Enjin 50

for creative professionals issue 50 july / august 2010

R45

skin

more than skin deep. the colour of south african art & design

A new book by Anton Kannemeyer implies that archetypes and prejudices still underlie our collective race consciousness

Cover printed on Arjowiggins Cocoon supplied by Antalis South Africa

see one of these and

win!

ENJIN 50 1

2 ENJIN 50

imprint COVER Image supplied by Great Stock!

EDITOR Gregor Naudé gregor@enjin.co.za CONTRIBUTING EDITOR CAPE TOWN Herman Manson herman@marklives.com DESIGN & ART DIRECTION Francois Smit, QUBA Design & Motion francois@quba.co.za ADVERTISING SALES Gregor Naudé gregor@enjin.co.za PUBLISHER Softmachine Media, PO Box 91938, Auckland Park, 2006.

PRODUCTION Enjin Magazine is produced with Adobe CS 4.

PAPER Cover printed on Arjowiggins Graphic Cocoon Offset 300 gsm supplied

by Antalis South Africa. Text printed on Sappi Triple Green supplied by Sappi Paper and Paper Packaging South Africa.

COPYRIGHT Contributions are welcome. All due care will be taken with material submitted, but the magazine and publisher cannot be held responsible for loss or damages. The title ‘Enjin’ and logotype are registered trademarks.

Neither this publication nor any part thereof may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers.

ink on paper You can’t beat it. Subscribe to Enjin Magazine and get six beautifully printed issues of Enjin Magazine (that’s a 1-year subscription) for R150.

• Get your copy of Enjin Magazine delivered straight to your front door or office • Save money (around R10 a magazine) • Never miss an issue – start (or continue) your collection immediately.

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ENJIN 50 3

competition

score big Stand a chance of winning creative software, a Pantone resource kit or a print by an SA design icon in this issue.

Simply turn to the correct page, spot the code, visit the Competition page on the Enjin web site. www.enjin.co.za/competition

Photoshop CS5 The release of Photoshop CS5 marks the 20th anniversary of the professional standard for digital imaging.Photoshop CS5 incorporates a record number of innovative technologies from the brilliant minds at Adobe Labs. Win a copy of Photoshop CS5, courtesy of Adobe South Africa. www.adobe.co.za.

p47 www.enjin.co.za/competition

Aperture 3.0 Apple’s Aperture is a serious contender for the pro photographer. Win a copy of Aperture 3.0, as well as a free training, courtesy of Apple iStore. www.myistore.co.za.

CODE:

015478

Essentials Plus The Pantone Essentials Plus bundle includes six indispensable colour guides that every print and graphic design professional should have. Win Pantone Essentials Plus, courtesy of DDS. www.directservices.co.za.

p20 ijusi Portfolio Win a print of the cover illustration for ijusi #8 (the Black and White Issue) by Garth Walker, published as one of ten artists’ prints in the ijusi Portfolio Number 1 – a limited collector’s edition. Simply tell us what designers fear most in ten words or less. Courtesy of Garth Walker. www.misterwalkerdesign.com.

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back page

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ENJIN 50 5

contents

imprint

clotheS

win

momus

I MADE IT................................... 03 ONLINE....................................... 04

FASHION CUTS LOOSE........ 48 MYTHICAL CREATURE........ 54

comment

SAMURAI................................... 09

plakboek

SAMURAI (II)............................ 10

new

SAPPI AFRICAN PRINTERS OF THE YEAR............................................ 12 TSHWANE VARSITY CONFERENCE 13 DESIGN INDABA FILM FESTIVAL 14 MEYERSFELD EXHIBITION.14

resource

GOOD BOOKS.......................... 16

TOOLS

CANON....................................... 19 PANTONE................................... 20 SONY............................................ 22 QUARK........................................ 24

work

IJUSI PORTFOLIO.................... 26 ART OF DESIGN 2010............. 28 DAILY DISTURBANCE........... 32 METAL MORPHOSIS.............. 33 BICYCLE DAYS......................... 34

graphic

KANNEMEYER......................... 36

magazine

THE LEGEND LIVES ON........ 42

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review

FLAMING WHITEY................ 60 100% PER CENT........................ 64 SMART LAYERS........................ 66 FINE PRINTS............................. 68 TEACHING METHOD............ 70 SUPER LUXE.............................. 72

directory

SERVICES.................................... 74

end

BEAUTY & CHAOS.................. 78

SPAZA

IJUSI PORTFOLIO.................... 80

ENJIN 50 7

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direct distribution services www.directservices.co.za • 0860 337 000 8 ENJIN 50

comment

be my samurai super-hero are you? We’re not talking the comics type – just average South Africans going about their everyday business. Not that this is always easy. In this issue, Anton Kannemeyer delves into the underlying racism

W

hat colour

of the colonial project, and the corruption that persists on the continent, furthering debate around the race issues that

enliven

and

shadow daily life

in South Africa. In a fascinating look at the portrayal of white men in local advertising, Brandon Edmonds

contends

that the apotheosis of white baiting – where it all started – was

the famous

‘Yebo Gogo’ campaign. A visual essay through the pages and covers of drum magazine tries to restore some of the good vibes. Drum worked because it had an authentic voice; it had

tone was convincing to the black readership. It hidden persuaders. I’ll be your samurai – will you be mine?

a reputation of telling it like it is because its was not a false text written by _Gregor Naudé

responsible

C

orporate responsibility is a voluntary action taken by companies to act beyond legal corporate compliance, aimed at moving towards sustainable business development. Recently it resulted in Antalis being certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – an international organization that brings people together to find solutions which promote responsible stewardship of the world’s forests.

Antalis Marketing and Purchasing Director, David James, explains, “As the largest paper merchant in South Africa to receive this certification, we are proud of this achievement, which illustrates our commitment to managing our supply chain to the strict criteria laid out by the FSC, and is a tangible reflection of Antalis’ responsibility to the environment.”

Through consultative processes, the FSC sets international standards for responsible forest management. It accredits independent third-party organizations who can certify forest managers and forest product producers to FSC standards. Its trademark provides international recognition to organisations that support the growth of responsible forest management. Its product label allows consumers worldwide to recognize products that supports the growth of responsible forest management.

In essence, we are talking here of what we term as ‘track-back’ – the ability, through the supply chain, to determine sustainability. James concludes, “Through our FSC certification we, as paper merchants, believe it is important to create a higher level of awareness by all players in the supply chain, right to the end user, of the sustainability of the environment, making our contribution to correctly manage and protect the resources this industry depends on for its own sustainability, longevity and perhaps even survival.”

Already there are FSC certified products within the existing Antalis range of papers, a full list of which will be published in the next issue. It is also available at www.antalis.co.za.

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plakboek

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you are my samurai Portraits of game personalities

plakboek

ENJIN 50 11

agenda/awards, conference

new

sappi african printers of the year The 2010 Sappi African Printers of the Year event, held on 12 August, was a celebration of print excellence, where printers and their winning entries shared the spotlight. At the event held at Sun City and hosted by Jo-Anne Strauss, this year’s theme of Future Imprint was emphasized by the Executive Director Marketing: Sappi Paper and Paper Packaging South Africa, Dinga Mncube, who commented, “This year, Sappi not only wants to honour the craft of printing and the legacy of the industry, but also the resilience that businessmen and women in your position have exhibited during the tough economic environment of the last two years.”

A total of 345 entries, in eleven categories, were received from the Africa and Indian Ocean Islands region. After a rigorous two days of judging, 9 Gold Awards, 19 Silver Awards and 33 Bronze Award winners were selected. The panel of judging experts consisted of Johan Swanepoel (Seriti Printing), Richard Nichols (Multiprint Litho), Natalie Rogers (Investec), Erich Kühl (PIFSA), Barry Roberts (Pro-Print) and Ian Shepherd (Ian Shepherd Consulting).

The judges commented on the good finishing, and in particular the die-cutting and varnishing applied in the winning entries, which were of a very high standard, with good attention to detail and striking use of colour. Entries were also praised for print innovation displayed and the overall visual appeal and choice of substrates.

Mncube further commented: “It is our excellence and craft that can

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influence minds and help speed a recovery back to the heights of previous times.” Dinga also explained how Sappi was refreshing its commitment to profitability by merging two of its southern African divisions, Sappi Fine Paper South Africa and Sappi Kraft, into a new division called Sappi Paper and Paper Packaging South Africa. “By consolidating our businesses we are ensuring that we remain well positioned to respond effectively to our customer needs, and to drive the key message that paper and paper packaging have a strong future and remain the best choice for many applications,” Dinga said.

Nine gold awards were presented to the following recipients: Annual Reports – INCE Books – Trident Press Brochures – Pro-Print Calendars – Trident Press Catalogues - Seriti Printing Digital – 24 Hour Photobooks General Print - Colors Magazine Sheetfed – Paarl Media Packaging and Labels - Masterpack A list of all the winners is available online.

www.sappi.com

agenda

conference on sustainability Development is a vast area of human endeavour, and should not be limited to the narrow confines of economic growth and improvement of infrastructure in urban areas. In other words, development should be taken holistically to include the ability of the members of a community to relate creatively to themselves, their neighbours, the environment and world at large, so that each might reach his or her maximum potential.

The role the arts plays in community development will be put in the spotlight at an international conference on Arts, Society and Sustainable Development to be hosted by the Faculty of the Arts, Tshwane University of Technology in July next year.

The aim of the conference is to assemble art practitioners (visual and performing), professionals, designers, academics, researchers, government officials, cultural workers and industry partners to share creativity, knowledge and understanding across boundaries; and to offer a platform for the interrogation of the relationship between the arts and community development. Says Proffesor Patrick Ebewo, Head of the Department of Drama and Film and convener of the conference, “The conference will encourage debate around the sociocultural development of communities, development of products, entrepreneurship and the economy.”

Ebewo adds, “Aspects such as the ability to brand, determining niche markets, developing business plans and attracting customers should be investigated since they play critical roles in the development of arts and design. Presentations will therefore be geared towards centre-staging the

arts’ capacity to help shape the past, present and future of contemporary societies.”

Ebewo says hosting such a conference is in line with the faculty’s mission to nurture creativity, innovation and cultural understandingm as well as with its vision to contribute to the socio-economic development of Africa and the world.

The conference will have the following sub themes: n Craft and national development n Participatory theatre and community development n Arts education and cultural development n The arts, democratic ideals and state-building processes n Arts and technological development n Artistic innovation and social change n Creative industries and economic development n Cultural planning, policy, rural and urban regeneration n Art products as cultural symbols n Fashion design and entrepreneurship n Socio-cultural aspects of clothing.

Aspects such as ability to brand, to determine niche markets, to develop business plans and attract customers will also be investigated.

