE

DIPHALA STAGE

CONGA STAGE

MBIRA STAGE

FRIDAY 25 September

CECIL MCLORIN SALVANT (USA)

STANDARD BANK NATIONAL YOUTH JAZZ BAND (SA)

AFRICAN DREAMTIME (SA) Pops Mohamed, Steve Newman, Lucas Senyatso, Olufemi Ogunkoya, Mabi Thobejane, Tlale Makhene

The Sound of Two JACO MARIA and WANDA BALOYI

ESTELLE KOKOT with Chico Freeman Herbie Tsoaeli, Kevin Gibson MARCUS MILLER (USA) YELLOW JACKETS (USA)

DEE ALEXANDER (USA) MATTHEW HALSALL (UK) THE 3 COHENS (Israel – USA) Anat Cohen, Avishai Cohen, Yuval Cohen WILLIAM PARKER (USA) with Leena Conquest, Eri Yamamoto, Rob Brown, Lewis Barnes, Hamid Drake

DAY SATURDAY 26 September

DWIGHT TRIBLE (USA) PAOLO FRESU, TRILOK GURTU OMAR SOSA (ITALY, INDIA, CUBA)

LEE OSKAR (USA) VUSI MAHLASELA (SA) PEABO BRYSON (USA)

JIMMY DLUDLU and Friends Sara Tavares (Cape Verde), Manou Gallo (Ivory Coast), Mingas (Mozambique) and Nono Nkoane (SA)

DINALEDI STAGE

DIPHALA STAGE

CONGA STAGE

MBIRA STAGE

STEVE DYER (SA)

NDUDUZO MAKHATHINI Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2015 (SA, DM, USA)

DWIGHT TRIBLE (USA)

SIMPHIWE DANA (SA)

PAOLO FRESU, TRILOK GURTU OMAR SOSA (ITALY, INDIA, CUBA)

LEE OSKAR (USA)

LARRY CARLTON (USA) CECIL MCLORIN SALVANT (USA) MARCUS MILLER (USA)

Omagugu Makhathini, Ayanda Sikade Robin Fassie Kock , Mthunzi Mvubu MATTHEW HALSALL (UK) DEE ALEXANDER (USA)

WILLIAM PARKER (USA) with Leena Conquest, Eri Yamamoto, Rob Brown, Lewis Barnes, Hamid Drake

The 3 COHENS (Israel – USA) Anat Cohen, Avishai Cohen, Yuval Cohen

HUGH MASEKELA, OLIVER MTUKUDZI, feat Shai Shai Mbira Ensemble (SA, ZIM)

PEABO BRYSON (USA) RAY PHIRI with Stimela (SA)

Programme subject to change

The Evolution of Simphiwe Dana Celebrating ten years in the music industry this year, Simphiwe Dana has reached a point of confidence and comfort in her career, she tells Creative Feel’s Nondumiso Msimanga. Fans can catch Dana at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz on the Mbira Stage.

26 / Creative Feel / October 2015

T

hirty-five years old with a decade-long career

and a tightly closed fist next to her large mane of hair.

in the music industry so far, Simphiwe Dana

Calm as a lioness with manicured nails, she is a simmering

smiles when she says, ‘I just see the next ten

surprise. She is happy about her upcoming performance.

years and they’ll be glorious.’ It is difficult

It feels like a coming of age. She says, ‘It was events like

terrain to navigate the music industry in South Africa.

Standard Bank Joy of Jazz that made me’ by giving her a

Artists with beautiful voices surface through the clouds

platform to make a name for herself on a national and

and fade away again. At some point, Dana believed that

international stage. For her performance this year, she

her career might also be over until she found her voice

will be celebrating her ten years as a musician by taking

again, and it resounded with a new tone. She bemuses

the audience down memory lane. She adds with sprightly

at the changes that have happened to her in the past

feistiness that there will also be ‘sprinkles of songs that are

few years: ‘Where did this come from? I don’t know this

new.’ She has been writing constantly now that she has a

person!’ This person is a cool crackle in her sound that

new team to support her. Previously, she would have taken

echoes the fresh fire that she has become. Simphiwe Dana

lengthy periods of time out and gone away to complete an

has not reinvented herself – in the language of pop star

album, working first from her a cappella vocals and then

revivals – she has simply become more of herself. With

emerging to begin layering the sounds with instrumentals.

her latest release Firebrand, she says, ‘I found corners of

Now, she is experimenting with her sound and even her

myself that I’d neglected all my life.’ The self-designed

creative style. ‘I don’t have to prove myself to anyone. I

cover boasts a sensuous styling that she and her sister put

wanna play,’ she says.

together for the photo-shoot and Dana cheekily says that

A decade allows an artist the time to mature in their art

she did most of the work, so it really is a self-revelation.

and really build a lasting impression. Dana’s legacy, that

But how she has chosen to display her revitalised self is

which she hopes to leave behind, is one of honesty. It’s the

through a subtle unveiling of the core philosophies that

authenticity of her voice that first made her a household

have always underpinned her activism as an artist and a

name – in music and even in the spheres of politics – and it

bold array of colours around her new-found confidence.

is that, above all else, that she seeks to portray. Her politics

She stares directly into the camera in an accessorised, naked body revealing only her shoulders in the background

have not always won her favour, as she has stated her allegiance to the ruling party, even while she condemned

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 27

some of their actions, but she is also an image that young

the woman who performed, until she died on the stage. She

feminists have looked up to, as she espoused the significance

does not wish to reincarnate Makeba though. She is happy to

of natural beauty; and specifically natural hair in Black

be discovering the fullness of Simphiwe Dana.

women. When she changed her look, some fans were unsure,

‘She was much more than a musician, that’s why they

but to that she quickly responds that feminism is about

called her Mama Africa. I don’t want to be Miriam Makeba

respecting the choices of women as autonomous beings.

but I’m inspired by her,’ she states. At the moment, Dana is

Her agenda, she says plainly, is: education, pan-Africanism

thoroughly enjoying her femininity in ways that are strikingly

and feminism; along with a general desire to do away with

reminiscent of the iconic Makeba images where she had the

institutionalised racism. She says, ‘I’ve had that period of

crowd at her fingertips. The classic sensuality is partly what

allowing myself to be monitored and policed. There was

Dana was looking to portray with the design of her Firebrand

nothing like me when I came out so I’m comfortable with

album. Having studied IT and graphic design as a student, she

just being me.’ She believes that it has been a good change

has a keen eye for the layering of images. She almost laughs

for her career. ‘I do whatever the hell I want’ and it surprises

when she thinks out loud that that is actually how she designs

even her sometimes that ‘there’s this rebelliousness that’s

sound as well. She layers the colours of her music.

also coming out and it’s helping my stage presence.’

Sweating and exhausted after her performance in April

Why she hesitates to relish in the realisation that she has composed with a visual eye is that she has feared that

2015 at Bassline, she realised that people were in awe but she

she would not be able to outdo herself; and that thought had

found that she was too. She thinks she may have had an out-

previously left her paralysed. She recalls that ‘two to three

of-body experience because she had never felt that way after a

years had passed since releasing Zandisile’ (her debut album

performance before. So, smilingly, she looks forward to giving

that won her the South African Music Awards for Best Jazz

her all at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz. Because she may have

Vocal Album and Best Newcomer) ‘and I had not written at

been likened to Miriam Makeba earlier in her career, she has

all. I would listen to Zandisile and think: I cannot write that.

only recently begun to notice some uncanny similarities to

And I would be intimidated.’ She felt the same when she was

28 / Creative Feel / October 2015

writing her third album because she desperately wanted to know that she could grow. Now, she is just allowing herself to grow. She admits that when she wrote ‘Bantu Biko Street’ it was a different time and she felt the weight of activism on her shoulders. Now, her shoulders can also carry jewellery on them because ‘the young people are leading the narrative’ and she loves that they are not taking no for an answer. She is proud that the spirit of awareness that Biko brought to the fore, with Black Consciousness, has been awakened. She is proud of the youth.

‘It’s freeing!’ she exclaims; to be present in this time.

It is liberating to be finding her presence in performance.

As she makes plans to celebrate her decade in art for the remaining part of the year, she has also been able to free herself up to do some remixes of her music. She has wanted to for the past five years, she says, but has not been able to find time until now. Having solidly established her singing style so that people do not hear her on remixed versions of her tracks and come to expect her to perform in that manner, she decided that she was ready to explore new ways of creating her music. She has produced a remix with Black Motion – who approached her when she was also looking to explore, doing something new with her old songs – and is working on collaborations as she ventures into the greater African market. She is working with artists from Nigeria in particular in her new experiments toward achieving a greater stake in the music industry of the whole continent. Having a team with her has allowed her to really start thinking of herself more as a business and she looks forward to learning more of the business from her Nigerian counterparts. She is challenging herself to work in different ways and muses on the idea of possibly taking a beat and sitting alone with it somewhere secluded so that she can colour her musical pictures from a new starting point.

All these experiments, and more to come, will be tackled with the same spirit of authenticity that her fans have become used to. Even when she is discovering elements of herself that she had not previously accessed or allowed to exist, to their fullness, she simply wants to be honest.

‘This version of me is very fiery on stage,’ she says – to prepare her Standard Bank Joy of Jazz audience for a jazz performance like no other. ‘I am one of those people who are very reserved… I thought.’ It certainly promises to be an evolution of Simphiwe Dana that should not be missed.

For those who have never seen her perform, they will see a sweltering singing performance. And for those who are not new to her fan club, she promises to bring something new, as well as all of the good old songs that breathe nostalgia from her voice to the eye of the mind. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 29

The National Youth Jazz Band Selected just prior to the 2015 National Arts Festival, the 2015/2016 Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band, conducted by Concord Nkabinde, will be making an anticipated appearance at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz on the Diphala stage.

H

erbie Hancock once said the cool thing is

makes jazz greats, great. They performed Sipho ‘Hotsticks’

that jazz is a really wonderful example of the

Mabuse’s ‘Burnout’ and Pharell Williams’ ‘Get Lucky’ among

greatest characteristics of Buddhism and great

others and the audience in Grahamstown loved their set.

characteristics of the human spirit. Because in

Nkabinde laughs gently at the fact that he had to remind

jazz we share, we listen to each other, we respect each other;

the young people to enjoy themselves: ‘I keep having to tell

we are creating in the moment. He says jazz has an eternal

them to have fun and if we’re not going to have fun, what’s the

sound that is at once ‘cool’ and also universally moving to

point?’ But, of course, there are incredibly high stakes involved

the human soul. The key tenets of respect and listening in

in being a member of the NYJB. The band is selected at the

order to harmonise the sounds into a constant but ever-

Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival which forms part

changing song, have been used as symbols of how the world

of the National Arts Festival where they perform in front of

can operate better since the inception of jazz. Referring to

mentors, lecturers, music critics, music lovers and the rest of

the eight young musicians of the Standard Bank National

the 20 finalists who did not make the final cut. It is a daunting

Youth Jazz Band, Concord Nkabinde, Standard Bank Young

experience. The band performs at a number of massive festivals

Artist Award winner for Jazz (2006), says ‘our heritage is

in their year together. They also become part of the legacy of the

in safe hands’. After their first major performance at the

NYJB, known as the grooming ground for Standard Bank Young

National Arts Festival in Grahamstown this year, it became

Artists, boasting previous musicians of note, Kesivan Naidoo,

evident that Nkabinde not only ensured that they performed

Tutu Puoane and Kyle Shepherd. Nkabinde speaks highly of the

to the very high standards that the band has become known

talent of all the finalists he saw, he was impressed by their skills.

for, but that they also retained the element of ‘cool’ that

But when it comes to the final eight, he is in sheer awe. Thami

Tshiamo Nkoane

30 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Keorapatse Kolwane

Phuti Sepuru

Mahlangu (tenor sax), Lorenzo Blignaut (trumpet), Marcelle

of Jazz. When he first saw them play it in front of an audience

Adams (trumpet), Phuti Sepuru (piano), Bradley Prince (guitar),

in Grahamstown, he nearly cried. He says, ‘they played it so

Dalisu Ndlazi (bass), Tshiamo Nkoane (drums) and Keorapatse

respectfully and maturely’ that he was truly touched.