The conference will take place at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria in July, 2011. Interested parties are invited to submit abstracts before 31 December, 2010.

For more information e-mail botesjc@tut.ac.za

ENJIN 50 13

agenda/submit, exhibition

new 2011 design indaba film festival Design Indaba is calling all aspirant, emerging or established South African filmmakers, students and hobbyists to submit their short films, music videos and animations for the 2011 Design Indaba Film Festival. Either create something new or simply dust off the gem that’s been lying around waiting for an opportunity to be screened. All submissions will be curated and the chosen entries will be screened at the Design Indaba Expo, and as part of the offsite Design Indaba fringe Film Festival held each year. There is no fee for submission or participation. The deadline for submission is 31 October, 2010.

For more information and submissions, contact Bev Cupido on (021) 465-9966. bev@interactiveafrica.com

eye opener A lonely schoolboy sits naked and bewildered, enveloped in pomp and tradition. An enticing woman, bags packed, bares her all in the passage of a well-known hotel.

A dominant female, erect and challenging, points her privates at the porcelain in the pissoir.

Michael Meyersfeld not only exposes our social fabric, he has a knack for making us examine ourselves. His photographic trilogy, Life Staged, is the culmination of 6 years of soul searching, and promises to be as provocative as Twelve Naked Men that launched the series in November 2006. Questions are the essence of Meyersfeld – and the nature of the beast he portrays.

Life Staged reflects an uncomfortable and unavoidable truism: the face we present to the world is miles apart from the one we see in the mirror when we come eyeball to eyeball with our warts and matted psyches first thing in the morning. If you saw Twelve Naked Men, the vivid images of “man the vulnerable male” and his conditioning would have emblazoned itself in your memory. Who can forget the repentance of a middle-aged Afrikaner lying prostrate on a prison cell floor, or the narcissistic pulchritude of a venal exhibitionist… tantalising, the master of greed and slave to money, splayed in the back of a limo? Now parts two and three are about to smack us square between the eyes, with twelve searing black-and-white shots apiece.

Woman Undone is the natural sequel. But what is undone? Our preconceived stereotyping? Our chauvinistic fears? Or the stark reality of the changing role of women over the last few decades?

Guests at the Troyeville hotel was conceived to examine the motives

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behind judgement. And there is much to judge and no doubt, judgment will be passed – at the bar, in the bedroom.

Life Staged is what we make of our own daily floorboards – and Meyersfeld gives us much room in which to move. It is an exhibition not to be missed – hopefully accompanied by a coffee table book that compels us to page through slowly, and prick our conscience as it dawns on us that his art is in the concept and the beauty in the execution.

The exhibition will open at Obert Contemporary Gallery in Melrose Arch on October 28, 2010. _Michael Golding www.meyersfeld.com

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agenda/read Bicycle culture and design

Velo

books t

he book introduces a wild bunch of passionate cyclists — frame builders, urban planners, artists, photographers, designers and those who ride professionally — who are making an impact. they are not only shaping styles, but promoting cycling as a primary form of transport in the urban environment,

Bicycle culture and design

Velo is a striking Visual journey into the multifaceted world of cycling.

Bicycle culture and design

across the country, and around the world. Velo also explores the aesthetic of today’s cycling culture and presents sophisticated custom-made frames and astonishingly shaped art bikes as well as a selection of contemporary illustration and design influenced by the cycling movement.

c

ycling is an attitude. it is good for the environment and for those who ride. geared toward anyone who has a personal predilection for or professional interest in cycling, this book is the fast lane into a current topic that is both entertaining and socially relevant.

Frost Produkt: AltA Bike The Alta bike was a collaboration between industrial designers Frost Produkt, graphic design studio Bleed, and furniture designers Norway Says. Originally intended to produce a limited edition of 50 bikes, it garnered enough attention to become the first serial-production single-speed on the market. Alta is designed to be light, fast, and durable for use in the city. The brand’s unique mix of creative minds also produces some unusual advertising: The latest campaign depicts ordinary people in ordinary environments with the extraordinary muscles of hardcore cyclists.

pomp

12

13

Velo: Bicycle Culture and Design, Gestalten, 288 pages Cycling is zeitgeist. With rising fuel prices and mounting ecological awareness, bicycle sales are significantly up. Moving on two wheels is now a movement.

Velo: Bicycle Culture and Design is a striking visual journey into the multifaceted world of cycling and the diverse tribes that inhabit it. These range from hardcore 2-wheel globetrotters, downtown messengers on fixed-gear bikes without brakes, laid back pedallers on old-fashioned Dutch bicycles, fashionable cyclists on vintage racing bikes, and dedicated fans of high-tech racing machines and e-bikes.

1

3

1 Firetrick Bob, 1997.

2 Aquatrick Bob, 1997.

3 Gaap Street, 2003.

4 Gaap Tour, 2004.

The book also gives insider views into the production halls of renowned Italian and French brands as well as the workshops of a new generation of passionate frame builders in the US. Velo presents the design and visual aesthetic of today’s cycling culture.

The book features examples of T-shirts, caps, bags, flyers and special

2 Ogyan

EvEnt

56

4

57

The Tweed Run

BIkInG mIGHt BE Good foR YouR HEALtH, But It cAn do SEvERE dAmAGE to YouR SEnSE of StYLE. YES, WE’RE tALkInG to ALL You SpAndEx-tRouSER-WEARInG, uGLY-coLoREd-fABRIc fAnAtIcS out tHERE.

equipment such as the spoke cards that bike messengers use in their alley cat races. It also explores the impact the cycling movement is making on contemporary art.

In addition, Velo documents the relevance of bicycles in both rural and urban areas. It introduces innovative urban planning concepts such as the new bike lanes that are currently emerging in Manhattan and Copenhagen. Velo is the fast lane into a topic that is both entertaining and socially relevant. The book is geared toward anyone who has a professional interest in or personal passion for the world of cycling.

t

hank God for the tweed Run, a social bike ride through the streets of London that combines a conscious appreciation of fashion with the joy of cycling. Started by freelance art director ted Young-Ing in 2009, the tweed Run is a fun event aimed at doing away with lycra. It has proved to be truly inspiring — some 250 people took part on its first outing and similar events now take place all over the world. Well-todo ladies and gentlemen are pedaling through urban spaces

20

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everywhere, appropriately dressed in Harris tweed jackets, merino wool team jerseys, silk cravats, and flat caps. Although the use of classic vintage bicycles is encouraged, all bikes are welcome. the tweed Run also supports the Bikes4Africa charity and will soon be launching a variety of limited-edition products in collaboration with top brands — so there is clearly no stopping this wholehearted event of extraordinary class and style. tweed the world!

21

Roxy ERickson

agenda

intervene Urban Interventions: Personal Projects in Public Places, Gestalten, 288 pages Evolving from graffiti and street art, urban interventions are the next generation of artwork to hit public space. Using any and all of the components that make up urban and rural landscapes, these mostly spatial interventions bring art to the masses. They turn the street into a studio, laboratory, club and gallery. Modified traffic signs, swings at bus stops and images created out of sand or snow challenge us to rediscover our environment and interact with it in new ways.

The work is an intelligent and critical commentary on the planning, use and commercialization of public space. With a rich visual selection of projects and methods, Urban Interventions documents this new artistic approach to urban art that is currently making a profound mark on our contemporary visual language. The book shows the growing connections and interplay of this scene with art, architecture, performance and installation.

Propagators of urban intervention surprise and provoke with work in cities including New York and London, but also in countries such as China, Columbia and Turkey. Everywhere the work appears it turns public spaces into individual experiences.

Urban Interventions is the first book to document these very current, personal art projects in a comprehensive way.

02

06

03

07

03

04

08

04

Filippo Minelli 01-05 Contradictions — 01 Second life 02 Myspace — 03 Flickr; Phnom Penh, 2007 04 Microsoft; Bamako, 2008 — 05 Youtube; Phnom Penh, 2007 — 06-09 Google; 06&07 Bilbao, 2008, 08 Brescia, 2008, 09 Notre Dame, Paris, 2008 Filippo Minelli is a contemporary artist focusing on public and conceptual interventionism, narrative photography, and language painting. He began with graffiti in 1996 before moving on to public art projects. Traveling is important to his artistic process and much of his art is created in countries with unstable social and political situations. His installations are mostly unauthorized and characterized by a valuable journalistic relevance, while he also takes part in prestigious exhibition projects, from fine art and gallery shows to institutional programs.

Installation, photography, and painting are essential to Minelli’s artistic production. His installations involve letters and writings, mostly placed in public spaces. Using conceptual approaches, Minelli pursues a non-object dimension by searching for relations between art and reality and culture and social behavior, as seen in his “Contradictions” series, which aims at connecting the reality of the developing world with the abstract reality of social networks or 2.0 companies. He sometimes creates series out of ongoing performances, such as the simple but successful “Google”. Photography, the second essential element, is used to narrate installations and to offer a direct representation of the spatial and temporal situation. Lastly, Minelli creates kaleidoscopic paintings, in which letters intersect geometric shapes on the canvas by incorporating wax, gold leaf, oxidized silver, and collages of papers and textiles.

05

09

05

01

02 06

Markus Mai 01 Beautiful Bastards — BUS126; Plötzensee, Berlin, 2005 — 02 godlovesoul — God; Buch, Berlin, 2006 Sébastien Preschoux - Human vs Machine 03&06 Lasers Magenta — 04 Cocoon — 05&07 9 Colors Auvers sur Oise, 2009, 03,04,06 photo by Ludovic Lecouster For his projects, Paris-based Sébastien Preschoux set up installations of colored cotton threads in the forest, which appeared like lasers, thus highlighting the contrast between technology and nature.

- Natural-Ways 241 --

- Advertised -

01

- 281 -

07

04 02

03

05

Mark Jenkins 01-03 Embed Series; Washington DC, 2006 04-06 Sleepers; Winston-Salem, 2009, street project with Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) — 07 Under the Rainbow; Malmo, Sweden, 2008

06

- Localized -

- 93 -

ENJIN 50 17

C R E AT E Y O U R F U T U R E

The Faculty of the Arts at the Tshwane University of Technology is home to an array of programmes in design, visual and performing arts. It is designed to support the creative process - a process of making, doing, thinking and problem-solving.

The Faculty of the Arts offers you 15 internationally recognised programmes to choose from: Dance • Drama • Fashion Design & Technology • Fine & Applied Arts • Film & TV Production • Graphic Design • Interior Design • Jewellery Design & Manufacture Musical Theatre • Music • Multimedia (Arts Based) • Performing Arts Technology (Entertainment Technology) • Photography • Textile Design & Technology • VocalArt For more information Call: 012 382 6175 or E-mail: artsinfo@tut.ac.za

www.tut.ac.za

18 ENJIN 50

tools

flip The new 60D is the first Canon dSLR with an articulating LCD screen

With an 18-megapixel sensor, the new Canon EOS 60D offers high levels of detail and a magnification of 1.6x the focal length of the lens to capture poster-size images in a variety of aspect ratios.

The DIGIC 4 processing engine rapidly works with image information captured from the CMOS sensor’s four-channel output, which Canon says provide outstanding colour reproduction, as well as high-speed shooting at 5.3fps in bursts of 58 full-resolution JPEGs. A standard ISO range of 100-6400 is extendable to 12800, providing smooth images with minimal noise in low light conditions. A 9-point, all cross-type autofocus (AF) system also provides swift and accurate focusing, with an extra-sensitive centre point for lenses faster than f/2.8, allowing photographers to artistically employ a shallow depth of field during portraiture or for more atmospheric shooting.

The EOS 60D features Canon’s iFCL metering system, first introduced with the EOS 7D, with a dual-layer sensor. Information on subject location is gathered from the Auto Focus system, and is combined with colour and luminance readings for consistent accurate exposures – whatever the situation. The

Integrated Speedlite transmitter also provides in-camera control of multiple EX flash units for more creative lighting.

A new three-inch LCD monitor completes the picture, with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a 1 mp resolution, and can be popped out and rotated to view from a wide range of angles. Various modes such as Portrait, Landscape, Close-Up, Sport, Night Snapshot or Creative AUTO are available.

The DIGIC 4 processor supports incamera RAW image processing, allowing photographers to edit settings such as brightness, contrast, white balance or correct distortion or chromatic aberration. The edited image can then be resaved as a JPEG, ready to be printed or uploaded to a computer or the web.

The EOS 60D captures 1920x1080p HD video with a variety of user-selectable frame rates, including 30, 25 and 24fps, as well as 720p video at 60 and 50fps. Full manual control in Movie mode allows photographers to employ their own exposure and focus settings and take advantage of the effects achieved from Canon’s wide range of EF lenses.

An external stereo microphone terminal and the ability to adjust sound recording level

ensures the audio track recorded matches the visual quality of the video, capturing broadcast-quality sound.

The EOS 60D features a completely redesigned body, combining an ergonomically enhanced, curved shape with a new button layout to make it quick and comfortable for photographers to change settings.

Frequently used camera controls are grouped together for easy access, while the Quick Control Dial, Multi-controller and SET button have all been merged into one Multi Control Dial, enabling photographers to operate menus and enter settings quickly using their thumb.

A dedicated Quick Control access button allows photographers to instantly reach the most common shooting settings and playback controls.

To help achieve landscapes with perfectly level horizons, a horizontal Electronic Level can be displayed in the viewfinder or in Live View to assist composition and remove any potential need for post-production correction.

The 60D is available with a wide range of new and existing lenses.

www.canon.co.za

ENJIN 50 19

agenda/tools www.enjin.co.za/competition CODE:

015466

colour of ideas New from Pantone, the Plus Series offers new colours and a chromatic arrangement

Pantone has introduced the Plus Series, the latest version of the company’s popular Matching System colour space. The Plus Series has been modernized and updated with a variety of new features, colours and integration options. The latest edition provides all of the original colours of the Pantone Matching System, which utilize the same reference numbers.

To make the system more organized and intuitive, the broad range of colours have been reorganized into a chromatic arrangement. All guides also include a ColorChecker Lighting Indicator which can be used to determine if ambient lighting conditions are acceptable for accurate colour evaluation.

The Formula Guide and Solid Chips include 224 new solid colours, bringing the total up to 1341 colours.

New additions are formulated with the same 14 ink bases familiar to the Matching System, while each new colour is produced using consistent ink-film thickness for better printing results, according to Pantone.

The Premium Metallics category has been expanded with 300 new, non-leafing metallics designed for greater brilliance without sensitivity to coating. The Pastels & Neons also includes new offerings, with 154 pastels and 56 neon colours.

All books in the Plus Series are printed on text-weight

20 ENJIN 50

paper to more closely reflect the majority of printed work today and meet certification standards set forth by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Color Manager Pantone’s Color Manager software, available free-of-charge with every Plus Series, lets designers update their favourite design applications with the new Plus Series Color Libraries. An added feature allows users to convert spot colours to CMYK simulations based on loaded ICC profiles.

Users can also access the entire Plus Series from their iPhone with the myPantone app, enabling designers to capture, create and share colour palettes – wherever they go and whenever they find inspiration.

ColorChecker Making a colour critical decision under the wrong lighting conditions can greatly compromise the final product. All guides in the Plus Series include a ColorChecker Lighting Indicator to instantly show whether current lighting conditions are suitable for colour evaluation.

Color Bridge After extensive technical research, development and testing, a single version suitable for worldwide use is now available. The new Color Bridge guide has been printed within today’s ISO specifications and G7 processes, with the exception of a more desirable, optically brightened paper, says Pantone.

CMYK Guide The new CMYK guide offers a smoother progression of 2886 CMYK colours for four-colour process printing. The guide is printed with bio-friendly ISO-certified inks using a digital workflow within ISO specifications and G7 processes, but on optically brightened paper, allowing for a single version that is suitable for worldwide use.

Premium Metallics The Pantone Plus Series provides significantly enhanced tools for working with special colours that add flair to any design. Premium Metallics includes 300 new, non-leafing metallics that have been formulated for greater brilliance – even when coated.

Pastels + Neons Neon colours have been gaining popularity in print, spurred by the sportswear, swimwear and footwear markets. To satisfy this increasing demand, Pastel + Neons offers a broad collection of 154 pastels with 56 neon colours.

Pricing varies by package options.

Review products supplied by DDS. www.directservices.co.za; 0860 DDS 000

promo

printer saves the day Your printer could resuscitate your business

The World Cup has come and gone, leaving behind a sense of self worth and achievement. The people of South Africa and the businesses that were part of the spirit have evidently changed their minds about their futures; South Africans want more and expect more than pre-World Cup. Businesses should also expect more: more savings, more time and more profits.

Wanting more is not an unobtainable desire – it is simply defining the course of how to get more. A hidden secret to achieving more time, more profit and efficient savings is often the printer which is located on your desk, or shared in a common area. The printer, often a neglected treasure, holds great value for companies who wish to cut-costs without cutting their standards.

Ever considered the fact that the quality of your printer could either define your business growth or damper it, the functional features of your printer could also mean self sufficiency and internal cost saving?

Are you interested to learn more? Want to know how a printer can retain revenue?

HP has pulled together some hints and tips to help you and your business make it through the tough times, while preparing for the better times ahead! n Don’t be afraid to bring traditionally outsourced services in-house – you can produce professional quality marketing materials yourself n Market yourself more effectively – businesses that market themselves well during recession are significantly better placed when good times return

n Remember that an existing customer is easier to retain than attracting a new one – how can you add that personal touch to your customers? n Understand the changing world – your customers are embracing social media networks such as Twitter; you need to too n Don’t ignore technology – new technologies improve efficiency or save money, and often return investment very quickly n Question your expenditure – can you consolidate suppliers; are you spending relatively small sums with a large number of suppliers, or can you spend more with less?

HP’s recently launched Officejet Pro series offer professional quality printing, enabling businesses to produce marketing materials that would traditionally be handled by an outsourced specialist, and often incurring significant external spending. Through bringing this in-house, this external spend can be reduced and a business can have total control over how much print material it has in stock, and can quickly and cheaply make amends or updates when needed, in the event of an office move or change of phone number.

This will of course also help increase a business’s Green credentials through reducing paper and printed business waste, as well as ‘dead’ stocks of marketing materials.

Planning for the long term The importance of marketing a business more effectively cannot be over estimated, with previous recessions showing that those businesses that market themselves

well during times of downturn are significantly better placed for when the market picks up and the good times return – as, indeed, they will. It’s about looking out for the short term and planning for the long term.

The personal touch Remember, also, that it is easier to retain an existing customer than attract totally new ones – what marketing materials can you develop to show your customers how much you value them? If many of your suppliers are also small or microbusinesses, is there a personal touch you can add to make you stand out as a customer? Likewise, as a supplier yourself, is there a value-add you can give to your customers to show you value their trade and understand their needs and desires?

Brand perception First impressions count, any marketing material you produce will have an instant impact – for good or bad, depending on its quality. The depth of colour, the clarity of the typeface and the bright, colourful design of your materials will immediately resonate with potential customers.

The quality of your print marketing materials is paramount, it speaks volumes about your business, (often subconsciously), so make sure that you take your time and don’t rush the job!

More haste less speed should be your mantra!

Interested in learning more? Go to www. hp.com/za/mybusiness

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agenda/tools

what happens in vegas pro Fast, flexible and feature-rich, Vegas Pro 9 is ideal for standard- and high-def digital video production, streaming content creation and broadcast production Vegas Pro 9 is a comprehensive digital video production suite offering a robust and progressive platform for video content creation and production. With broad format support, great effects processing and audio support, and a full complement of editorial tools, Vegas Pro dramatically streamlines your workflow, according to Sony.

new tools Users can edit standard- or high-definition video with drag-and-drop functionality, mouse and keyboard trimming and ripple editing.

Other standard features include ProType titling technology, multicamera editing tools, 32-and 64-bit floating point video processing, customizable window layouts, colour-coded snapping, improved HDV/SDI/XDCAM support, Cinescore plug-in support, A/V synchronization detection and repair, and auto-frame quantization.

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streamlined workflow Vegas Pro’s interface provides a fully customizable workspace for accomplishing a wide range of production requirements. You can dock multiple windows across multiple monitors, and save your layouts to fit specific editing tasks, nest Vegas Pro projects within the timeline, customize and save keyboard commands, and use application scripting to automate repetitive tasks.

System-wide media management produces maximum efficiency, while network rendering saves time by using multiple computers and networked drive arrays to render complex projects. Vegas Pro supports 24p, HD and HDV editing.

more formats Vegas Pro natively supports the newest professional camcorder formats. including XDCAM EX and RED. Vegas Pro also includes

support for still images greater than one gigapixel in resolution. You can use Pan and Scan to create a stunning movie sequence from these large pictures while maintaining HD resolution, according to Sony.

quick audio Vegas Pro gives you access to unlimited tracks, 24-bit/192 kHz audio, punch-in recording, 5.1 surround mixing, effects automation and time compress/expand. You can apply customizable, real-time audio effects like EQ, Reverb, Delay and more. The software gives you more audio processing and mixing options with supported third-party DirectX and VST audio plug-ins.

blu-ray Vegas Pro allows you to burn movies to Blu-ray Disc straight from the timeline for high-definition delivery. Use the bundled DVD

tools

An exciting new feature enables you to import multi-layered Photoshop files into your project, and break the individual layers out into separate Vegas Pro tracks.