Kolwane (vocals) work so well as a team that Nkabinde says, ‘Some older professionals haven’t cracked that yet.’

It is an image of what South Africa as a nation hopes to

The band members themselves requested to play the original composition as a signature song for their growing repertoire. They take jazz music to places it has never been

be when Nkabinde states: ‘The culture of jazz, which is often

before, and Nkabinde is firm in his belief that the young

referred to as the culture of democracy, where you have to

people will perform at the highest levels of the Standard

work to help each other – these young people have been

Bank Joy of Jazz standard.

amazing at that.’

In Grahamstown, Nkabinde had a epiphany working with

Lorenzo Blignaut and Marcelle Adams are already being booked to play with professionals and Phuti Sepura has

the musicians. He wants to see the band performing at the

just graduated with a Masters degree in Musicology. With

level of professionalism that it has become known for and see

the inspiring sense of harmony with which they perform,

them performing alongside industry greats, where they can

they lift each other’s performances with every show they

hold their own. He describes the song that he wrote for the

play. Nkabinde says, ‘I’m already seeing possible Standard

band as a particularly emotional ballad, drawn from personal

Bank Young Artists.’ And, that is the joy of the Standard

experience. The song ‘If You Forget Me Remember This’ will

Bank National Youth Jazz Band – it is the possibility to see

be the highlight of their performance at the Standard Bank Joy

greatness as it emerges from its shell. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 31

The 3 Cohens The 3 Cohens is a rare family band made up of equally prodigious talents.

Tenor saxophonist and clarinettist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Avishai Cohen and soprano saxophonist Yuval Cohen live up to the promise of genius that happens when jazz meets the genome factor. The siblings have been to our shores before in various contexts. This year’s performance at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz marks their first performance as a unit.

T

he filial intuitiveness at the heart of The 3 Cohens

Cohens received the means to attend the Berklee College of

is a thing for an audience to behold, but these

Music in Boston, where they expanded their musical horizons.

musicians can summon it with their eyes closed.

Post-graduation, the trio formed a sextet and performed their

‘We can talk without talking,’ says Anat, the middle

original music at the Lodz Jazz Festival in Poland. This was

child. ‘Often, we don’t even have to look at each other on

the seed of One, their debut album as The 3 Cohens, recorded

stage. We have such history together that we feel each other

in 2003. Since then, The 3 Cohens sextet has ranged from

through the music.’

acclaimed appearances at the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival, Caesarea

Yuval, Anat and Avishai Cohen grew up in Tel Aviv under

Jazz Party and Givatayim Jazz Festival in Israel to performances

the same roof and in the same schools, with the common

at the Tudo é Jazz Festival in Brazil and the JVC and Portland

environment helping to shape close musical tastes, approaches

Jazz festivals in the US. The 3 Cohens have also played top

and ideas. The three attended the Tel Aviv School for the Arts,

clubs from across Europe and in Australia to the famed Village

the ‘Thelma Yalin’ High School for the Arts and the Jaffa Music

Vanguard in Manhattan, performing a weeklong residency

Conservatory, their backgrounds including some symphonic

there in 2009. In 2013, The 3 Cohens played one of the world’s

orchestral playing. But it was jazz that soon captured their

most prestigious venues, Carnegie Hall, performing for a rapt

imaginations. Through the World Scholarship Tour, each of the

audience on the Zankel Hall stage.

32 / Creative Feel / October 2015

When not working together, each of the Cohens excel

each other so well and respect each other so much.’ For Avishai,

individually. Yuval, the eldest, released his sophomore

the family band ‘is probably closest to my heart,’ he says. ‘You

album – Song Without Words, a classically tinged duo

get to create music with incredible musicians whom you also

set with pianist Shai Maestro – in 2011. He recently won

know and love unconditionally.’

Israel’s prestigious Landau Award for his achievements

The leadership role in The 3 Cohens ‘constantly shifts,

in jazz, and along with being a performer, he is one of his

with each of us taking turns as leaders depending on the

country’s most sought after educators.

tune and situation,’ explains Anat. ‘We’re democratic about

Anat has been named Clarinetist of the Year at the Jazz

things, so there is a moment for one to shine and the others

Journalist Association Awards every year since 2007 and, in

to support. Because Yuval is the oldest, it was natural for

recent years, Multi-Reeds Player of the Year, too. She has

him to be the leading force early on, of course, and we were

also topped the DownBeat Critics and Readers Polls year

comfortable following him. Now that we’re adults with our

after year. A Brooklyn resident, Anat has toured the world

own lives and careers, we each bring our own influences,

with her quartet, playing the Newport, Umbria, SF Jazz and

experience and confidence to the group. It’s an ongoing

North Sea jazz festivals as well as the Village Vanguard,

process to say what we want to say as individuals and still

where she recorded the live Clarinetwork, with rhythm

incorporate repertoire into the group that we all feel attuned

mates Benny Green, Peter Washington and Lewis Nash. Her

to. But we work at it. It’s a journey.’

sixth solo album – the hit Claroscuro, released by Anzic in

When the Cohens hang out with each other off the

2012 – found her at home with a world of music from New

bandstand, ‘we are 100% siblings, with all that implies,’ says

York and New Orleans to Brazil and Africa.

Anat, with a laugh. ‘But we have gotten better over the years at

Avishai, the youngest Cohen, played his own set at the

looking beyond our sibling relationships to treat each other as

2011 Newport Jazz Festival, and he tours widely with the

artists – whether that’s not being too familial in rehearsal or just

SF Jazz Collective. The trumpeter has also made an array of

not cracking each other up on stage too much. I do think people

recordings as a leader, including three Anzic albums that

can hear the love we have for each other, because it comes

feature his lauded trio Triveni.

through in the music. We share so much. To me, the sounds of

The 3 Cohens is a welcome thing for the three musicians

the trumpet and the soprano saxophone are really the sounds of

after their individual experiences. Yuval points to how much fun

my brothers, just as the sound of the clarinet for them is me. To

it is for the siblings to play together simply ‘because we know

keep sharing our music on stage and in the studio is a gift.’ CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 33

SAMRO Scholarships Victors give Voice to the Future

Abe Sibiya (Chair SAMRO Board), Zoë Modiga, Levy Sekgapane, Andre le Roux (MD SAMRO Foundation). All photographs by Suzy Bernstein

Levy Sekgapane

It was truly a night to remember when two new singing stars were crowned at the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition final on Saturday, 29 August 2015.

A

t a Linder Auditorium bursting at its seams

alumni since 1962. Prize money for 2015 was raised from

with music lovers, 24-year-old Levy Sekgapane

R170 000, and announced on the night.

(Western Art music) and 21-year-old Zoë Modiga (jazz) were named the winners of this

year’s competition for singers.

They have each won R200 000 (South Africa’s most lucrative competitive music scholarship) to further their music studies, or enrol in specialist master classes, abroad

It was a dazzling evening of music, elevated by knockout vocal performances by the four finalists, all in their 20s and all brimming with youthful talent and promise: Levy Sekgapane and Andiswa Makana (Western Art music) and Zoë Modiga and Amy Campbell (jazz).

Three of the four singers studied at the University of

– plus the honour of having their names on the SAMRO

Cape Town and one finalist received operatic training from

Foundation’s roll of honour, joining 68 fellow scholarships

the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

34 / Creative Feel / October 2015

The theme of this year’s scholarships competition was

and Sibongile Khumalo. They were joined by Western Art

the National Development Plan (NDP) and its vision for a

music adjudicators Eugenie Chopin, Lize Coetzer, Conroy

future South Africa.

Cupido, Hanna van Niekerk and Thami Zungu; and jazz

As such, the SAMRO Foundation had commissioned four composers – Neo Muyanga, Marcus Wyatt, Christo Jankowitz and James Bassingthwaighte – to write new

adjudicators Gloria Bosman, Motsumi Makhene, Sibongile Mngoma, Nicky Schrire and Lydia vom Hagen.

The audience was also afforded the rare privilege of

songs inspired by the preamble to the NDP, which was

hearing two original Gerard Sekoto jazz compositions,

penned by University of Johannesburg vice-chancellor

Africa and Igoli, arranged by Bassingthwaighte and

Professor Njabulo Ndebele and poet Antjie Krog. These

performed by the TUT Big Band and singer Sean Jacobs.

new compositions were performed by candidates in the

These songs are among several written while the artist was

intermediate and final rounds.

in exile in Paris.

Prof Njabula Ndebele (second from left) with Andiswa Makana, Zoë Modiga, Levy Sekgapane, Andre le Roux and Amy Campbell

Prof Ndebele was also the keynote speaker on the

Zoë Modiga

Furthermore, an exhibition and sale of limited-edition

night, at an event attended by the arts world’s glitterati.

Sekoto prints and posters, to celebrate the Gerard Sekoto

In welcoming him, SAMRO Foundation managing director

Foundation’s partnership with the SAMRO Foundation,

André le Roux expressed his fervent hope that the positive

proved a roaring success.

vision laid out in the NDP roadmap would reach fruition with the help and inclusion of the arts community.

Having progressed through from Thursday’s

In addition to the two overseas scholarships, a number of merit and subsidiary awards were handed out to outstanding finalists and semi-finalists, including

intermediate round, in which twelve semi-finalists

Khanyiso Gwenxane, Mikhaela Kruger, Nombuso Ndlandla,

competed, the four singers gave it their all during Saturday

Makudupanyane Senaoana and Amy Walton. The two

night’s finals.

runners-up each received R70 000 (also increased from

While performing their own choice of repertoire as well

prior awards of R40 000), bringing the total prize money

as the prescribed commissioned works (the jazz number

to over R500 000 – a handsome investment in music

Connected by Wyatt and the Western Art song Dream of a

education to link with the ideals set out in the NDP.

Rainbow by Jankowitz), they pulled out all the vocal stops to impress the adjudicators.

The high-level judging panel, chaired by Leon van Wyk, included two dual-genre panelists, Karendra Devroop

For more information, email samrofoundation@ samro.org.za, visit www.samrofoundation.org.za, follow @SAMROFoundation on Twitter or “like” the SAMRO Foundation page on Facebook. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 35

Ubuntu composer Juan Burgers (centre) with choristers from left, Nana Mkhize, Nature Khuzwayo, Colleen Smit, Nqobile Khuzwayo, Nqobile Mathaba & Bright Magwaza. Photograph by Val Adamson

Ubuntu – The Opera Music-lovers can look forward to a momentous event in November when the world premiere production of a major new South African composition is unveiled on Durban’s Playhouse Opera stage. Entitled Ubuntu – The Opera, the work is the magnum opus of multi-talented Durban-based musician and composer, Juan Burgers, who for many years has played a leading role in this country’s classical music environment.

F

unded by the National Lotteries Commission and

ear for richly conceived vocal and orchestral writing –

presented under the auspices of Esayidi FET College

making the work accessible to first-time listeners – Ubuntu

in collaboration with Bravo Africa Entertainment,

is written in two acts with a prologue. Burgers’ libretto is

Juan Burgers’ creation will be staged as a 21st

constructed around cornerstone events which historically

anniversary salute to South Africa’s struggle for democracy, offering a grand-scale showcase of some of the country’s finest operatic talent.

Following nationwide auditions, rehearsals for this fully-

delineate the years of struggle against apartheid.

Heading the list of persona included in the work’s cast list are the roles of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, whose marriage, as seen in

fledged opera production began at Durban Music School

the context of the opera, proves to be the catalyst against

on August 24, in preparation for the new opera’s run of five

which the broader backdrop of the struggle is depicted.

performances, to be given between November 17 and 22.

They share the stage with other great struggle icons such

Set to a powerfully distinctive score underpinned by the composer’s melodic inspiration and his unfailingly original

36 / Creative Feel / October 2015

as Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki, among others.

Ubuntu executive producer Raphael Vilakazi (centre) with some of the choral singers (left to right) Mandla Mkhize, Sipho Langa, Phindile Hlongwa, Mbali Zuma and Chantél Adendorff. Photograph by Val Adamson

Says Burgers, ‘The opera is one of the few in the history of its repertoire that has a larger female chorus than male chorus. The women of South Africa had a great deal to offer

incarceration on Robben Island, culminating in his eventual release from prison.