Architect Pro software to author DVDs or Blu-ray Disc media with multiple video angles, subtitles, multiple languages and other special features.

closed captioning The latest version update – 9.0d – introduces several robust new features and improvements.

One such feature makes Vegas Pro one of the first non-linear editors to offer a complete closed captioning workflow. You now have the ability to import, edit and export CEA-608 format closed captioning, with support for XDCAM HD MXF files and standalone SCC files.

If you’re working with footage from an XDCAM deck that has recorded closed captioning from HD SDI baseband signals to disc in HD or HD422 formats, Vegas Pro recognizes the closed captions when you import the footage to your timeline.

You can import an MXF file with embedded closed captioning either through the Explorer window or the XDCAM Explorer window onto your Vegas Pro timeline. Vegas Pro scans the file and if it finds embedded closed captioning, the media appears in an event on the timeline as usual.

In addition to adding the file to your timeline, the software also creates an SCC file inside the same folder that holds the media. As long as the SCC file is present, Vegas Pro will use that information instead of scanning the file again. Now, edit your project as you would any other project – you don’t need to worry about the closed captioning while you’re editing.

When you’ve finished your edits, you’ll use the powerful scripting feature to finish the job.

advanced photoshop Another exciting new feature enables you to import multi-layered Photoshop files into your project and break the individual layers out into separate Vegas Pro tracks. Although you have been able to import Photoshop files into your project for years, this new feature gives you tremendous flexibility to use those files in ways you were never able to before. However, you can still add a layered Photoshop file to your project as a composited image just as you have always been able to.

control device With the most recent update, Sony has introduced support for the PreSonus FaderPort control device. This handy hardware control device doesn’t take up a lot of room on your desktop, but gives you a hardware fader for volume control, a knob for panning control and buttons for many different controls like Play and Stop, Mute, Solo, Record and more

any amount of time on your main timeline with a still image.

Speaking of capturing still images, Sony has made a great improvement to the way the Copy Snapshot to Clipboard and Save Snapshot to File buttons work in the Video Preview window. The feature now performs pixel aspect correction and automatically interlaces images shot from interlaced video. If your size is set to one of the Auto settings, this feature uses the Best (Full) setting to create the still image, thus ensuring that you get the highest-quality image possible.

smart render Sony has also made improvements to their Smart Render feature which now supports MPEG-2 video streams intended for Blu-ray Disc burning. This provides faster encoding and less generation loss because video frames pass through to the final file unaltered.

Finally, the software features beefed up support for R3D footage from the RED camera including support for 4.5K raw files and the FLUT colour science.

improved trimming The Trimmer window is now more robust and useful than ever. Sony has added Copy Snapshot to Clipboard and Save Snapshot to File buttons to the Trimmer. These work just like the same buttons that have always been available in the Video Preview window, except that instead of saving a file based on main timeline content, these new buttons save files based on the frame that’s currently active in the Trimmer window.

Another enhancement to the Trimmer window enables you to use the Fit to Fill button to fill

final word As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Vegas Pro 9 offers more than just a few tweaks and fixes. It gives you real, powerful enhancements that make the software work even harder for you than before. And you simply cannot beat Vegas Pro for good oldfashioned value for money.

Review software supplied by Phoenix Software 0861phoenix; www.phoenixsoftware.co.za

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agenda/tools

digital publishing 2.0 Quark promises to revolutionise publishing – again

Unveiled in August, Quark’s new Digital Publishing 2.0 strategy aims to help both enterprises and individual creative professionals export designs to a variety of digital devices – from the more traditional print to web and Flash down to HTML 5, iPad and iPhone and other digital devices.

One such is the ability to export from QuarkXPress 8 to Blio, which, according to Quark, means opening up your design work to all devices (mobile and desktop), thereby multiplying your exposure and revenue potential exponentially. Marked by a significant move from simple black-and-white electronic books, Digital Publishing 2.0 builds on the proliferation of more powerful devices to deliver design-rich and interactive content to consumers.

In another move, Quark also announced it had teamed with K-NFB Reading Technology and Baker & Taylor to ensure Digital Publishing 2.0

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delivers useful content for publishers.

Quark says the partnership brings together experts in digital content creation, digital content distribution and the digital e-reading experience to offer content creators and providers a simple, cost-effective digital publishing solution.

“Digital Publishing 2.0 is defined by designrich, interactive content that can be delivered to the mass market through all leading digital devices,” said Ray Schiavone, president and CEO of Quark. “We are excited to work with K-NFB Reading Technology and Baker & Taylor to combine our expertise to help publishers and other content creators capitalize on this emerging market. “Together we make it affordable and efficient to create compelling digital content that is ready for the Blio e-reader application and available through a world-class distribution network to deliver the ultimate consumer experience,” Schiavone

said.

Starting with a rich, compelling design in QuarkXPress, Quark aids both enterprises and individual creative professionals export those designs to a variety of digital devices.

Without requiring any programming or other special skills, designers can enhance their print content for digital devices by using QuarkXPress’s built-in interactive features to add slide shows, embed video and create other interactive elements to differentiate and add value to their print publications.

dynamic Based on dynamic publishing software that includes QuarkXPress, Quark Publishing System,and Quark XML Author, as well as innovative technology from the new partners,

tools

Quark also offers enterprise customers a ‘content first’ alternative to the ‘design first’ approach of starting by building their publications in print form.

Quark’s digital publishing strategy will serve publishers at any stage of digital publishing – regardless of their preferred application platform or intended media.

Quark also offers enterprise customers a ‘content first’ alternative to the ‘design first’ approach of starting by building their publications in print form. Using Quark XML Author, enterprises can create reusable information components that are independent of any specific media type.

Quark Publishing System can assemble these components for different audiences and automatically publish to all the media types that Quark supports. According to Melissa Webster, vice president, Content and Digital Media Technologies at IDC, Quark’s digital publishing strategy is meant to help publishers streamline the content transformation process in a platform-independent way, so they can embrace new readers such as Blio and emerging technologies for digital publishing.

Publishers in Europe have already been leveraging Quark’s technologies, despite the frequent defamation Quark has had to endure over its layout design application, QuarkXPress 8, in the past years.

With the new solution, both enterprises and individual creative professionals are able to start with a rich, compelling design in QuarkXPress, and export those designs to a variety of digital devices – without requiring any programming or other special skills.

awards In related news, Quark has announced it is sponsoring the Digital Magazine Awards 2010, a global awards initiative to showcase the best digital magazines and recognise the most influential people in digital publishing. Gavin Drake, Quark’s Vice President of Marketing said, “Digital magazines are a fast evolving area

and this is only going to accelerate in the near term. We’re delighted to be able to support and associate the Quark brand with the Digital Magazine Awards. It’s a perfect fit with our focus on digital publishing and determination to continue to ‘revolutionise publishing, again’.

final word To further solidify its approach, Quark has announced a promotional campaign, which offers exclusive QuarkXPress 8 Flash resources, encompassing video training, downloadable Flash resources, customer showcases and more. QuarkXPress 8 currently costs R7 590 or R2 999 for an upgrade. Thirtyday trials are available by calling Qmedia on (011) 314-5777, or can be downloaded from www.quark.com. http://dynamicpublishing.quark.com

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work/publish

portfolio

Mark Kannemeyer/Brand Botes

New i-jusi collector’s item Garth Walker has always been interested in developing and encouraging a language through design ‘rooted in the African experience’. Believing this to be Africa’s most powerful traditional weapon, he created i-jusi in 1995 – an experimental graphics magazine posing the question: ‘What makes me African?’ With i-jusi (meaning juice in Zulu) Walker has gone beyond the tired adage of Proudly South African and created something that doesn’t just claim to be South African, but that looks at a whole host of meanings behind what that might mean.

Now, in partnership with Rooke Gallery, Walker has launched the first i-jusi Portfolio as a means to ensure the i-jusi magazine legacy. “i-jusi is expensive to produce as it is privately published by my studio. The portfolio aims to raise funding to continue with the magazine, and to create opportunities for a wider audience to share in the ‘what makes me African’ concept than is possible with an occasional magazine primarily for graphic designers,” explains Walker.

The i-jusi Portfolio features ten lithographs – 7 graphic and 3 photographic – each signed by the artist, in an edition of fifty. The selected works are by South African artists who have featured in i-jusi and include David Goldblatt, Anton and Mark Kannemeyer, Brandt and Conrad Botes, Garth Walker, Pieter Hugo, Wilhelm Kruger, Brode Vosloo and Mikhael Subotzky. Buyers include the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Minneapolis Art Institute, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and the library of the International Centre of Photography in New York.

You too can own one, with pricing starting at R19 500, escalating over the course of the fifty editions.

All lithographs in the portfolio are 325 x 500mm printed on 250gsm Rives BFK. The printing process utilised is offset lithography with UV stable inks.

The portfolio boxes are hand made and covered with Egyptian Linen book cloth. Preparation of the images for printing was overseen by Professor Stephen Innggs of the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town. www.rookegallery.com

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Mikhael Subotzky/Pieter Hugo

Brode Vosloo/Wilhelm Kruger

Congratulations to the 2010 Sappi African Printers of the Year gold winners

Category Annual Reports

Category Books

Category Brochures

Category Calendars

Category Catalogues

Printer

Ince

Printer

Trident Press

Printer

Pro-Print

Printer

Trident Press

Printer

Seriti Printing

Title

Foschini Annual Report 2009

Title

Singita Game Reserves

Title

Desroches Island

Title

Philip Morris International

Title

Image 2009 Volume 12

Paper

Magno Satin 300g/m² and 135g/m²

Paper

Triple Green Print Matt 250g/m² and 150g/m²

Paper

Magno Star 170g/m²

Paper

Magno Satin 250g/m²

Paper

HannoArt Gloss 150g/m² and 135g/m²

Category Digital Print

Category General Print

Category Magazines Sheetfed

Category Packaging and Labels

Printer

24 Hour Photobooks

Printer

Colors

Printer

Paarl Media Paarl

Printer

Masterpack

Title

Elmecker Wedding Album

Title

Mercedes-Benz Presentation Box

Title

Pix December / January 2010

Title

Dreher Premium Lager Launch Pack

Paper

Magno Star 170g/m²

Paper

Magno Satin 250g/m² and 170g/m²

Paper

Triple Green Print Gloss 250g/m² and 115g/m²

Paper

Algro Design 350g/m²

The dramatic complexity of our natural landscape is a projection of the imprint we will leave as a legacy for future generations.

Congratulations to the prize winners who have made an indelible mark of excellence in the dynamic world of print. They are an inspiration to those following in their footsteps to leave imprints that will continue shaping the future of print and the preservation of our planet.

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work/enter

art of design GRID Worldwide wins premier print design competition sponsored by Antalis With an amazing 750 entries received, Antalis hosted the 12th Art of Design 2010 biannual awards evening at the Joburg Country Club in late August.

Art of Design not only rewards graphic designers for originality and design excellence, with a particular focus on the creative use of paper, but aims to inspire big thinking, big ideas, paper usage and beautiful presentation. It is Antalis’ way to support the industry with a competition that has run for an uninterrupted twenty-four years. Grid Worldwide won the coveted Grand Prix – winning not only the opportunity to design work for Antalis, but also a trip to New York. One of the highlights for 2010 was the student category. which aimed to provide students with unique tools; encouraging them to learn typography by using the unique font glyphs provided by Joshua Darden. Antalis Marketing Manager Caroline Coughlan said, “Over the past 24 years, Art of Design has seen the quality of our design output grow from strength to strength, as has the quantity. This year we received a record number of entries in the seven commercial categories, as well as eighty entries in the student category, Ready Steady Kook!”

A panel of 9 carefully selected judges had to base their decisions on a handful of criteria. These included whether or not the design solved a problem and added value, its level of creativity, innovation or originality and level of impact. Lorraine Du Plessis, the head judge, said. “We spent hours deliberating, debating and democratically voted for each winning piece.” They also evaluated the degree to which a convincing correlation between the design solution and whether the paper used brought the design to life. Lastly, the judges evaluated contributions based on design elements, determining if they were well crafted and supported by good print quality. The other judges were Eben Keun – Breinstorm Brand Architects, Shelly Atkinson – GRID Worldwide, Tania Barker – Ogilvy Cape Town, Johan Liebenberg – Ogilvy Durban, Christopher Gough Palmer – The New Black, Bronwen Rautenbach – Sunshinegun, Alexis Beckett – Network BBDO and Andre De Waal – Trompelemonde.

The keynote speaker for the evening, Annette Clayton from Arjowiggins, UK, touched on the theme of the environment and sustainable design, revealing the latest trends in the development of paper design and applications. She showed how the senses interact with paper, how the creation of paper is inspired by alternative materials such as Bamboo and the discreet textures of haute couture, appealing to a liberated and conscious consumer.

And finally, in the spirit of winners, David James, Director Marketing and Purchasing, announced that Antalis had just achieved its Forest Stewardship Council certification – indeed a fitting end to a memorable evening. www.antalis.co.za  Slow Corporate Identity, GRID Worldwide

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enter

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more than paper

www.antalis.co.za Bloemfontein Johannesburg / Exports Pietermaritzburg Cape Town Port Elizabeth Durban Pretoria

The Forest Stewardship Council™ through international standards supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests; it evaluates, accredits and monitors certification bodies that comply.

C E L E B R AT I N G

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SC™ CERTIFICATIO F ’ S I L N ANTA

10 IS NCE 20

+27 51 447 8681 +27 11 688 6000 +27 33 386 1078 +27 21 959 9600 +27 41 486 2020 +27 31 714 4000 +27 12 379 0060

enter

Caroline Coughlan (Antalis South Africa), Paul Hinch (GRID Worldwide), Vanashree Govender (Antalis South Africa), Shelley Atkinson (GRID Worldwide), David James (Antalis South Africa)

2010 Antalis Art of Design winners CATEGORY

AWARDS Grand Prix

COMPANY GRID Worldwide

NAME OF ENTRY Slow Corporate Identity

Mama Creative Raw Design Studio 5 Option A Rex Creative GRID Worldwide

Vered & Avital Wedding Invite Groborg Architects Brochure Tiber Brochure Tswalu Brochure Willowlamp Brochure Slow Corporate Identity

Rex Creative Switch Branding Rex Creative Switch Branding Bittersuite Joe Public

Velocity Corporate Identity Midstream Nursery/Cafe Verde Corporate Identity Oil Corporate Identity Mister & Missis Wedding Stationery One & Only Corporate Identity Clover Cooking Calendar

King James GRID Worldwide

Body Parts Be Inspired Book

The Jupiter Drawing Room

Musica Rockstar Packaging

Merit Award Merit Award

NAME Paul Hinch, Shelley Atkinson, Jean du Plessis, Marette Koorts Limor Esakov Paulet Nel, Emsie Frank Cyril Percimoney Annamart Swanepoel Givan Lotz Paul Hinch, Shelley Atkinson, Jean du Plessis, Marette Koorts Eddie Graham Sulet Jansen Givan Lotz Janie Howell, Jana Erasmus Jason De Wet Maciek Michalski, Sophia Strydom, Simone Rossum Mark Stead, Sally-Anne Lewendon Collette Wasielewski, Jean du Plessis, Shelley Atkinson Brandt Botes, Jared Barbe, Joanne Thomas, Johann De Bruyn, Keenon Daniels Shani Ahmed Eben Keun, Ilan Green

Cards Category Bound Brochures

Unbound Brochures Corporate Identity

Merit Award 1st Place 2nd Place Merit Award Merit Award 1st Place

Open Category

2nd Place 3rd Place 3rd Place Merit Award Merit Award 1st Place

Draft FCB Cape Town Breinstorm Brand Architects

1st Place Merit Award 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Special Merit

Claire Ventress Lauren Smith Cally Tarin May Lara Orchard Martin Joel Brent Swart

Studio 5 HKLM Greenside Design Centre AAA School Of Advertising Vega School (JHB) Tshwane University Of Technology

Design Portfolio Cover Representation & Spatial Practices in Urban South Africa Inca Times AR 2009 Cotlands AR 2008 Urban Beef Tikulu Wine Farm Sizwesburg Barbers Mug & Shebeen

2nd Place 3rd Place Merit Award

Digital Category Annual Reports Student CI

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work/blog

daily disturbance The Daily is design studio disturbance’s online journal, a little window into the company’s day-to-day. Sounds like a blog and in many ways it is, but The Daily is the blog re-imagined – it looks and behaves like no other blog out there. The interface is an extension of the studio’s website (in fact, The Daily can only be accessed through the website), folding and collapsing like a supercharged sheet of paper, and allowing the user to move forward or backward by day, week, month or even year. It’s an intuitive way to navigate through time – and one that’s rather addictive. www.disturbance.co.za

new currency

Every so often you find a campaign to which a JPEG simply doesn’t do justice. You need a hard copy in your hands to admire the detail and printing, or to get a real sense of how effective this can actually be. One such campaign was created for Art South Africa magazine by Y&R Cape Town.

Executive Creative Director Clinton Bridgeford explains the concept: “We created four different 80 buck notes (the price of Art SA magazine) – each illustrated by different artists, all carrying the line, “Get the latest issue of Art SA and see how art is making money, or not.” Whenever a customer bought a magazine or book in the store that also sells Art South Africa, the store staff slipped these notes in amongst the customers’ real change. The illustrations were by Faith 47, Paul Senyol, Bison and Wesley Van Eeden. www.artsouthafrica.com

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work/fit

metal morphosis Grolsch refits vintage trailer Fully magnetic and contemporary, the Grolsch Airstream is a bespoke trailer at the recently opened Old Mac Daddy Trailer hotel – a rural trailer park set in the stunning Elgin Valley. The park consists of ten bespoke Airstreams, the iconic aluminium-clad caravan of the 1940s, each refitted by a different local artist to ensure its own distinctive creative theme, two lakeside units and a family farmhouse – Daddy’s Villa. The Airstream, a testament to cuttingedge design, has been christened Metalmorphosis which pays homage to its transformation from shell to creative refuge and to the avant-garde design work using metal and magnets. Briefed by Grolsch to define an unmistakably Grolsch environment without using any overt branding or references, the Airstream was conceptualised and refitted by design agency Coley Porter Bell in partnership with spatial specialist Rotem Shachar.

After an extensive creative planning process, the team hit on the idea of making the entire interior magnetic, and employing the power of magnets to create a variable, modular environment that guests are invited to reconfigure so that it bests reflects their true character. Accents taken from the iconic Grolsch swing-top bottle – such as the trademark red-and-white cap and curved wire closure – have been included in the overall design scheme.

With just about everything in Metalmorphosis being magnetic and interactive, the possibilities are endless, meaning no two nights in it need ever be the same. Guests can rearrange the magnetic furniture, shelving and lighting to suit their mood and express their own true character and creative spirit. There are a number of innovative magnetic elements in Metalmorphosis, such as a 360-degree magnetic puzzle which doubles as wallpaper and which is an internal reflection of the Airstream’s external environment; a clock which tells time through the movement of iron fillings pulled by magnets; and a lifesized pinwall, handmade with over 40 000 metal pins which guests can use to make their mark by leaving their own impressions. Says Rotem, “Almost every element of the design is experimental. Coupled with an incredibly tight deadline, it was amazing to be part of the process as it unfolded.” www.oldmacdaddy.co.za

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work/publish

bicycle days Bicycle Portraits offers an intimate look at everyday South Africans and their cycles

A photographic book in the making, Bicycle Portraits is project initiated

by Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler. Whenever they can, together or separately, they’re on the lookout for fellow commuters, and people who use bicycles as part of their everyday work, to meet and photograph them. They’re finding out who rides bicycles, why they ride bicycles, if and why they love their bicycles and, of course, why so few South Africans choose them as a transport option.

There is no specific range of questions asked, they’d rather just establish a conversation around the rider’s life and how his or her bicycle fits into it.

Being avid cyclists themselves, this project is as much an investigation into South African bicycle culture as it is an excuse for them to ride their bikes and take photographs, while at the same time attempting to raise the funds to turn the project into a self-published book (similar to a previous one, African Salad, published by Day One Publishing).

Says Stan, “We’ve noticed that in South Africa, especially in the major centers, very few people use bicycles as a mode of transport. This is very strange, since we have no proper public transport infrastructure, and that which does exist is expensive and unsafe. Given all the benefits of cycling – independence, fitness, cost-effectiveness, environmentally friendly – we would love to encourage the wider use of bicycles in South Africa among all social classes.”

“We’ve also noticed that as our major centers develop there still seems to be a trend to make cities more friendly for cars, not people. While

this might be happening in many places around the world, the effect on individuals seems to be very dramatic in a country like South Africa, where there is a growing divide between those who can afford motorised transport and those who struggle to. Owning a bicycle in this social climate can be very empowering, if the correct infrastructure exists.”

The team has been using the Kickstarter pledge/reward social platform as an alternative way of raising funds by essentially taking pre-orders (with benefits, depending on the pledge amount) for the book from an online community who want to see the project succeed. It’s an interesting concept – independent, community based and very inspiring.

Given the nature of the project, they are launching in sections – the ultimate goal is to raise $35 000 in total for the complete production of the book, but they’ll be breaking the process up into three phases.