Staged under the artistic directorship of Burgers

for the struggle, as they showed in their defiance of the

himself, Ubuntu – The Opera will be directed, designed

pass laws in 1956. In this regard, one of the most important

and choreographed by the gifted Netherlands-based,

figures who appears on stage in my work is Winnie

South African-born dancer, David Krugel (A Spartacus of

Mandela, who epitomised untold courage and endurance

Africa). Principal casting includes the rising young soprano

during the bleak years of isolation she was subjected to.’

Charlotte Mhlongo as Gaia, with Thamsanqa Mqaba and

‘The other key principal female character in the cast

Simphiwe Mkhatshwa alternating in the pivotal tenor

is Gaia, goddess Mother Earth. She is the first character

role of Ubuntu. Baritones Raphael Vilakazi and Njabulo

to appear on stage. The title role character, Ubuntu, is

Mthimkhulu will share the role of Nelson Mandela.

sung by a tenor who remains on stage throughout the

Sopranos Nomsa Mpofu and Khumbuzile Dlamini will

duration of the show. This character embraces the ancient

alternate as Winnie Mandela; baritones Musa Ndadane

Vedic concept of Purusha, the innermost essence of being

and Tamsanqa Khaba will share the role of Albert Luthuli,

– proclaiming that all which exists in the Universe is

Richard Salmon is slated to play Judge Quartus de Wet;

interconnected. This concept, translated in African terms,

Riaan Hunter appears as Colonel Swanepoel, Raimondo van

is equated with that of “one-ness” epitomised by the term

Staden as Braam Fischer, and tenor Cobus Venter will sing

“Ubuntu”, which derives from the notion, “I am because

the role of the public prosecutor, Percy Yutar.

you are”.’

Burgers began writing Ubuntu in 2007, and the core of

The large handpicked body of choristers will bring gravitas to the vitally important role played by the Chorus

his composition occurred between September and December

in this ground-breaking work, which will see conductor

2008. Funding initiatives began in earnest in 2011, and

Lykele Temmingh at the helm of the KwaZulu-Natal

spearheaded by the project’s executive producer, Raphael

Philharmonic Orchestra.

Vilakazi, finally came through in May this year.

The action of Ubuntu – The Opera unfolds against key

Tickets are R120, R180 and R250 per person (R90 for students and pensioners). Booking is through Computicket

events in the life of Nelson Mandela, from his birth in a

outlets at Shoprite Checkers stores, telephonically on

rural Transkei homeland, to scenarios such as the notorious

0861 915 8000, or via the Playhouse box office on 031 369 9540

Rivonia Trial, Winnie’s years of isolation, Mandela’s

(office hours), or online at www.computicket.com. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 37

In the afternoon at Marabastad terminal in Pretoria, commuters start lining up for buses to take them back home to KwaNdebele
 1983, Silver gelatin photograph on fibre-based paper, approx. 30 x 40cm, Edition of 10

The Pursuit of Values While renowned photographer David Goldblatt pursues subjects that reveal the values of our society, Neil Dundas, curator of The Pursuit of Values, turns the frame on the principles of Goldblatt himself.

38 / Creative Feel / October 2015

In a department store, probably John Orr’s on Von Brandis Street, Johannesburg 1965, Silver gelatin photograph on fibre-based paper, approx. 30 x 40cm , Edition of 10

‘I

t’s not a retrospective,’ says Neil Dundas, curator

outside Randfontein,’ says Goldblatt, describing the process

of a show of David Goldblatt’s photographs

of selecting images for the show. ‘And then also a small

destined for the Standard Bank Gallery beginning

group of photographs from Gamkaskloof, in the Swartberg

in October. Goldblatt, arguably South Africa’s

mountains. A major part of the exhibition is devoted to

foremost photographer, has simply produced too much work

what I’ve called Structures of Dominion and Democracy,

over the last 64 years to make this possible. However, says

a continuation of what I did in the 1980s and 90s: I

Dundas, The Pursuit of Values ‘is a really good survey of the

photographed structures in South Africa as expressions

periods of his work,’ spanning several decades, and including

of our values, and I’ve been doing the same thing in post-

many images never before published.

apartheid SA for some time.’

One of these is a photo essay of the Transkei, shot by

‘You very quickly get a sense that these architectural

Goldblatt in 1975, which Dundas describes as ‘a real time

studies are far more than just looking at the building or

capsule. People don’t live like that any more, not even in

the structure,’ notes Dundas of Structures. ‘They’re really

the Transkei.’

looking at us... they are a good guide to the sorts of things

‘I also looked at my first attempts at photographing Afrikaners who were people of the plots, smallholdings

that have guided us as a nation. And yes, some of it is negative: the greed, or the sense of dominion; the sort of

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 39

Boorgat is die Antwoord, De Brak, on the Fraserburg-Sutherland road 2007, Digital print on 100% cotton rag paper, A0 or A0+, Edition of 10

powerhouse architecture and sometimes rather alarmingly

quite randomly. I quite often drive into particular areas of the

new brutalist architecture of the republic. But also beautiful

country and then look at what is there.’ Although his work

things – from Hindu temples to the kind of tiny towns that

inevitably carries a story, with the history and significance of

were founded around magnificent and sometimes very

the subject adding its shades to the power of the image, he

surprising churches, which must have cost more than the

notes that he prefers not to do research beforehand. ‘I work

rest of the village to build. All very much about the way

rather instinctively, and I find that research gets in the way if

people have attached value and emotion to the place they’ve

I have formed predigested ideas,’ he says. ‘Generally speaking,

found and called home, the kinds of places they’ve grown

I look at things and respond to them by the way they provoke

up in. The family values that would lead to a compound or a

or irritate or excite me – if I am, and photograph them, I then

particular kind of clan village.’

frequently do research afterwards.’

Goldblatt describes his selection of these structures as

Goldblatt’s particular gift seemingly lies in this

‘very arbitrary. Some of these I’ve known about and gone there

sensibility, an awareness of something latent in a subject,

deliberately to look at them. Some of them I’ve come across

and his ability to reveal it to his audience. Dundas, speaking

40 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Sarie Fink doing her hair, Kleine Rivier, Buffelsdrif, Western Cape 2004 , Digital print on 100% cotton rag paper, A0 or A0+, Edition of 10

of his interaction with Goldblatt’s work over time, describes

and white,’ says Dundas. Goldblatt’s work provides a critical

a kind of awakening, a visual education. ‘He makes me see

counterpoint to this, any neat division of saints and sinners,

things that I didn’t even realise were there – or he makes me

victim and oppressor. ‘David has developed a fondness for

look again, and somehow see, really see, what I was looking

all of us in our foibles,’ he says. ‘... I think what he would

at. I suppose in lots of ways that’s the test of a really good

call that sense of being open to what the other person’s

photographer... that in the composition of the picture... the

story really is, instead of just judging it on the preconceived

play with light and shadow and dark, and maybe waiting for

notion, or on the appearance that the camera can capture.’

some places to be empty, and others to be populated before

(A peculiar contradiction: Goldblatt uses photography,

photographing them, they make a particular point.’

seemingly dealing in appearances, to take us beyond a

Or, in Goldblatt’s case, not so much a point as a nuanced

surface reading). Perhaps this is why, at the height of the

whole, an openness to the other side of the story and the

apartheid struggle, Goldblatt avoided the scenes of open

inevitably convoluted quality of human beings. ‘We live in a

violence and township struggle sought out by the likes of

country where, if you’ll pardon the pun, things are so black

the more stridently activist Afrapix and the Bang Bang Club,

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 41

The City, The Firewalker and the aftermath of copper cable theft. Queen Elizabeth bridge, Johannesburg, 29 December 2011 2011, Silver gelatin on fibre-based paper, 43 x 53.5cm, Edition of 10

choosing instead to focus on seemingly mundane subjects.

Herman Charles Bosman’s ability to use very simple stories,

In a shoot-out, things slot easily into neat ‘black and

and very simple language, to say complex things, often with

white’ categories. It is in the everyday that the full, human

deep irony. Nadine Gordimer, particularly in her early work,

complexity of a situation is revealed.

lived the same sort of Witwatersrand life that I lived and was

This fascination with complexity may also explain

very familiar with. John Coetzee, in a number of his books,

Goldblatt’s interest in South African authors, whom he cites

has plumbed the depths. Marlene van Niekerk – I just find her

as his main influences. ‘Nadine Gordimer, particularly her

work extraordinarily evocative and stimulating.’

earlier work; Herman Charles Bosman; Barney Simon; Lionel

It also explains his emphasis on the importance of

Abrahams; Marlene van Niekerk; Karel Schoeman; Ndjabulo

his captions. ‘I don’t regard the photographs that I do as

Ndebele; John Coetzee,’ he lists. ‘Very often the writing of

being conceived in a vacuum. Each exists in this place, at

these people has made me wish to extend my observations or

this time, and so, the facts connected with them are very

look deeper into things than I would perhaps otherwise have

important to me, and I generally at least try to give the basic

done, because they have enlightened me or excited me or

journalistic knowledge: what, why, where and when. But

opened my eyes. And so, yes, they have been very influential:

also, quite often by choosing the words very carefully, one

42 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Suburban garden, Bloubergstrand and Table Bay, Cape Town. 9 January 1986 1986, Silver gelatin photograph on fibre-based paper, approx. 30 x 40cm, Edition of 10

can subtly – or not so subtly – direct the viewer’s attention

academic Patricia Hayes. While Goldblatt ‘resists the idea of

to a particular way of looking at that photograph.’ Dundas

the show being a homage,’ says Dundas, ‘he views himself as

notes that over the years, Goldblatt has altered his captions

the means to hopefully helping us to understand ourselves as a

– they are sometimes longer, sometimes very basic. For

country better, and I think that the show does that very well.’

his work photographing convicted criminals at the scene

‘I think there are lots of new discoveries in a show

of their crimes, the captions form a particularly crucial

like this,’ he says. ‘For anyone that has been interested

attachment, providing a short biography or background to

in photography as a technical component of the arts and

the crime. Sometimes, these reveal an act brought about by

the evolution of that as a skill, and for anyone who’s been

desperation; at others, ‘the banality of bad character. Bad

interested in South Africa’s changes and shifts, and the

nature,’ as Dundas puts it.

historical leading to the new, both the exhibition and the

The Pursuit of Values marks the first major show of Goldblatt’s work in Johannesburg in a while, although he has

publication will be really eye opening.’

The Pursuit of Values opens at the Standard Bank

had a number of big exhibitions overseas in the interim. It is

Gallery in Johannesburg on 22 October, and runs until the 5

accompanied by a catalogue/book, which includes an essay by

December 2015. CF

Erik Laubscher Laubscher couldn’t draw to save his life. ‘Well, I’m here now, I’ve got to study,’ insisted Laubscher, who had travelled from Port Elizabeth.

Sensing desperation, the kindly secretary referred him to a fledgling art school on Bree Street run by Maurice van Essche, a Belgian painter who had moved to Cape Town from Congo in 1940. Laubscher hightailed it down Orange Street into the CBD. A few years later, at an exhibition of Laubscher’s work in Cape Town, Van Essche recalled a teary young man arriving and pleading with him to be accepted.

Laubscher later only denied the tears.

Laubscher’s story is one of overcoming early setbacks and finding greatness. This is no hyperbole. In 2009, six decades after Michaelis rejected him, a repatriated Laubscher still life from the early 1950s was sold at auction in Cape Town for R1.2 million. Laubscher was personally ‘thunderstruck’ by the result, which at the time was the highest amount yet paid for a work by a living South African artist in South Africa.

Laubscher’s early wilderness years are once again the Erik (Frederik Bester Howard) Laubscher, Landscape, signed and dated 64. Oil on canvas, 85 by 101cm. Estimate: R350 000 - 500 000

Sean O’Toole considers the life and struggles of artist Erik Laubscher as his work Women Arranging Flowers goes under the hammer at Strauss & Co on 12 October.