This is the strength of Engelbrecht’s and Grobler’s approach: being open to what people have to say, unfiltered, experiencing their enthusiasm, in real time, hearing their stories and assembling a record of “popular voices”. This is no small thing. In this country the media tends to rotate a bunch of experts and talking heads, smoothed over spokespeople and promoters. It makes for a skewered professional sense of South African reality. As such Bicycle Portraits presents a breath of fresh air.

www.bicycleportraits.co.za

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graphic

fear of a black planet Parodying Hergé’s Tintin in the Congo (1931), a new book by Anton Kannemeyer delves into the underlying racism of the colonial project and the corruption that persists in Africa today. At the same time he takes on the vigorous debates around race that enliven and shadow daily life in South Africa Images courtesy Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town

Bringing together recent drawings, paintings and prints by Anton Kannemeyer, Pappa in Afrika offers a confrontational and witty critique of European colonialism and its ongoing legacy in Africa. Kannemeyer juxtaposes factual and realistic images with outrageous comic imagery and provocative text. In an accompanying essay, poet and journalist Danie Marais offers a compelling argument for art like Kannemeyer’s that simultaneously provokes and entertains: As the shimmer of the rainbow nation has faded, issues around race continue to underlie the most contested issues in the country. Each day the newspapers abound with stories provoked by inequalities linked to race, from instant wealth as a result of Black Economic Empowerment to impoverished whites affected by affirmative employment policies.

Yet the subject of race is rarely addressed directly, remaining the most sensitive issue in the country – and the continent – due to the long history of exploitation of Africans by Europeans. Kannemeyer confronts us with the fears that underlie these debates about race, his works possessing a frankness and humour that often leave us awkward and uncertain of our own position.

Many of Kannemeyer’s new paintings use as their starting point gag cartoons collected from The New Yorker magazine and other sources.

Kannemeyer plays his own version of ‘caption contest’ by placing his favourite one-liners within a new socio-political context in order to highlight our attitudes and discomforts around race. His figuration strongly references Hergé’s Tintin, invoking the ‘boy adventurer’ as the archetypal white settler in Africa. The artist does not flinch from implicating himself in these scenarios, often casting himself in the Tintin role. As usual, nothing escapes Kannemeyer’s ‘X-ray political vision’ (as the New York Times called it), and a series of new large-scale drawings satirises white fears surrounding the Soccer World Cup. Since the old boere-punk days of Bitterkomix, Anton Kannemeyer’s work has intrigued and outraged in about equal measure. As an angry and disillusioned young Afrikaner, I found it easy to root for the subversive, satirical comic magazine that Kannemeyer started with



Conrad Botes in 1992.

The publication had the paternalistic sins, bigotry and racist attitudes of our Afrikaner nationalist fathers in its sights, and a sawn-off shotgun, loaded with porn, bad taste, cruel iconoclastic jokes, countercultural references, seething moral indignation and self-loathing, was the weapon of choice. Naturally it was despised by the conservative Afrikaner establishment and fanatical pleas for censorship from concerned citizens were common.

But Kannemeyer’s recent political work, collected in this publication, can be disconcerting even for previous admirers. While laughing at the jokes, I found myself wondering if they weren’t exactly the kind of thing the racist ooms around braaivleis fires might find funny.

Was this a case of attention-seeking opportunism by an artist whose previous targets have disappeared into historical oblivion and cultural insignificance? Or is Kannemeyer attempting something braver and more important by rushing headlong into the socio-political minefield of racial tension that is skirted by the vast majority of artists in this country?

Many of the paintings and drawings in Pappa in Afrika present the kind of crude jokes that will provoke nervous, self-conscious laughter from any viewer of a leftish, progressive persuasion. And whereas most art dealing with socio-political issues takes a position of righteous activist anger or empathy, Kannemeyer puts himself in the middle of the mess in self-effacing images such as Very, Very Good and Check-Up, or by drawing himself as an older Tintin as in the cover image of Pappa in Afrika.

The satirical use of the Tintin character is especially poignant.

Kannemeyer has used a Tintin-like figure to portray himself before, most notably in his silent comic of the white Afrikaans boy running, 1974. In so doing he pays ambivalent homage to Hergé, his morally tainted comic artist hero, and to Tintin, the hero of his naive white and privileged childhood.

Anton Kannemeyer, Very, Very Good, 2010 ENJIN 50 37

graphic

 Anton Kannemeyer, A Black Woman, 2010  Anton Kannemeyer, Untitled, 2010

He also immediately engages with the ongoing post-colonial discourse in which Tintin in the Congo (1931), in particular, is rightly condemned as excruciatingly paternalistic. In Kannemeyer’s work, and especially in his latest offerings, Tintin becomes a white African trapped in his own incriminating skin – he is depicted either as a white liberal who cannot escape his colonial past regardless of his personal political convictions, or as an oblivious little psycho on safari exemplifying the mindless destruction and racist attitudes typical of white imperialism in Africa.

By employing various stereotypes associated with Tintin in the Congo and other pulp fiction (as in the Cursed Paradise series), Kannemeyer reminds us that the rhetoric which equates white with superior, literate and civilised, and black with savage and dumb, has been around for a long time. He also implies that these unsophisticated prejudices and archetypes still underlie and contaminate our collective consciousness regarding race: as soon as things go wrong, the young democracy falters or people panic, the thin veil of rainbow rhetoric vanishes and the old beliefs rear their heads.

Ultimately, the most provocative images in this book are about white fear. Peekaboo turns it into a wicked little joke, while The Liberals gives Zapiro’s controversial ‘Go for it, boss!’ cartoon (in which President Jacob Zuma is about to rape the female figure of Justice) a dark twist illuminating the chasm between fear and political correctness. Together with works like White People Are Going to Burn and Black Gynaecologist, it exposes some of the ugly faces of white anxiety.

Like the libido, fear has never been politically correct. To fear

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someone or something implies that you believe they mean you harm, and the figures stalking the dreams of the sleeping suburbs portrayed here are not the sympathetic victims of poverty and previous disadvantageousness. They are deliberately rendered as primitive savages reminiscent of Hergé’s depiction of ‘the natives’.

The underlying question that Kannemeyer poses is: how sincerely can white liberals embrace the idea of a prosperous future on the black continent when the images of violence and rape that haunt their suburban nightmares are so inextricably entangled with deep-rooted racial prejudices? The artist certainly provides no answers.

So why do we need art like this, the kind that makes us deeply uneasy? One could argue that, if you can’t stand the unpleasant heat created by Kannemeyer’s recent works, you should get out of the infernal South African kitchen.

How can one condemn a painting like The Liberals as part of the race problem when Zuma is known for singing ‘Bring me my machine gun’ – a song that outraged citizens should apparently see in its historical context, like ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema’s use of ‘Kill the boer, kill the farmer’?

Perhaps a more compelling argument can be found in the old joke about a European heaven and hell. It goes like this: in the European heaven the English are the policemen, the Germans the engineers, the French the cooks, the Italians the lovers and the Swiss organise everything. In the European hell the Germans are the policemen, the French the engineers, the English the cooks, the Swiss the lovers and the Italians organise everything.

This joke rarely causes offense, although these are nations that slaughtered one another during centuries of warfare.

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graphic

It suggests an implied balance of power, a broad continental consensus that these Western Europeans can poke fun at one another now as adults with mutual respect.

The extent to which Kannemeyer’s dark graphic jokes fill viewers with unease, anger or alarm can be seen to indicate how far removed we are from that place where mutually respectful South Africans of all languages and ethnic groups can sit around a table and share a similar joke. And if we want to get there, the socio-political minefield Kannemeyer so bravely or recklessly explores is one that we will have to cross. The alternative is to not rock the leaky boat, but that won’t necessarily bring us closer together.

The African-American writer and civil rights activist, James Baldwin, in his collection of essays The Fire Next Time (1963), implores “relatively conscious whites and the relatively conscious blacks [to,] like lovers, insist on, or create, the consciousness of others.” Pappa in Afrika contributes more constructively towards this broadening of our arrested national consciousness than may at first be obvious. Yes, it pokes fun at the new order and at African catastrophes in an abrasive way. But above all it reminds us that white people are frightened, and fear is a potent and primitive mind-altering force which has dictated human behaviour since the dawn of time. We can all benefit from facing up to this fear – and a bit of self-deprecating humour won’t hurt.

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  

Anton Kannemeyer, Check-Up, 2010 Anton Kannemeyer, Some Kind of Boo-Boo, 2010 Anton Kannemeyer, Caption Contest, 2010

graphic

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magazine

the beat goes on First published in the fifties, Drum Magazine had the reputation of ‘telling it like it is’ because its tone was convincing to the black readership. It was not a patronising tool – as far as it was possible to be free, Drum was free and it represented freedom.

An extract from a TIME Magazine article from 1952, entitled “South African Drumbeat”, reads, “In the teeming Negro and colored shantytowns of Johannesburg, where newspapers and magazines are a rarity, a truck piled high with magazines rumbled through the unpaved streets last week. Wherever it stopped, hundreds of people swarmed about it, buying the magazine, The African Drum. Another TIME article from 1959, entitled “Drum Beat in Africa” stated that 240 000 copies of Drum were distributed across Africa, to countries like Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The magazine was so popular in fact, that illiterate people allegedly paid educated friends to read them the magazine.

Drum became the first successful forum for articulate black people to express themselves and describe and define the world they lived in. The birth of Drum occurred during a time of contradictory forces for South Africa and the continent as a whole. The tourniquet of apartheid laws was tightening over South Africa; while at the same time, the excitement of imminent liberation from colonialism was racing through the northern and central parts of the continent.

What made the magazine so appealing was the down-to-earth, first-rate reports which were enriched with fantastic pictures of events in Africa. It was the blend of its editorial content that made for great entertainment and learning. The magazine had a mission, which was to help bring the peoples of the African continent closer together and to highlight Africa’s independence struggle.

No other medium was doing it in anything like the same stylish, energetic way. Black people just were not represented in the media. Through the South African Drum, suddenly, they were. And as the South African Drum started being read and enjoyed elsewhere on the continent, so, no doubt, the clamour for local versions of the magazine became stronger, and eventually regional editions appeared for East Africa, West Africa and for Southern Africa – each region emphasising its local flavour, but still holding on to that sense of urgent dialogue about the road the whole continent was racing down.

Drum’s popularity sprang from the men who planned and produced it. Every Drum office has been described as a team (family) of ‘mixed crops’. Drum had the reputation of ‘telling it like it is’ because its tone was convincing to the black readership. It was not a patronising tool – as far as it was possible to be free, Drum was free and it represented freedom, that precious, elusive African dream.

The visible contribution made by a succession of Drum journalists on urgent political issues has been great, but the invisible one has been no less – the demonstration month after month in many parts of the continent, that African effort and African ability can hold its own over a wide range of human achievement, and more than hold its own in certain fields.