R

subject of focus, this after Strauss & Co, South Africa’s leading auction house, secured an outstanding work representative of Laubscher’s youthful Parisian period. Titled Women Arranging Flowers, this large oil painting from 1951 will go under the hammer at the company’s spring auction in Cape Town (on 12 October). Painted shortly before he returned to South Africa with his future wife, French painter Claude Bouscharain, this domestic scene is exemplary of Laubscher’s newfound optimism and confidence as a painter following a protracted period of wandering.

It was Van Essche who urged his young protégé to study in London, Laubscher arriving in war-ravaged London in 1948. He briefly studied portrait drawing under Frank Slater, a student of Walter Sickert, but then enrolled at the Anglo-

ejection can be a motivating force in an artist’s life.

French Art Centre, a newly opened institution based in the

Take the definitive ‘no’ that prefaced the start of

old St John’s Wood Art School. His teachers included John

much-loved painter Erik Laubscher’s prodigious

Berger, now a celebrated art critic. Laubscher, who at the

career. In 1946, Tulbagh-born Laubscher, whose

time painted in a mannered style that reflected his youthful

work is now highly sought after, knocked on a door at the

interest in prewar Parisian modernism, made numerous

Michaelis School of Fine Art and enquired from a secretary

worldly connections. His flatmate, for instance, was artist

about his application to study at this prestigious Cape Town

Breon O’Casey, son of Irish playwright Sean O’Casey and

art school. The secretary relayed the prof’s withering verdict:

later a member of the celebrated St Ives School.

44 / Creative Feel / October 2015

& Co. suggests just how quickly Laubscher synthesised the various influences of his French education to produce a confident if mannered painting that is nonetheless a marvel of colour and mood.

Upon returning to South Africa, Laubscher’s talents were immediately recognised by Walter Battiss, then an influential critic and member of the New Group of painters. Writing in London-based art magazine The Studio, Battiss stated: ‘Cape Town is still the home of Impressionism, but the new and compelling work of Erik Laubscher… at a recent Art Club exhibition is a challenge to stale ideas in the Cape.’ He also praised Laubscher’s ability to ‘paint big canvases with satisfying assurance.’

The jouissance and vigour that marked Laubscher’s early work was no flash in the pan. After a ‘period of adjustment’, in which he continued to paint in a Parisian style, Laubscher discovered his true and abiding subject: the South African landscape. It was a trip to the Bushman’s River near Kentonon-Sea that set him off on his decades-spanning trajectory describing the land in geometrical bands of colour. Laubscher once described the challenge he set himself as creating ‘the illusion of the landscape having continuing vastness and the painting being part of the whole, instead of something complete and contained.’

The success with which he met the challenge is evidenced by his selection to represent South Africa at the São Paulo and Venice biennials. Early on recognised as a ‘promising young experimental’ artist, by the early 1960s Laubscher was hailed, by the literary magazine Contrast, Erik Laubscher, Women Arranging Flowers, signed and dated 1951 April.

Oil on canvas, 115,5 by 88,5cm. Estimate: R1 200 000 - 1 800 000

as one of South Africa’s ‘leading abstract painters’. It is an assessment that still holds true, insists Sandri. ‘He found his own voice in that period and combined European influences

‘In 1949 my parents told me I should come back, get

to the South African landscape, with astonishing results,’

some decent home-cooking, and see how I would do as an

says Sandri, who sponsored a 2008 monograph on the artist.

artist,’ Laubscher recalled in a 2008 interview with Cape

‘He was a great friend of Stanley Pinker, and together with

Town dealer Baylon Sandri. A riotous farewell party prefaced

Peter Clarke they were possibly the most important Cape

his return to Port Elizabeth on a small freighter. Laubscher

Town artists of their era.’

did not stay long in Port Elizabeth. On the advice of friends,

This potted history tends to make Laubscher’s journey

Laubscher in 1950 moved to Paris to further his tuition at

from art school reject to toast of the town sound easy. It was

the Académie Montmartre. Cubist painter Fernand Léger

anything but. Laubscher supported his family by working as a

was the school’s best-known faculty member, although

colour consultant and paint salesman for Plascon for 15 years.

Laubscher initially favoured the expressionist Bernard

In 1970, he switched from salesman to educator when he

Buffet, a key figure in the voguish ‘miserabilist’ school of

founded the Ruth Prowse Art Centre in a dilapidated building

French postwar painting.

in Woodstock. Laubscher was the school’s first principal.

Laubscher’s infatuation with Buffet, who was a year his

Around this time his celebrated hard-edge style softened, but

junior, was however short-lived. ‘In the last few paintings I

never his commitment to making work, to being what he was

did in Paris there was a big shift towards more colour, away

very nearly denied early on, an artist.

from the subdued, Buffet-type greys and greens of the New Realists,’ said Laubscher. The painting offered by Strauss

The auction takes place on 12 October in Cape Town. Visit www.straussart.co.za. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 45

Sasol New

Signatures 2015

Nelmarie du Preez’s To Shout is the winner of this year’s Sasol New Signatures competition, with Mareli Janse van Rensburg’s The Final Moments of Immanuel Sithole earning her second place. Both works use contemporary technology to question aspects of modern living.

Mareli van Rensburg - The Final Moments of Immanuel Sithole

N

elmarie du Preez is the winner of this year’s Sasol

and the voice starts to distort – up until the end when we both

New Signatures competition. Her video To Shout

start to cough.’

shows an exchange between herself and a digital, alter-ego. As the artist shouts progressively

To Shout tackles the role that technology increasingly plays in our relationships with one another, ‘it has become

louder at the screen on which ‘he’ appears. Her alter ego, ‘Gui’

this mediator between us,’ says du Preez. ‘This is also a

(aka graphical user interface), responds to the frequency of

reflection on the influence of social media, and how we create

her voice, moving and shouting back. ‘The computer listens

these different personas, curate ourselves on Facebook and

to my voice and then transposes it a few tones lower, so it

present ourselves as someone, and the kinds of conflict that

sounds a bit more male,’ she explains. ‘As the shouting gets

can occur in that process. I’m interested in the way that

louder, the digital version starts to break down, to pixelate,

we innovate new technologies and how that influences the

46 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Nelmarie du Preez - To Shout

way that we as humans communicate with each other; the

in the world, but view it, and you risk being damaged by the

complex things that happen in that space.’

horrors it reveals. ‘The title of the news article was “The

The work takes its starting point from a 1970s

Final Moments of Immanuel Sithole”. This is his death,

performance by Marina Abramovic and Ulay entitled

and we’re making it such a public spectacle. So where do

AAA-AAA. ‘ I drew a lot of inspiration from their artistic

you draw the line between what’s personal and a horrific

relationship,’ says du Preez. ‘They also had a very intimate

experience and what’s newsworthy?’ she asks. ‘These

relationship [that made me think of] the recent film Her,

images can scar you so deeply, but everyone has put on this

which brings into question what the future holds for our

mask to protect themselves from them. It doesn’t make an

relationship to technology, and artificial intelligence and all

impact on you if you see a man dying any more, because it

these things. What are we capable of doing?’

is so commonplace.’

Du Preez’s career is rapidly moving from strength to

She is quick to point out the irony implicit in that she is

strength: this is her second major award in 2015, and she

criticising the ‘media’, ‘but I take a selfie of myself too, using

recently completed a residency in London, where she will

digital media and everything.’

have a solo show later this year. Her win earned her R100 000 and the chance to hold a solo exhibition next year in Pretoria.

Runner-up Mareli Janse van Rensburg is a final year

‘The timing is right for the winning works,’ says judge and National Competition Chairman Peter Binsbergen, who notes that in their use of such contemporary media,

student at Stellenbosch University. Her work, The Final

artists are questioning ‘just how accessible an artwork

Moments of Immanuel Sithole comprises a series of three

is, here in a gallery... Reach is becoming important, and

digital prints – ‘selfies’ of Janse van Rensburg wearing a mask

speed, and target market. Because when I take a cellphone

woven from strips cut from a newspaper image: that of Sithole

and put a selfie on Facebook, and tag it to my buddies,

being stabbed in the street during the recent xenophobic

immediately 300 people see it. Whether they really engage

attacks. The image, she says ‘hurt me very deeply... I wove

with it or not, they’ve seen it. When I put an artwork in an

this mask for myself... and I placed it on my head, as a way of

art gallery, how long does it take before 300 people have

protecting myself from the media.’

seen it?’

Her work reflects on the difficulties of engaging with the media: ignore it, and you don’t know what’s going on

‘These works stand as monuments to the signs of our times; they stand as historic documentation,’ he says. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 47

2015 WINNERS ANNOUNCED An initiative of the Association of Arts Pretoria, Sasol New Signatures has played a pivotal role in unearthing new talent and providing a platform from which emerging artists can launch their careers. Sasol has been the event’s main sponsor for the last 26 years.

Performance artist, Nelmarie du Preez from Pretoria took top honours at the awards ceremony, winning the 2015 Sasol New Signatures art competition for her work titled ‘to shout’. Du Preez received a prize of R100 000 and the right to hold a solo exhibition in 2016.

Mareli Janse van Rensburg is this year’s runner up for her work, ‘The final moments of Immanuel Sithole’, winning a R25 000 prize.

Judges also awarded five merit awards to Colleen Winter, Sethembile Msezane, Bronwyn Katz, Nazeerah Jacub, and Rory Emmett – each artist received a R10 000 prize.

2014 winner Elizabeth Balcomb held her first solo exhibition alongside the 2015 winner’s exhibition.

Entitled ‘Auguries of Innocence’, the work is inspired by William Blake’s poem with the same title and explores the human body participating in the world under regimes of life and death.

For more information, and works for sale, visit www.sasolnewsignatures.com.

Presented by

Association of Arts Pretoria

OVERALL WINNER

RUNNER-UP

Mareli JANSE VAN RENSBURG (Stellenbosch) The final moments of Immanuel Sithole Photography 54 cm x 102 cm

Nelmarie DU PREEZ (Pretoria) to shout 2013 Single-channel video with sound 71 seconds

MERIT AWARDS Colleen WINTER (Johannesburg) PUPA Paper and pins 13 cm x 35 cm x 13 cm Bronwyn Merlistee KATZ (Cape Town) Grond herinnering (2015) Video 228 seconds

Nazeerah JACUB (Johannesburg) Identity origins Paint on fabric 195 cm x 95 cm

Sethembile MSEZANE (Cape Town) Untitled (Youth Day), 2014 Photography 70 cm x 50 cm

Rory Lance EMMETT (Cape Town) Transcending Single channel video 180 seconds

Free Market Woman

Lagos Bound

Hate Thy Neighbour

TESTIMONY Adejoke Tugbiyele’s solo exhibition TESTIMONY is showing at Goodman Gallery Cape Town during September and October 2015.

I

n her solo exhibition, TESTIMONY, the first in South Africa and on the continent, Adejoke Tugbiyele speaks to her personal experience and the lived and imagined experiences of all Nigerians, regardless of

gender and sexual orientation. She takes as her motivation the fact that many Nigerians and other Africans cannot survive each day without dreaming of being elsewhere – somewhere far away. For example, Nigerians and other Africans migrate to places like South Africa for survival and freedom – including the freedom to love – managing existing trauma amid fears of xenophobia in a country still healing from its own apartheid past.

Adejoke Tugbiyele is a multidisciplinary artist and activist. She recently a residency at Maboneng Arts District in Johannesburg. In addition to exhibiting at renowned spaces like the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos, and the Goethe Institut in Washington DC, her work has been featured at international art fairs including Art Dubai 2014, LOOP Video Art Festival 2014 in Barcelona, as well as the FNB Joburg Art Fair South Africa in 2013. Tugbiyele’s work is included in the permanent collections of The Brooklyn Museum and The Newark Museum.

50 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Tugbiyele received a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from

‘The homosexuality debate in Nigeria, a highly diverse

Maryland Institute College of Art and a BS in Architecture

and complex nation, has to be understood from multiple

from The New Jersey Institute of Technology at NJIT. She is

angles: historic (colonisation), economic (oil-state),

the recipient of several awards, including a Fulbright grant to

political (north versus south), religious (extremism) and

Nigeria in 2013/14. During that time she was forced to leave

geographical (north/south/east/west). Nigeria is also a

the country after coming out on CNN International. Since then,

young nation, having only gained independence from its

she has worked closely with organisations like the Initiative for

colonial master – Great Britain – in 1960.

Equal Rights (TIERS) and Solidarity Alliance for Human Rights

‘Homosexuality in Nigeria can be viewed from a class

in Nigeria. Her diverse practice comments on her personal

perspective, but also through the lens of race, ethnicity,

experiences as well as political subjects related to human rights.

culture (re: marriage/dowry/children), gender (sexism) and

Tugbiyele notes that her fellow Nigerians use various means

age (global youth-culture). Age is important because statistics

to acquire the necessary documentation to allow them to

show that over 60% of Nigeria’s large and growing population

travel, taking steps that are dangerous and often placing them

consists of people under the age of 30, and the country’s

at odds with the law. Prostitution and sex work is common

poor education system has exacerbated the existing level of

Heavenly Ride

Real Danger

among both straight and gay people, because it is viewed as a

ignorance within the general population on critical issues

means to success or a way out of the country. These are acts of

pertaining to gender and sexuality.’

survival given the conditions that cause Africans to risk their

In the exhibition TESTIMONY, Tugbiyele reflects on

lives. It has become all too common to hear of refugees and

her own experience of her gender identity, as well as her

migrants drowning while attempting to leave their countries

experience of migration – the result is an exhibition of works

by boat. Others take advantage of progressive marriage laws in

that are performative while engaging with architectural

other countries only to find themselves stuck in situations that

space. By drawing figures in performance, constructing

can be just as complex as the ones they left behind.

sculptural costumes, and depicting herself in performance

In her statement Tugbiyele writes: ‘It is my hope that

interacting with her artworks, Tugbiyele reflects on changing

the exhibition TESTIMONY will do just that – testify on

space, the evolution of objects and their enduring relevance

behalf of Nigerians and other Africans who are suffering,

in African cultures.

both gay and straight, because unfair dominance over

A percentage of proceeds from the exhibition TESTIMONY

people’s gender orientation eclipses the general hardships

will go towards supporting the educational mission of Iranti-

of life: electricity has been scarce for decades for example.

Org. Iranti-Org is a lesbian and trangender visual media

In previous works I have said my piece about Nigeria’s

organisation established in 2012. It works within a human

unjust anti-gay bill, but ultimately it is a distraction. I

rights framework to raise issues of sexual orientation and

know exactly what is going on. I just happen to be a queer

gender identities. To date, Iranti-Org has documented hate

Nigerian woman.

crimes and human rights violations across South Africa. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 51

Portraits Nigerian artist Victor Ekpuk will be exhibiting Portraits at the SulgerBuel-Lovell Gallery in London during September and October 2015.

Victor Ekpuk, Portrait Series #4 (God Save The Queen)

Victor Ekpuk, Portrait Series #3

‘A

Victor Ekpuk, Portrait Series #7.

ccording to African philosophy, the head is the

performance. Through his ephemeral drawing performance,

seat of consciousness and memory, and our lives

audiences will have the rare opportunity to share in Ekpuk’s

on earth are guided by its disposition.’ - Ekpuk

intimate ritual of mark-making on the opening night.

Portraits, a series of paintings and fine

Victor Ekpuk was born in Nigeria in 1964. He received

drawings rooted in African philosophies and aesthetics, is

his BA in Fine and Applied Arts from the Obafemi

borne from Ekpuk’s interest and continuous exploration

Awolowo University, Nigeria in 1989. He currently resides

of consciousness and the enigmatic nature of the human

in Washington DC, USA.

condition. Through meditative mark-making, a visual

Ekpuk’s work is borne from his interest in consciousness,

language that developed from his re-imagining of Nsibidi

memory, the enigmatic nature of the human condition,

ideographic and pictographic script, Ekpuk’s abstract

individual and collective identities and universal notions

portraiture explores the notion of the essence of self.

of the essence of self. He draws from Africana aesthetics

Moving beyond the traditional canvas and employing a

and philosophies, creating paintings, fine drawings and

visual stream of consciousness, Ekpuk will further transform

metaphysical environments through ephemeral drawing

the gallery into a metaphysical space through a live drawing

performances inspired by Uli (Igbo body and mural drawing).

52 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Victor Ekpuk, Portrait Series #7.

Through ritualistic mark-making, a visual language

reduce form to its essence and his use of bold primary

that developed from his re-imagining of Nsibidi

colours heightens the sacredness and primordial energy

ideographic and pictographic script, he began re-

that his work unconsciously evokes.

exploring drawing as a system of writing. Nsibidi is an

He has exhibited in numerous solo and group

ancient form of sacred communication, among the male

exhibitions at institutions such as the Smithsonian,

secret societies of the Ibibio, Efik, Ejagham and Igbo

National Museum of African Art, Washington, the New

peoples of southeastern Nigeria.

Museum of Contemporary Art, New York and the Hood

Ekpuk’s minimalist lines enlivened by intricate pseudo-glyphs, ‘scribblings’ and negative spaces, seek to

Museum of Art, Dartmouth, and his works are housed in international public and private collections. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 53

EcoMobility Festival During the month of October, the streets of Sandton will be predominantly closed to private vehicles, as the second EcoMobility World Festival takes place.

I

n 2013, the busy streets of Suwon in South Korea played

people’s minds, opening them up to the possibility of a

host to the globe’s first EcoMobility World Festival.

different way of life, one less dependent on cars.

Many of the area’s businesses were more than a little anxious as to quite how this would play out, fearing

October is transport month in South Africa, and with this Sandton takes on the EcoMobility challenge. The City

a possible loss of revenue if visitors were dissuaded by

of Johannesburg has been investing in the development

transport difficulties.

of public transport infrastructure in the area, primarily

As it happened, many shops and restaurants experienced

through the planned extension of the Rea Vaya bus service

a spike in business as visitors flocked to the city to enjoy the

to Katherine Street, Rivonia Road, Fredman Drive, and Fifth

Festival’s various happenings and to try out some innovative

Street. This Festival is a means to encourage the public

new forms of transport. Residents of the neighbourhood

to step outside of their comfort zone and embrace public

relished the cleaner air and lower noise levels, and new

transport – with all the benefits this brings.

gardens were planted. All in all, the Festival was declared a

It should be noted that vehicles will not simply be

resounding success, revitalising the area and significantly

banned outright from the area. Access to businesses and

changing local responses to the idea of car-free zones.

construction sites will be limited and managed by JMPD

This, after all, is the primary aim of the Festival: to change

officers so that deliveries, construction vehicles and people

54 / Creative Feel / October 2015

with disabilities can reach their destinations. However,

lane for private cars) and wider pavements for pedestrians.

the Festival sets out to make cycling, walking and public

The loop, and the area it encloses, make up the EcoMobility

transport the more desirable options. In other words: leaving

Festival Precinct, within which vehicle access will be limited.

your car at home will be far more comfortable.

So, how can one get to the Sandton CBD during EcoMobility? To begin with, take the Gautrain, or alternatively, make use of several possible park and ride

Between Maude Street and Fredman Drive, West Street will become a dedicated pedestrian zone, and will host a number of events during the EcoMobility Festival.

Three of the streets that intersect with West Street

facilities that are in place: Montecasino, Brightwater

will offer increased space for cyclists and pedestrians;

Commons and Melrose, for example, will offer a flat rate

Maude and Stella will allow limited access for local vehicle

of R10 per day for parking, with established Gautrain bus

users and construction vehicles, as will Alice Lane. Alice

services taking people on to Sandton. Other malls will offer

Lane will also offer access for public transport, including

similar facilities, with express services provided either

metered taxis and Tuk Tuks, while Gwen Lane will remain

via bus or mini-bus taxi. For those planning on attending

open to vehicles from Fredman Drive during the week, but

forthcoming events at the Sandton Convention Centre, this

will be made into an EcoMobility zone on certain weekends.

is only a five-minute walk from the Gautrain Station, with access through Nelson Mandela Square.

Better yet: if you’re fit – or want to be – hop on your bike and make use of one of a number of pop-up cycle lanes, planned from Rosebank, Parkmore, Benmore and Alexandra.

(For more details about routes, visit www.ecomobilityfestival.org, which provides a limited road access map, or check out the Frequently Asked Questions at www.ecomobilityfestival.org/faq/) As the Sandton CBD is increasingly choked by traffic, the

Measures will be in place to improve the security of those

EcoMobility Festival and ongoing measures designed to make

cycling, with safety controls at intersections, including

public transport more attractive, are a step towards ensuring

marshals to guide cyclists through heavy traffic. Also, look

the hub’s continued flourishing. So embrace the adventure:

out for apps and a Facebook page allowing one to join a ‘cycle

hop on a bus, get out your bike, or put your walking shoes

train’, i.e. a group cycling together for additional security.

on and head to Sandton during October to catch the Festival

A public transport loop running along Fredman Drive,

events and visit your favourite restaurants or shops. With

Fifth Street and Rivonia Road will remain open to all

traffic levels set to be at an all time low, there’s never been a

vehicles, but will feature a dedicated bus lane, (i.e. one less

better time to visit the Sandton CBD...CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 55

The Bodytech Prequel. Photographs by Christo Doherty

Rise Jozi, Rise Fak’ugesi: The African Digital Innovation Festival 2015 took place in Braamfontein during August and September 2015.

W

alking into a gallery is generally a quiet,

in Johannesburg. The founder, Prof Christo Doherty of the

subdued experience. Whilst walking

Wits University Digital Arts Department, wanted to get

into an art museum to see a screen with

the university to ‘move out of those heavily fortified gates

moving images that are being created by a

to engage with the city.’ And after the incredible opening

plant according to the mood of the environment, it is not

event with Berlin software designer and techno musician

surprising to hear squeals of excitement. At the Wits Art

Robert Henke, the professor and the sound-laser artist drove

Museum (WAM), Kasia Molga calmly explains how she has

through Soweto to fak’ugesi throughout the township. Using

created sensors that connect to plants to reveal that they

his incredible lasers to create a visual-sound experience

are ‘living creatures, just like animals, but slower.’ She is

at the Alexander Theatre in Braamfontein, Henke left the

one of the four residents in the Digital Residency that is

crowd aghast at the possibilities of alternative art. When he

at the heart of the Fak’ugesi Festival. Fak’ugesi is a word

drove through Soweto with his lasers it was he who was in

that cannot be found in any dictionary, it is sourced from

awe at the possibilities of experimenting outside a theatre

the Zulu slang term denoting ‘plug in’ or ‘switch on’. The

space and lighting up an historical site.

Fak’ugesi Festival is an African digital innovation festival in its second year, that is creating a new wave of interaction

56 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Lumiere II is the title of Henke’s latest experiment with sound and light and it provided the perfect opening to the

Robert Henke’s diplay

Festival, as it switched on the city to new technological

to produce games, the Festival injected a spark of creative

innovations. What makes the Festival unique is that it is

life that met the technological interests of the time. It also

structured so that ‘we are actually developing ways that can

presented an option of sustainability that may have seemed

really speak to the African culture,’ Doherty says.

out of reach for the continent.

As part of the residency – which Doherty calls ‘the

‘It just takes creativity,’ is the message that Doherty wants

core of the Festival’ – Nathan Gates presents an attempt

to propagate. The continent and the City of Johannesburg,

at making some of the absurdities of living in a space

in particular, can achieve immense feats by collaborating in

with loadshedding and WiFi that doesn’t work, sensible.

creative experiments that envision and shape a new image of

He says, ‘I like the idea of tactical anarchy,’ and that the

itself. At Body Tech, artists from the country, based all across

taxis and vendors around the city are actually what make

the world, spoke about how technology helps them to imagine

it work. His experiment is a technological poem that

themselves in ways that are magical.

links the random messages typed into WiFi routers and

Kenyan digital artist Jepchumba experimented with

creates a kind of surrealist poetry. He sees it as a collage of

creating a future-selfie during the residency. She imagined

thoughts that could potentially be used to communicate

and photographed a Johannesburg set in the future and had

messages and put the redundant WiFi routers to use. ‘The

participants interact with the notion of what they would

Festival itself is an experiment,’ Doherty explains. It is

say to themselves in this future-space. And the fourth of

this experimental nature of the Festival that makes it

the residents, Ling Tan, gathered people-data about the

exciting to participate in. The works are created during the

city by manufacturing wearable technology responding to

Festival and pose significant attempts at engaging with the

the person’s feeling of safety in a particular area, to create

city and developing fresh African solutions through the

an alternative map. The Festival is an anarchic innovation.

combination of arts and technology.