And because no other real record was being kept, not just the hard fact, but of the fluid emotions of the continent’s ferment, the existence of the archive has extraordinary importance today. _John Matshikiza, 1999

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Images courtesy Bailey Seippel Gallery, copyright BAHA  DRUM May 1956

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magazine

a township romance In the mid-1950s, Drum had seven offices across the continent. Besides the diverse content, it was the cover designs that made the magazine unique. Considering the development of the designs over the years, you learn not only about the changes in society – in fashion and the style of a certain period – but you can also retrace the change in graphic design, layout and the application of form and colour.

The first cover, March 1951, shows elements of fine-art.

The name ‘Drum’ did not yet exist in letters: emblazoned across the top left hand corner are two stylized drums, the African continent is placed in the centre and is symbolically framed by both African and European cultures. Above is the magazine’s slogan and vision: ‘The African Drum – A magazine of Africa for Africa’. All in all, it is a very clear and simple style, which uses clearly understandable symbols and messages.

From June 1951 the cover changes to incorporate the title, ‘The African Drum’. Graphically, the logo is a single, all encompassing black-and-white photograph of a young black boy, looking at a globe full of interest and curiosity. Early issues did not list topics on the cover. The magazine itself is the message – a clear, simple design coupled with grand gestures and symbols.

The July 1956 cover shows extensive development from the design of the early 50s. Even in Europe there is no better example of the graphics of the time than these cover designs. The title of the magazine has been reduced to the essentials: the word ‘DRUM’ in white on a red background.

The background dissolves in the typical organic forms of the kidney-shaped tables playing with the pastel colours of the time – we know them from wallpaper patterns, fabric covers and the great films of the 50s. In the foreground, central and cheeky, a black model dressed in the latest fashion, looking directly at the viewer – or rather the buyer of the magazine.

The stories were highlighted.

The cover from April 1961 shows how established and important the black cover girls are, and the September 1963 cover shows how the designers liked to take the liberty of turning everything upside down.

Finally, a look at the magazine covers from the 60s and 70s in East Africa. October 1967 – the word ‘DRUM’ in big letters with white edging, in the background a black-and-white couple, in the background the Horse Guard in London. Drum is operating globally; it has its finger on the pulse of time in the metropolis of the time – London.

One interesting graphic element is the detail of the light blue from the shirt and dress, which is picked up and used for the subtitle, even if it means that it is difficult to read at first glance. All in all a fantastic cover at the cutting edge of design.

A journey through the covers of Drum is a journey through the history of graphic design. Not only seeing the change of black-and-white to colour, but also the development of the cover girls and the preparation and presentation of the key stories. The covers are timeless in that they are perfect representations of the fashion, style and zeitgeist of the time. _Text by Dr. Ralf-P. Seippel. For more information on the Bailey African Historical Archive, visit www.baileyseippel. co.za, or email Kajsa Claude at baileyseippel@gmail.com

Images courtesy Bailey Seippel Gallery, copyright BAHA  DRUM July 1956

March 1951

June 1951

March 1956

October 1967

September 1963

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magazine

November 1977

June 1957

archiving the future Bailey’s African History Archives (BAHA) holds forty years’ worth of material from all the editions of Drum Magazine and its various sister publications – Golden City Post, Trust, True Love and City Press. The archives contains a wealth of information – from politics to culture and the complexities of the Anglophone African nations. The vision of the late Jim Bailey, proprietor of Drum, was: “The initial intent of Drum was to serve as a popular educator. It was clear from the start that I was producing a vehicle, not a voice – a vehicle for sound black opinion”.

Drum’s success story in South Africa resulted in the same initiative manifesting itself in the rest of Anglophone Africa. The Drum journalists responsible for capturing the socio-cultural life in Africa during this era make one believe that they were guided by some supernatural force operating in a realm beyond the surreal.

The stories and pictures portray the day-to-day life of Africans with so much aplomb (that only pictures can express), and if preserved could serve to inspire many more generations.

Today, fifity years later, the archive still aspires to that same vision of the early Drum Magazine – to remain a popular educator and connect Africans to Africans through the body of literary and visual work held at BAHA. Parts of the archive will be developed into different projects, namely: politics, social life, sport, beauty, fashion, etc., preserved

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in digital format. The character of these projects will seek to entertain, educate and expand the horizons and faculties of our senses, enabling us to reclaim our heritage while documenting our history. It is an old adage but still true: We need to know where we are coming from in order to know where we are going. _Lyle Britton-Masekela

April 1961

May 1977

www.enjin.co.za/competition CODE:

015455

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fashion cuts loose Fashion is simply wearing your feelings on the outside Lerato P. Ngakane

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Gareth Putter

It might not seem that way, but if you think of the feelings that go into itemising your attire for the day – the thought processes, the great contemplation of whether the slouch boots and boxy jacket are variables of the same fashion component – all determining how the rest of the outfit comes together to address your personal agenda for the day.

The psychology of fashion is interesting, especially now with the emergence of fashion tribal collectives that distinguish themselves with the coded language of denim monikers, where distress techniques are all cloak and dagger, statement pumps and flourishing young things are the it; where black is the new joy, red the new yellow and going green means spending more green.

More importantly, when all of these things are reflective of fashion, what is fashion saying or doing? Fashion is indeed a deed – much as in fashion itself lies constant change; can fashion ever be more than just fashionable? The time has come for fashion to reflect on itself and take stock of its downfalls, much to its own chagrin and emerge cleansed, toned and give us ready to wear and innovative in a contemplative context which can interact on a broader scale with our immediate environment.

Fashion is taking steps towards a new utopia where it’s morphing into a multi-dimensional experience; it’s about making the clothes an extension of yourself – and making that into an experience, a sensory experience – the thought that goes into the clothing, the end product of how it makes you feel and the response you get from wearing the clothes compound what was once mandatory into a conscious and conscientious choice that goes further than vanity – it’s skin deep, it takes to the streets in contemporary performance riots, brings creativity into a

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Photograph by Chris Saunders

cauldron of smouldering ideas and ideals and explodes into the vastness of non-conventional, non-gender transmutations – indeed a delightful smorgasbord for the curious connoisseur.

Fashion is learning how to play more roles, become more animate in its presentation and an ever better business proposition – clothes, too are about economics in terms of production, clothes are creative and one needs to measure its vintage value into the future on exactly those terms.

South African fashion is on the brink of coming into its own.

The emergence of independent fashion events like AUDI Joburg Fashion Week, Virgin Cape Town Fashion Week and the flock of graduate students taking on the world with brave new interpretations of a ‘look’ are proof that we are ready to dress our people – in terms of quality, concepts and creativity we compete comfortable in the international realm.

Sdwedwear – rags with tags A ‘sdwedwe’ is colloquial Zulu for rag, but once you add ‘ar’ at the end, you get to see rag as a combo word that aptly captures the essence of this new kid on the block. Sdwedwear is a label unafraid of exploring looks ranging from blushing bridal to street couture à la mode. Says label owner Skumbuzo, “Fashion isn’t about providing clothing to one client; you need to have at least 4 different clients for your brand – you need to have a multi-faceted approach if you want to be both sustainable and relevant to diverse and highly demanding consumers.”

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He sees his approach as filling a gap in local design. “South African designers have stifled their own growth by focusing on personal clients.

Personal clients limits you in terms of your creativity and also your input in what you’d like to see as an evolving style.” Sdwedwear is au fait in terms of the technical aspects of making clothes; he’s had experience as a trend analyst and window dresser for internationally acclaimed labels such as Louis Vuitton. This was the window into a world of fashion he is continually reinventing for himself.

The Imaginarium – To tee or not to tee If billboards could walk and talk, smile and flirt, we’d have to pay people a whole lot more to challenge the experience of the brand – one may call it endorsement, but the most powerful message is carried by the ordinary Joe, going about his business without a care in the world. Refreshing tees are like a thought liberated from the confines of the mind – a thought expressed in its most immediate, accessible and interactive form.

Suddenly a conversation is sparked and a revolution inspired.

This is the electric mode of allusion to lifestyle – and solidarity to that lifestyle. The more original, the more sought after. Novelty is the currency in tee terms. Take Gareth Putter for example – fine artist of that most delicate of materials, skin. Recently he has conveyed this personal taboo trade and is tracing into onto tees. His art is so realistic and vibrant, it

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Sdwedwear

almost looks animated. “Fashion is being able to wear your heart on your sleeve, literally and my art and tees are a non-permanent solution to the ever proverbial question: to tat or not to tat!

Another tee provocateur is Mischievous Gaga, whose cutesy motifs are reminiscent of Japanese anime but with a distinctly international township model – say Harajuku coming out to play hopscotch on the streets of Soweto!

The signature series – Tanya Denbey With celebrity loyalty swooning in envy induced revelry for her clothes, Tanya Denbey is doing it like second nature – her style is a prescribed dose of playful, brassy Alice in Wonderland peripheries, giant mysterious crowns, full body peacock print leotards, power shoulders on her blazers, and a blazing creative energy that exudes and manifests in her use of shapes and interpretation of fashion. Fashion is the will to explore the drama of life making it your foray into this dreamscape-like rhapsody to further illustrate the passion and commitment to go out daily and do it. Tanya’s talent has noted as she was finalist in the Elle New Talent Competition for2008. Her clothes are adventurous, beautiful and humorous and push you the wearer into a constant state of awareness as they are made for confidence – If you don’t have it, you just wont pull off the clothes.

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We’ve built the airports. We’ve cleaned the roads. We’ve trained the police. And finally the time has come, to welcome the world to the biggest event of the year: The 2010 Loerie Awards.

FESTIVAL WEEKEND 1– 3 OCTOBER

www.theloerieawards.co.za

CREATIVE WEEK CAPE TOWN 24 SEPTEMBER – 3 OCTOBER

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www.creativeweekct.co.za

clothed

sex show Pushing the limits, adding dimensions to what fashion can be, Athi Patra Ruga captures the imagination with a dreamlike weaving together of clothes and real life. Ruga aspires to seduce the emotions with his frivolous take on international street and mythical wear. His is a fractured narrative of the relationship between clothes, art and human politics.

Formally trained as a fashion designer, Athi decided to cut a swath to where the revelation of clothes lies – the human body.

It is with some trepidation that I mind my head down a steep metal stairway into the belly of a Hillbrow gym. Then I see them – a cluster of balloons inflated suggestively by the mindless daytime TV drone that the it sits in front of. Then it gets up and reveals itself, revelling in its spiky stilettos and body suit that’s stuffed with the pure intent of giving itself to you – it titters forward, then saunters towards the red fire circle, unsure, questioning its readiness for fire – the fire of life perhaps?