It is revolutionary because it listens to the city to create

The function of the Festival, as Doherty puts it, is ‘to make the city a better managed organism.’ And it takes its inspiration from the city itself and brings the ideas that are

an interaction with its every level of living, from plants to WiFi, and it works.

Ed note: Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival ran

being developed into the people’s hands. With a Market

alongside and in collaboration with British Council Connect ZA

Hack where passers-by could create a miniature robot and

InnovationZA. This series of projects is supported by SA-UK

pop-ups in Soweto and Alexandra townships as well as

Seasons 2014 & 2015, a partnership between the Department of

schools’ gaming workshops, where learners could learn how

Arts and Culture, South Africa and the British Council. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 57

A Seasoned Ambassador Cultural diplomacy plays a crucial role in the building of alliances and diplomatic relations between nations. To this end, Ambassador Sam Kotane was recently appointed as co-chair for South Africa for the Joint Organising Committee of the SA-UK Seasons. Creative Feel's Tamaryn Greer was fortunate to speak to the Ambassador about his role and the place of arts and culture in South Africa.

A

mbassador Kotane served in the then Department of Foreign Affairs for a period of 15 years. His first posting was to Geneva, Switzerland, serving as a counsellor in the South African Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Following this, he served in South Africa before being appointed as

Ambassador to Mauritania in western North Africa. He was then posted as Ambassador to Senegal, also being accredited to neighbouring countries Gambia and Cape Verde. In 2013, he retired from the service.

As co-chairs to the Joint Organising Committee, Ambassador Kotane and his UK counterpart, Rt Hon Baroness Usha Prashar oversee the SA-UK Seasons. The Joint Organising Committee for the SA-UK Seasons is tasked with approving joint projects and allocating funds (put in place by both nations) to projects that are viewed as beneficial to both countries and the Seasons as a whole. The artistic direction of the Seasons, which is proposed by Bongani Tembe (Commissioner-General) for SA and Tom Porter (Programme Manager, British Council Connect ZA), is the carefully curated face seen by the general public, whereas bilateral engagements form a large portion of what occurs behind the scenes. On a basic level, the co-chairs ensure that the project brings forth the best possible outcomes for both nations.

And what would Ambassador Kotane like to see the Seasons achieve for South African arts and culture? Most importantly, opportunities for emerging artists and collaborative relationships in the cultural industries. While showcasing the best South Africa has to offer, it is vital that this is balanced by the need to create fan bases for younger artists who have not yet been exposed to international audiences. Forging partnerships plays a key role in opening up new vistas for artists and creatives as the projects undertaken, to date, in both countries illustrate. He grounds the discussion by pointing out that while government support for arts and culture is vital, the challenge of budgetary constraints and other competing priorities are a reality that has to be taken into account.

The Seasons has the potential to contribute to our countrys economic growth,

Ambassador Sam Kotane

58 / Creative Feel / October 2015

comments Ambassador Kotane. Likewise, he cites the potential of arts and culture to leverage cultural trade and tourism and concomitant employment opportunities. CF

The Soil at Commonwealth Day Celebration 2015

The Season so far Bongani Tembe, Commissioner-General for the SA Season in the UK, part of the SA-UK Season 2014 & 2015, a cultural exchange partnership by South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture and the United Kingdom’s British Council, has announced that the second round of the SA Season in the UK has once again been a phenomenal success.

A

commitment to strengthen cultural ties

Bunfight, the second instalment of the Exhibit series.

between South Africa and the UK, the SA-

The projects were successful with audiences and critics

UK Seasons commenced in January 2014

alike. While Ubu and the Truth Commission contributed

and will conclude in December 2015. The SA

significantly to the Festival talks and discussions, Exhibit

Season in the UK kicked off in 2014 with a bang at The

B sparked discussion on the role of art in examining

Edinburgh International Festival with three major local

challenging aspects of relationships between different

works on its programme: Inala, a dance piece which

races, while Inala sold out performances.

incorporated South Africa’s internationally acclaimed

Jazz pianist Bokani Dyer, legendary South African pianist

Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Ubu and the Truth Commission,

Abdullah Ibrahim, drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo, and jazz

a critically applauded theatrical multimedia production

trumpeter Claude Deppa featured and showcased Mzansi’s

by Handspring Puppet Company and directed by William

diverse and rich musical content in sell-out shows at the EFG

Kentridge; and Exhibit B by Brett Bailey of Third World

London Jazz Festival 2014. This year will see the great ladies

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 59

of South African jazz, Sibongile Khumalo and Gloria Bosman

musical, which is a continued collaborative effort between

bring the stage to life.

Simply Soweto Encha and Edinburgh just Festival, takes

The 2015 Season started the year with some of South

audiences through the ups and downs of youth life in South

Africa’s emerging fashion designers exhibiting alongside

Africa. Simply Soweto Encha is a five piece a cappella group

those of 30 other countries at the International Fashion

that sing gospel, soul, jazz, doo-wop, and R&B in African

Showcase in London. The talented designers achieved second

and popular styles.

place for Best Exhibition, while Laduma went on to receive a

Following on the successful hosting of South African

Best Designer special mention at the London Fashion Week.

authors at the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival,

Award-winning South African a cappella group, The Soil, selected by the Royal Family, represented South Africa at the Commonwealth Day Celebration event in

writer Margie Orford was scheduled to appear at the 2015 edition in conversation with Scottish author Ben McPherson.

Lost in the Dust is an exhibition celebrating a powerful

front of a 2 000-strong international audience. The band’s

series of narrative paintings of the Anglo-Boer War by John

nostalgic performance has since resulted in a future

Meyer, South Africa’s leading contemporary realist artist. Set

collaboration with digital artist Nat Jones to develop the

against the dramatic and hauntingly beautiful backdrop of

The Great Escape Festival

On Mass

visual dimension of their performance. They are also in

the South African landscape, these 15 works by Meyer offer a

discussion with Serious, the major world music presenter,

personal and compelling look into how war affects individual

about international representation.

relationships and captures the raw emotion of the people

Seven home-brewed musicians – Jeremy Loops, Al Bairre,

swept up in it. The paintings weave history, imagination

Okmalumkoolkat, Yorke, The Accidentals, Thor Rixon, and

and narrative into a multilayered realm that deals with

P.H Fat – represented SA’s local music flavour alongside 400

the tragedy of war. The exhibition was hosted at Bonhams

other international live acts at The Great Escape Festival,

in London during the month of July and then at Tusk in

a music extravaganza that showcases emerging artists

Edinburgh in August.

from all over the world in Brighton, at the Spiegeltent and

The Dirt Road is a tragic love story that follows the

Prince Albert. Jeremy Loops has since been extended the

relationship between a Xhosa man and an English speaking

opportunity to perform at the Wilderness and Somersault

coloured women. The play had a successful debut in Paris,

Festivals in the UK.

France and its first African Debut at the National Arts Festival

After Freedom: New Rhythms of Soweto was scheduled to premier at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival during August. The

60 / Creative Feel / October 2015

in Grahamstown in 2014. It is scheduled for performance at Etcetera Theatre, Essex from 17 to 24 September 2015.

Arebyte Gallery (located in Hackney Wick, London)

Border Crossings and the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra

has invited emerging South African artist Nelmarie du

will be collaborating to develop a new opera around themes

Preez to form part of their series of gallery residencies

from recent South African history. Featuring iconic figures

and solo-shows where the gallery space is transformed

such as Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and PW Botha, the

into a ‘laboratory’ for Digital Times (IT: Immaterial Times)

opera will be composed by Eugene Skeef and has already

(exhibition 1 to 29 October 2015). For four to six weeks,

been written by Border Crossings Artistic Director, Michael

du Preez will spend time using the gallery as both a studio

Walling. More details are still to be confirmed, with dates set

and exhibition space, whilst giving the public an inner look

for 10 to 14 November.

at the process of creation while taking an active role in

On 11 November 2015 one of South Africa’s greatest living

developing research and sharing knowledge/skills in terms

artists, Esther Mahlangu, is turning 80. To celebrate this as well

of new technologies and labour politics.

as her role in educating young people in the traditional art of

A partnership between Kunjanimation Animation

the Ndebele, 34FineArt is arranging a solo exhibition with an

Festival (Cape Town) and the London International

accompanying exhibition catalogue opening 11 November 2015

Animation Festival to create special initiatives highlighting

in Cape Town, which will then travel to London.

Sibongile Khumalo

International Fashion Showcase

SA and UK animation industries, fosters collaboration

On Mass is a multi-country collaboration of emerging,

between the two countries and explores potential for

young musicians to develop a new work to be premiered

cooperation. Projects focus on both the business and

in November as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival.

creative side of animation and consist of screenings,

The young musicians will collaborate with contemporary

workshops and talks, studio visits and business-to-business

composers, David Coulter and Bonobo.

opportunities with visiting delegations from each country.

The UK will once again be treated to the critically

Sounds of Freedom is a dance performance that will showcase South African history from the 1960s to current

acclaimed production, Ubu and the Truth Commission from 15

day, displaying the differences and challenges that took

October to 7 November 2015 at the Print Room, London.

place. The dance project sees a collaboration between iKapa

Township Connections is a series of collaborative workshops that will share experiences, culture, artistic concepts, and explore urban life in the inner cities of UK and SA

Dance Theatre and African Opera Company with the hope of touring it internationally.

With only four months to go before the Season ends and

Townships, ending with a performance presented in London.

these exciting projects still on the horizon, the SA Season in

The project will take place between 19 and 26 October 2015.

the UK is set for even further sensational success. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 61

Slam For Your Life The first national Slam For Your Life youth poetry competition finals are being hosted this October by the British Council’s Connect ZA programme, in collaboration with Word N Sound Live Literature Company. The smaller 2014 Slam For Your Life took place at the National Arts Festival, with Koleka Putama winning the competition.

T

he poet stands in front of an audience to perform

aims at hosting its first national youth poetry competition in

a poem that will last approximately three minutes

collaboration with Word N Sound Live Literature Company,

and the requirements are that the poet must

called Slam For Your Life. Young poets from different

make the audience feel something in order to

provinces compete via web-based voting, where their videos

compete against the other poets – this is slam poetry. It

are uploaded and they can garner votes toward competing

is an exhausting mode of performance-based poetry that

with artists from other provinces. Poetry put to music was

has the poet in direct confrontation with his/her audience,

used as a type of protest during the apartheid state and it

but it is ultimately rewarding for both the performer and

holds the appeal of subverting previous images of young

the audience when the synchronisation of words and the

people as unimaginative and lacking in knowledge. The

prowess of an emotionally charged performance manifest

experimental form of performance-based rhyme not only

in an intense space. When Jefferson Tshabalala states that

offers an archive of the experiences of young people – in the

‘there is now a 20s voice to poetry,’ it becomes interesting

fashion of the bards of old – but it is also appealing because

to ask why poetry has resurfaced as a medium that is

of its potential for transforming the way that the poet is

not only growing in popularity but one that is reaching

seen as she/he stands in front of an audience and takes them

new heights in youthful revelry. Tshabalala, a poet and

on a magical journey of words.

entrepreneur, offers the notion that people are seeking

Phakathi is currently working on a paper on poetry

to imagine themselves anew and so poetry is becoming

and pop culture. In his ten years of being a poet, he has

enticing to young audiences. Vusumuzi Phakathi, a poet who

experienced a freedom in the slam genre because it requires

is representing South Africa at the Individual World Poetry

a particular kind of energy and it forces the poet to find

Slam in Washington D.C. in October, believes that ‘we are at

new strategies for reaching the audience. He finds it a fun

a point that has never been reached before.’ For Phakathi,

space to be in and hopes to see the form breaking into mass

it is because young people are graduating and dedicating

media. ‘It will not sell if people do not see how attractive

themselves to their art full-time, people ‘who do poetry and

it is,’ he says. He shares the same vision as Tshabalala,

nothing but poetry.’

who has staged poetry shows at the Market Theatre and

As part of the British Council’s extensive Connect ZA

the Soweto Theatre, that poetry can be sustainable for a

programme, which has been running since 2014, the country

young artist. Tshabalala recalls how his love affair with

62 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Vusumuzi Phakathi

rhythm and rhyme began when he had to consider what to

in the creative sector. There is no doubt that poetry is a

do with his life in earnest. Tshabalala says in a playful but

growing form of entertainment, judging from the entries of

simultaneously serious tone, ‘I was in a space where I could

the Slam For Your Life competition. But how it will develop

do a lot of things but I wanted to choose something that I

and shape the minds of a generation, still remains to be seen.

could do, no matter what. So my approach was to make this

Perhaps, as Phakathi hopes, poetry on radio will become

thing the thing that makes me my million.’

as regular as pop songs. Tshabalala quirkily observes that

On the subject of whether poetry can sustain a young

more and more poetry will lead to an influx of good and bad

artist, both admit that it is not easy but that they are driven

writing and performances, but he still hopes that it will lead

and are ‘working on creating the industry’. In South Africa,

to further elevate forms of the art. Whether the world will

it is an exciting time for these art-entrepreneurs as they are

start perceiving African poets of this performance genre as

in a space where they carve out their own names and also

millionaires for their efforts, remains to be seen, but there is

take part in setting up the infrastructures of a new industry

definitely enough vision to make it come true. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 63

DIFF 2015 Creative experimentation was the order of the day in the African films shown at this year’s Durban International Film Festival (DIFF).

T

Still from Dis Ek Anna

he films shown at this year’s DIFF revealed a continent desperately seeking to redefine itself.

From Stories of Our Lives with its vignettes of different homosexual individuals’ love stories

to the opening film Ayanda, each African film seemed to question what it means to be African today. Stories of Our Lives ends with a monologue in response to a news clip stating that ‘Gayism is not African’ and asks: ‘If we are not African, what are we?’

The question, which is vital in Kenya with its anti-

Still from Rupee Note

homosexual legislation, is echoed in the self-proclaimed ‘colourful and fun film’ Ayanda. Sara Blecher, the director, says that she wanted to make a film ‘that says, actually, there are other stories in this country. There are worlds that are incredibly vibrant and colourful’ as opposed to the heist movies that are so often told in South Africa’s cinemas. In experimenting with telling the untold stories of the African Dream she makes use of a meta-narrative technique in the form of a photographer who captures the details of the ordinary passers-by in stills. Anthony Bila, who plays himself,

Still from FEVERS (FIÈVRES)

asks, ‘Who is the modern African?’, and proceeds to take frantic snapshots.

There is a distinct savouring of creative experimentation at the heart of all the films programmed at DIFF 2015, a search for new ways to tell fresh stories of the African continent and abroad. The winner for Best Feature overall also won for Best Cinematography. Sunrise is shot almost entirely in the dark monsoon rains of India and articulates an awful sense of subversion in a world where 100 000

64 / Creative Feel / October 2015

Still from The Aftermath of the Inauguration of the Public Toilet at Kilometer 375

children go missing each year. The fact-based film is disturbing in its claustrophobic questioning of the meaning of sanity when parents lose their children without any hope of closure and young girls are turned into sex dolls at the whim of surrogate-parent-pimps.

Set in Rhodesia and narrated by an American journalist, Things of the Aimless Wanderer takes a wildlife-murdermystery format that traces the various ways in which an unnamed girl has vanished. In silence for almost the first half of the film that imagines the characters in an alternate historical world, the plot becomes clarified with the words: ‘A girl has disappeared. Working hypothesis one. Based on a true story.’ Things of the Aimless Wanderer received a special mention for directing for Kivu Ruhorahoza.

The adapted La Boheme of Puccini fame, Breathe: Umphefumulo begins with its male protagonist carrying a

Ayanda Fulu Mugovhani and OC Ukeje in a still from Ayanda

camera and captioning each of the characters with their name and area of study at the University of Cape Town. The film directly celebrates creativity with the comrades singing, ‘Power to us artists’ and ‘Our dazzling art will keep us warm’ during the freezing winter months when loadshedding leaves the poor students without insulation against the scourge of tuberculosis.

The documentary Democrats, filmed over three years in Zimbabwe as the new constitution was being drafted for approval, mentions creativity and discipline as weapons used with terrifying precision to maintain fear in those opposing the ruling party.

At 23, Sibs Shongwe-La Mer is the winner of the Best South African Feature Film and Best Direction for Necktie Youth. In Necktie Youth, the absent Emily remains a constant presence that haunts every conversation in the film. Emily

Hanro Havenga in still from Necktie Youth

commits suicide on the 16th of June 2014 to a live stream.

The fact that she dies on South Africa’s Youth Day is no coincidence. Emily’s ghost leaves a message for the world which the film-within-a-film tries to understand but finds itself at a loss to explain. It is a deeply moribund album of a life left unfinished; as half-eaten apples lay in decay and hair brushes seem in wait for a hand to give them life, one which will never hold anything again.

The film has won special mentions on Festival Scope and in Guanajuato, Mexico as an international feature film, for its ability to harness a universal want in the young citizens who desperately seek to live in a better world.

The young in South Africa are dying for the freedom of ‘participation in a greater canvas,’ as Shongwe-La Mer says.

The tragedy of this film is that no one truly knew Emily. All people are preoccupied with their own answers to life and cannot hear the questions. CF

Sibs Shongwe-La Mer

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 65

Books Recently published

The Black Sash

By Mary Burton Publisher: Jacana Media (PTY) Ltd ISBN: 9781431422289 This is the story of a remarkable organisation of white South African women who carved out a unique role for themselves in opposing the injustices of apartheid and working towards a free and democratic country. It is written by Mary Burton, herself national president of the Black Sash for many years and, later, one of the Truth and Reconciliation commissioners. Her book answers many of the questions that members often ask: What brought the Black Sash into being? What kept it alive for so many decades? How did an organisation of mainly white, middle-class, privileged women create and sustain a viable body that eventually made its contribution to the collapse of apartheid? What was it like to be involved in it? And what can we learn from its history that will teach us to be activists again? This is a story of hard work and dedication, of small victories won little by little against the odds, of personal courage in the face of injustice and repression, of vision, compassion and caring. It is a uniquely South African story.

The Festival of Insignificance

By Milan Kundera Publisher: Faber & Faber ISBN: 9780571316465

Whipping Boy

By Allen Kurzweil Imprint: Harper ISBN: 9780062269485

Casting light on the most serious of

Equal parts childhood memoir

The Gracekeepers

By Kirsty Logan Publisher: Crown, Penguin Random House South Africa ISBN: 9780553446616

problems and at the same time saying not

and literary thriller, Whipping Boy

As a Gracekeeper, Callanish administers

one serious sentence; being fascinated

chronicles prize-winning author Allen

shore-side burials, laying the dead to their

by the reality of the contemporary

Kurzweil’s search for his twelve-year-

final resting place deep in the depths of the

world and at the same time completely

old nemesis, a bully named Cesar

ocean. Alone on her island, she has exiled

avoiding realism – that’s The Festival

Augustus. The obsessive inquiry,

herself to a life of tending watery graves

of Insignificance. Readers who know

which spans some 40 years, takes

as penance for a long-ago mistake that

Kundera’s earlier books know that

Kurzweil all over the world, from

still haunts her. Meanwhile, North works

the wish to incorporate an element of

a Swiss boarding school (where he

as a circus performer with the Excalibur, a

the ‘unserious’ in a novel is not at all

endures horrifying cruelty) to the

floating troupe of acrobats, clowns, dancers,

unexpected of him. In Immortality, Goethe

slums of Manila, from the Park Avenue

and trainers who sail from one archipelago

and Hemingway stroll through several

boardroom of the world’s largest

to the next, entertaining in exchange for

chapters together talking and laughing.

law firm to a federal prison camp in

sustenance. In a world divided between those

And in Slowness, Vera, the author’s wife,

Southern California. For all its global

inhabiting the mainland (‘landlockers’) and

says to her husband: ‘you’ve often told me

exoticism and comic exuberance,

those who float on the sea (‘damplings’),

you meant to write a book one day that

Kurzweil’s riveting account is, at

loneliness has become a way of life for North

would have not a single serious word in

its core, a heartfelt and suspenseful

and Callanish, until a sudden storm offshore

it... I warn you: watch out. Your enemies

narrative about the ‘parallel lives’ of a

brings change to both their lives – offering

are lying in wait.’

victim and his abuser.

them a new understanding of the world.

Books Recently published

Neels Hansen

By Neels Hansen with Tinus Kühn Publisher: STN Printers ISBN 9780620657624 Neels Hansen – Van Plaasseun tot

Madonna

By Michelle Morgan Publisher: Robinson / Jonathan Ball ISBN-10: 1472118863

Operaman, tells the story of Hansen’s

Madonna: singer,

singular journey from farm boy to world-

songwriter, actress,

class opera producer and brilliant costume

businesswoman, not

designer, in a very honest and entertaining

to mention one of

way. Beautifully illustrated with 30 colour plates of costume designs and scenes

the most renowned cultural icons of the last three decades. Since her first,

from operas, it is also a succinct record of the history of opera in SA.

eponymous album over 30 years ago Madonna has sold

In the foreword and letters from colleagues and friends, included in

a remarkable 300 million records worldwide, making

the book, Hansen is portrayed as a person of ‘enormous visual insight’,

her the top-selling female recording artist of all time.

‘a genius with an astounding knowledge of all that happens on stage.’

Madonna is famous for continuously reinventing both

Mimi Coertse, his dear friend of five decades, compares him to the best

her music and her image. By pushing the boundaries

costume designers and opera directors in the world. Sadly, Hansen

of mainstream popular music with both her lyrical

never saw the finished product before he passed away in November

content and the imagery in her music videos she

2014. His cousin, Tinus Kühn, completed the book in his memory,

achieved extraordinary popularity. Morgan offers

‘because he was such a distinguished artist and person.’ Opera singer

a richly illustrated, comprehensive account of the

Denia Mazzola speaks the final word: ‘I owe so much to him, to his

artist’s phenomenally successful career shedding new

heart, his sensitivity, his friendship. (At this stage, the book is only

light on her videos, books, tours, fashion, charity work

available in Afrikaans)

and every other aspect of her life.

Audrey at Home

By Luca Dotti Publisher: Harper Collins ISBN: 9780062284709 Enter Audrey Hepburn’s private world in this unique biography compiled by her son that combines recollections, anecdotes, excerpts from her personal correspondence, drawings, and recipes for her favourite dishes written in her own hand, and more than 250 previously unpublished personal family photographs. Audrey at Home offers fans an unprecedented look at the legendary star, bringing together the varied aspects of her life through the food she loved – from her childhood in Holland during World War II, to her time in Hollywood as an actress and in Rome

Latent - Mandy Coppes-Martin

as a wife and mother, to her final years as a philanthropist travelling the world for UNICEF. Audrey at Home is a personal scrapbook of Audrey’s world and the things she loved best – her children, her friends, her pets. It is a life that unfolds through food, photographs, and intimate vignettes in a sophisticated and lovely book that is a must for Audrey Hepburn fans and

155 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood Tel: +27 (0) 11 880 8802 Email: info@lizamore.co.za Gallery Hours: Tues to Fri 10:00-17:30 Sat 10:00-15:30

food lovers.

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 67

CDs

The latest releases to suit all tastes

Brahms: The Piano Concertos Daniel Barenboim | Straatskapelle Berlin | Gustavo Dudamel Deutsche Grammophon 4794899 Barenboim has recorded Brahms’ piano concertos on several previous occasions – and always with partners who have meant a lot to him. This time, partnering with conductor Gustavo Dudamel, was no different. ‘Whenever I had to play myself, I was able to count on him completely. And when I didn’t have to play, it was a joy to see how well he works with the orchestra.’ The history of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto op. 15 is closely bound up with the lives of Robert and Clara Schumann, to whom Brahms was introduced in 1853, when he was just 20 years old. Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto op. 83 is a four-movement work, it is one of the longest and most demanding concertos ever to have been written. For Daniel Barenboim, both concertos are loyal companions that bear witness to his own journey through life.

Rachmaninov Variations Daniil Trifonov Deutsche Grammophon 4794970

from Sleep Max Richter Deutsche Grammophon 4795257

Home Anoushka Shankar Deutsche Grammophon 4794785

‘I was homesick,’ confesses Daniil

‘I have always been fascinated by the

Home is a pure Indian classical album

Trifonov. ‘I had been in the US for two

process of sleep,’ says Max Richter.

which showcases the meditative

or three months, I was 18 years old,

The complete version of SLEEP is an

and virtuosic qualities of the Indian

away from my parents for the first time,

eight-hour work, intended to be heard –

raga. Home features two ragas, one of

so far from home.’ Many adolescents

experienced – in one sitting, from start

which is a creation of Ravi Shankar’s,

experience bouts of melancholy, but

to finish, while the listener is asleep.

and with them Anoushka shares an

Trifonov, born in Nihzny Novgorod in

Conversely, the one-hour recording,

intimate, heartfelt live performance

1991 and recently arrived in Cleveland,

from SLEEP, is designed to be listened

in the traditional style. Indian

was no ordinary teenager. Trifonov

to while awake. SLEEP is in every way a

classical music is principally based on

transformed his feeling of longing into

ground-breaking piece of work, yet it fits

melody and rhythm, not on harmony,

musical inspiration and, touched by

musically into Richter’s familiar frame of

counterpoint, chords, modulation and

the ‘musical poetry’ of one of the most

reference. Like most, but by no means all,

the other basics of Western classical

beloved composers of his homeland –

of his compositions, its principal elements

music. The system of Indian music

Rachmaninov – began composing. The

are piano and strings, with additional

known as Raga Sangeet can be traced

result was an original, five-movement

keyboards, electronics and a human voice.

back nearly two thousand years to its

work for solo piano, rich in virtuosity and

Like most, but not all, of his work, it also

origin in the Vedic hymns of the Hindu

lyricism, expressing Trifonov’s nostalgia

straddles the ever-blurring boundary

temples, the fundamental source of all

for his roots.

between musical genres.

Indian music.

68 / Creative Feel / October 2015

O

Van Morrison

ne of music’s true originals, Van Morrison’s unique

England, an extraordinary invocation of literary, sensual and

and inspirational musical legacy is rooted in

spiritual pleasure the song would often become a thrilling

postwar Belfast.

improvised centrepiece to his live shows.

Born in 1945, Van heard his Shipyard worker father’s

collection of blues, country and gospel early in life.

Feeding off musical greats such as Hank Williams, Jimmie

Steering his own course throughout the 80s on albums such as No Guru, No Method, No Teacher he claimed Celtic roots with The Chieftains on Irish Heartbeat. Teaming with Georgie Fame

Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson and Leadbelly, he

brought new impetus to his live show while Avalon Sunset saw

was a travelling musician at 13 and singing, playing guitar

him back in the album and single charts by the decade’s end.

and sax, in several bands, before forming Them in 1964.

Making their name at Belfast’s Maritime Club, Them soon established Van as a major force in the British R&B

Van Morrison continued to advance on his status as a gamechanging artist through the 90s and into the 21st century.

Awards and accolades – a Brit, an OBE, an Ivor Novello,

scene. Morrison’s matchless vocal and song writing talents

six GRAMMYS, honorary doctorates from Queen’s University

produced instant classics such as the much covered ‘Gloria’

Belfast and the University of Ulster, entry into The Rock n Roll

and ‘Here Comes The Night’.

Hall of Fame and the French Ordres Des Artes Et Des Lettres –

Those talents found full astonishing range in Van’s solo career.

Mapping out a richly varied musical course throughout

attested to the international reach of Van’s musical art.

With one of the most revered catalogues in music history and his unparalleled talents as composer, singer

the 70s he shone among an all-star cast including Bob Dylan

and performer Morrison’s past achievements loom large.

and Muddy Waters on The Band’s The Last Waltz.

But, as throughout his extraordinary career, how that past

Settling back into life in the UK in 1980 he released Common One an album centring on summertimes in

informs his future achievements and still stirs excitement and keen anticipation. CF

AVAILABLE NOW ON CD & DOWNLOAD

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 69

Dane Dehaan is James Dean in Life Dane DeHaan admits that the very idea of playing his acting hero, James Dean, was ‘terrifying’.

I

ndeed, when DeHaan was first offered the role in

‘I had to realise that I was just scared and I had to

Anton Corbijn’s Life – which focuses on Dean’s unlikely

practise what I preached, because that is what I want to do,

friendship with photographer Dennis Stock – he turned

but obviously I’m a human being, so my own fear gets in my

it down.

way sometimes.’

‘James Dean is my favourite actor, so the idea of playing

DeHaan was at college when he first discovered Dean’s

him in a film was a pretty terrifying thought. I had a lot of

films. He was a huge influence on the young aspiring actor’s

excuses at the time, but looking back on it, I think I was just

life, just as it had been for countless others.

afraid,’ he says.

‘I think it was just a fear-based decision to keep saying

‘I think he was one of the first to really act in a realistic way – the way that people act, or try to act, today,’ he says.

“no” to the film. But luckily I have a lot of supportive people

‘There’s certainly the part about him that he only made

that I surround myself with, and the more I talked about it,

three films, and two of the films are targeted towards a

the more I thought about what the film was about, and what

younger audience: East of Eden is for younger people, and

the opportunity really was, I realised that it was just my own

Rebel Without a Cause is for younger people, so not only was

fear that was getting in my way.

he acting in a realistic way, but he was very much the voice

‘I feel like I’m always telling interviewers that I want to pick the most challenging parts, the hardest parts, the parts

of that generation.

‘He was such an open, emotional vessel, that people

I’m really afraid of, but when really the pinnacle of that

really felt for him and really related to him. And then he

thought came, I was like, “Oh, no thanks!”’ he laughs.

died. Rebel Without a Cause and Giant came out after his

70 / Creative Feel / October 2015

death, so it just left the world wondering, “what could have

helped him stand the test of time, and continue to represent

happened if he was still around?”’

what he represents to people today.’

He finally decided to take on the role after talking

After finally agreeing to do the part, DeHaan had four

to colleagues and family, who urged him to accept the

months to prepare. ‘The decision was like, “Okay, if I’m going to

challenge. ‘I sat down with the producer, Iain Canning,

do this, I need to make sure I’m prepared and if I’m really going

and he explained to me that to him, it wasn’t a biopic on

to be James Dean, the thing that I’ll need to do is I’ll need to

James Dean, it was about how a normal person can be

gain some weight. I’ll need to look like him as much as possible,

turned into an icon, which I thought was true and a really

and I’ll need to sound like him as much as possible, so how long

interesting topic.

will it take to do that? And how long will it take to feel like I’m

‘He also brought up the fact that so many young kids today don’t know who James Dean was, which to me is just a

fully prepared by the time I show up on set?”

‘I had about four months and it was plenty of time.

really sad thought, so if this film can inspire younger people

I gained 25 pounds, I worked with a dialect coach, and I

to go back and get in touch with those movies, I think that’s

worked with a make-up person to help develop the look. It

a really wonderful and important thing.

was a pretty full-on process.’

‘Then it was talking to my manager, and talking to my wife, and them just being like, “you like the script, you love the director, it’s a challenging part – these are the things you

Despite those initial reservations, he’s very glad that he did take on the challenge of portraying James Dean.

‘Yeah I did enjoy it,’ he says. ‘I mean, the shoot was hard;

always say you want to do, so why aren’t you doing it?”’

It was during the polar vortex in Toronto. There were some

Corbijn’s film, which premiered at the Berlin Film

days where we were shooting outside where the wind-chill

Festival, focuses on the brief, intense friendship between Dennis Stock (Robert Pattinson), then a struggling

was -35 degrees, so that part of it was tough.

‘It’s crazy cold, and obviously it couldn’t look like it was

photographer trying to build a reputation with the Magnum

-35 degrees, so we had to act like it wasn’t. It was fun. It was

agency, and the fledgling star, wary of the studio controlled

the biggest challenge of my life, absolutely, but also probably

publicity machine.

ultimately the most rewarding, as an actor. Not always easy,

Dean eventually allows him to take revealing, intimate pictures, including shots with Dean’s family on their farm in

but looking back on it, it was definitely fun.’

DeHaan was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and

Indiana, which would launch Stock’s career when they were

studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts. After

published in Life Magazine. Those images became some of

working on stage and in television, he made his feature

the most famous photographs of the 20th century.

film debut in John Sayles’ Amigo in 2010. His other films

‘Everyone knows that photograph of him in Times Square,’

include Chronicle, Lawless, The Place Beyond The Pines,

says DeHaan. ‘If they don’t know anything about James Dean,

Lincoln, Kill Your Darlings, Life After Beth and The Amazing

they know that photograph, and those photographs certainly

Spider-Man 2. CF

Creative Feel / October 2015 / 71

Life

Director: Anton Corbijn Starring: Robert Pattinson, Dane DeHaan, Joel Edgerton, Sir Ben Kingsley Young photographer Dennis Stock tries to pin down rising actor James Dean in order to give a Life magazine feature more weight than that of a simple puff-piece. However, when Jimmy is not reluctant, he’s chaotic, swept along by joy, play and mischief. And when Dennis is not annoyed, he’s exasperated, trying to get the elusive Jimmy to focus – or even to show up. From the frenetic energy of New York, the two head back to the heartland – to the Indiana farm where Jimmy grew up – in order to record something of Jimmy’s roots. Dennis thinks he’s capturing a star in the moment before he breaks; in fact, he’s documenting the last moments of intimacy and simplicity that James Dean will ever know. In the process of the journey from Hollywood to New York, a deep affection and improbable friendship gradually develops between the two young men.

AT CINEMAS 9 OCTOBER 2015 Creative Feel / October 2015 / 73

encore Name three artworks that you love and why.

I love tapestry art, my favourite is the Vineyard Tapestry by Bob Pejman.

It is described as romantic realism but honestly I just love the beautiful setting of the lake as a backdrop to this vineyard in Venice.

African art is very dear to my heart, in particular stone sculpture art which was in abundance when I was growing up. My recent favourite is Hunting Eagle by Ishmael Chitiyo.

My local favourite is Song of the Pick by Gerard Sekoto which narrates our country’s history.

Name one artiste you would love to meet.

I would love to meet Leonardo da Vinci because the Mona Lisa is my oldest memory of art.

What are you reading at the moment?

I am currently reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu, translated by Thomas Cleary.

What is in your car’s CD player?

I’ve been shuffling between Bryan Adams’ greatest hits, Lira’s Rise Again album and Alicia Keys.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would slow down and take myself less seriously.

Name one thing you think would improve the arts and culture industry in South Africa.

Art literacy in schools.

What is your most treasured possession?

Hazel Chimhandamba is Head of Group Sponsorship at Standard Bank. She is a seasoned marketer with more than 11 years of strategic marketing experience in the B2C marketing space.

Chimhandamba has had the opportunity to manage brands, sponsorship properties and business solutions at different stages of their evolutionary cycles across different market segments.

My photo albums.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Loss of hope.

What is it that makes you happy?

I am blessed to have my family, they keep me smiling. My husband and I have two sons who always have something quirky and unexpected to say, just being in their company brings immense joy to my soul.

Describe a defining moment in your life.

The birth of my sons.

Name one goal you would like to achieve in the next twelve months.

I would like to spend more time doing charity initiatives and teaching my sons the importance of giving back to the community. Further to this, I would like to consciously try something new every month… like visit a new place, try a new dish or just experience something I wouldn’t ordinarily do.

e

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