It funnels towards the centre then hunkers down on the licking flames beneath and sets its sights on blowing – blowing out the fire in its crotch – cocksure index finger coaxing for an audience – braver and imploring for other frontiers to be careened upon and stroked – more specifically its thigh – throbbing for touch it puts itself on the line – to be touched means to be accepted – to be touched the way it wants only exerts the power of its own sexual capacity, and to be rejected means no affirmation – behind a curtain it goes – silhouetted, it corroborates the touch by audaciously undressing and giving a satisfying bellow of release – the end.

It took another trip to Hillbrow to immerse myself in the ritual of candle lighting that all revealed itself to me. More than that, I got a glimpse of Athi the artist, enthralled at the concept of using his personal self to shift perception – to dematerialize and demystify the myth of the body.

The story of Athi’s clothes will be part of generations to come; his contribution will see clothes into a different future. _Lerato P. Ngakane is a freelance journalist and lives in Soweto

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Images by Natine Hutton

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MOMUS

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MOMUS

a machine for

appetite momus, in greek mythology, was the god of satire, mockery, censure, writers, poets and criticism. sean o’toole meets up with this mythical creature “I think writing, to be good, has to be personal, which is why blogging is often good writing.” Nick Currie – musician, author, culture blogger and committed Japanophile – is seated at a corner table in Fraulein Frost, an ice-cream parlour in the dishevelled Berlin neighbourhood of Neukölln. Thin, unshaven, dressed in grey flannel pants, an eye-patch covering his damaged right eye, he is midway through answering a series of unrehearsed questions about his writing.

“And also,” he continues, “you can’t write by committee. The more people involved in telling you what and how you should write, the worse the writing often gets. People accuse me of being narcissistic sometimes, but I don’t want to let go of the personal perspective.”

A personal perspective is exactly why I have tracked Currie down. Part of a generation of literate, leftfield Scottish pop musicians who emerged on the radar in the early 1980s, in recent years Currie has achieved equal prominence for his idiosyncratic brand of journalism, much of it focused on art and design.

A former columnist for T Magazine, a style supplement published by the New York Times, his most engaging writing has long been freely available online, on his now defunct blog Click Opera. Started in January 2004, Click Opera offered daily insights into everything from Berlin’s fertile (and sometimes febrile) underground scene to curious Japanese micro-trends.

Wilfully obscure, autobiographical, tangential, perceptive, it embodied the best of what blogging could be.

The blog came to an end earlier this year, on Wednesday, February 10, the day before Currie’s fiftieth birthday. Why? “Not because anything went wrong or it got unpleasant,” Currie writes on his blog. “Quite the reverse, in fact. Click Opera was just too damned good: too compelling, too time-consuming, too satisfying. It took over my life. It became my job, the main topic of my conversation, the hub of my self-mediated fame.”

Photograph by David Southwood hello@davesouthwood.com

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MOMUS

On the subject of fame, this entry on Michael Jackson, posted four years before the singer’s death in June 2009, offers an insight into Currie’s freewheeling, postironic writing style: “The world of clear, unambiguous categories will pass judgment on someone who flies Peter-Pan-like over the binaries that confine and define the rest of us.

When we look at Michael Jackson, I believe we’re looking at the future of our species.

Michael is a creature from a future in which we’ve all become more feminine, more consumerist, more postmodern, more artificial, more self-constructed and self-mediating, more playful, caring and talented than we are today…Jackson is the ultimate dandy and the ultimate deviant.”

Also prone to bouts of excess and dandyism, in a 2005 interview Currie offered this by way of a self-reflexive insight into his role as a culture writer: “I’m like Tintin the boy reporter (I’m even dressed a bit like him today), I’m always going on adventures, reporting on other people’s doings.”

The Tintin reference is apt. Like Herge’s forever-young investigative journalist, Currie has found himself in many places over the years. Born in Paisley, Scotland, at age nine he moved with his parents to Greece. Three years later he moved with the family to Montreal. In 1978, back in Scotland, he enrolled in a literature degree at Aberdeen University. Although interrupted by a stint fronting a band (The Happy Family), he eventually finished the degree, achieving a first class pass.

Like many itinerant troubadours, before and after, his next move was to London.

In 1986, working under the alias Momus, he released his debut album, Circus Maximus, which hinted at the influence of European singer-songwriters like Serge Gainsbourg and Jacques Brel.

A year later he signed to Creation Records, an influential independent music label whose early roster included Primal Scream and Felt. ‘I was a Maoist intellectual’, a song appearing on his third album, Tender Pervert (1988), offers a sense of Currie’s arch, satirical lyrical style: “How did I pass my time an earth, what on earth got into me?/ I was a Maoist intellectual in the music industry/ I left the normal world behind and started living in/ A hinterland between dissolution and self discipline/ I burned the midnight oil to build my way of seeing/ A miner at the coal face of meaning.”

I ask Currie about the process of writing his

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lyrics, which are peppered with references from Greek mythology, German theatre, literature and the everyday. “I was a big David Bowie fan in the 1970s,” he says. “I liked the way he made his songs bridges to other worlds. He would mention Burroughs or Genet; he would allow you climb out of the rock world into theatre, literature, whatever. I thought it was a way to be original in pop music, taking ideas that weren’t that original in other areas, like the cut-up technique, and be the first to bring them into this junior art form, as it was then. Rock music is now a senior art form.”

In 1993 Currie decamped for Paris, returning briefly in the late 1990s before moving on to New York. His current home is Berlin, which he moved to in 2003. Why Berlin? “You don’t have to think about working for MTV to make the rent, as people do in New York.”

Berlin has long been a strange attractor for exiles of all sorts. The English writer Christopher Isherwood lived here during the Weimar years, so too Vladimir Nabakov.

The list of musicians is even longer, and includes David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Nick Cave. “That was an important glamorising factor,” admits Currie. The word ‘glamour’, he adds later, like the words ‘projection’, ‘appetite’ and ‘exoticism’, form a key part of his personal lexicon. What about exile? “I always liked people like DH Lawrence, who had problems with Britain, left Britain, then had an internalised Britain which they then wrestled with in exotic places like Mexico or Australia. The paradox of being Scottish is that the most Scottish thing you can do is leave Scotland.”

The concept of exile is unavoidably linked to the idea of foreignness, and Currie’s writing is informed and inflected by his outsider status: “I do have a sense of enjoying being foreign,” he says, his lone green eye darting about (he lost the use of his right eye in 1997 due to a contact lens infection).

“It is a privilege to remain a foreigner. I am very happy to live in a Turkish neighbourhood in Berlin. Last night there was the sound of a call to prayer against the sound of thunder. I thought it was so fantastic. It is an old-fashioned exoticism that I really enjoy. It may be old-fashioned and romantic, and, in some way, a projection. I am very aware of that when I write about Japan.”

Was living in Japan difficult? Not really, he responds, explaining that during the 1990s he visited the country many times on tour.

MOMUS

[Page opposite and above] Momus, The Book of Scotlands, Sternberg Press, 2009

Still, I suggest, there is a difference between being a visitor and a resident alien. “Of course,” he concedes, “it was a huge shot of foreignness. That was the attraction of Japan; that it was different from anywhere I had been. And yet, at the same time, it made sense: their attitude to sex, to design. They seem to care about the things I care about in a way that the British didn’t. I felt like it was home from home, or at least that was my projection…It was a bigger minority margin of people who shared my values.”

So when did design enter the equation? “I tend to have enthusiasms which last a couple of years,” he begins. “Design journalism started for me in 2004, perhaps, when I was blogging for Design Observer, and started writing for ID and Metropolis.

The design world was a little enamoured with me as a design writer. People like Steve Heller [art director of the New York Times] commissioned me.” Currie’s enthusiasm, however, soon started to wane. “You start getting cynical and hard-bitten. Someone like Steve Heller is very cynical and hard-bitten, in the best possible way. I like to stay tender minded and slightly ditzy and dizzy about things, and stay a little on the outside of them. So for me, I like to write about design as someone who is not necessarily inside the design world. The same with art.”

Currie holds interesting thoughts on art and design, particularly what distinguishes them.

“Design is interesting because it’s utopian,” he stated in a magazine interview last year. “Art is often a jaundiced commentary on contemporary life. Design is always about the future; it’s always about something great and new that’s come out that will make the future brighter. It has this weird 18th-century positivism about it.”

A busy career as a musician and cultural commentator aside, Currie last year published his debut novel. Titled The Book of Jokes, this notionally autobiographical piece of experimental fiction tells the story of a family through a series of jokes. The Los Angeles Times described it as ‘laugh-out loud’ funny. Coming out at nearly the same time, The Book of Scotlands outlines, in a numbered sequence, 156 hypothetical Scotlands. For example, proposition 55 states that Scotland has ten major cities: “Clydopolis, Forthopolis...”

The book, much like Currie’s absurd 2004 short story about the musician Holger Hiller, whom Currie imagines as a lever-puller at a funicular ride inside a mountain in Austria, is

pure farce. “The motto of the book is that every lie creates a parallel world, the world in which it is true,” Currie explains in his restrained but engaged manner. “That is the method: the wrongness which is revealing. It is an old technique from art: Picasso said art is a lie which tells the truth, so you tell a bunch of lies which create truths somewhere else.”

To what extent is he drawing on the rich tradition of nonsense literature? I mention the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, famous for his 1835 short fiction about a bureaucrat whose nose decides to take a leave of absence of its owner (William Kentridge recently directed composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s 1929 operatic adaption of the Gogol story for the Metropolitan Opera in New York). Yes, says Currie, referring almost immediately to an even earlier precedent, the Scot Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus (1831). “There is a chapter about an academic who is a huge nose in elegant tailoring,” he states. “I like that tradition.”

Is it liberating to write absolute nonsense? “I think it is impossible to escape reason. For me, I am quite a puritanical person, essentially quite Scottish in that sense: there always has to be an ethical purpose behind it.

So no matter how feverish or delirious it seems to be, behind it you discover there is really a serious ethical message there, or there is a moral tone buried in that fantasy.”

Which prompts a curious question: How does Currie deal with his leftfield celebrity status?

“Perhaps I’m more a cult figure, or mythical,” he concedes. “People get to project a lot more on that silent figure, who is not too loquacious, doesn’t spoil other people’s fantasies. The pop star is just someone onto whom you project your fantasies. I don’t really permit people to do that because I am forcing stuff under their noses. In some ways it’s modest, in other ways it’s arrogant to do that, to try to sculpt how people perceive you.

I am certainly not trying to be legendary in any way.” I am much more interested in the journalistic thing of talking about other people, being a curator, being someone who tries to draw attention to things that are a little bit obscure, difficult.”

He pauses. “No, not difficult, I’m not reading difficult books and saying, read this. It’s actually quite superficial things.”

_Sean O’Toole is a writer and journalist. He lives (you guessed it) in Cape Town

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review analysis, reviews, opinion, perspective, trends, commeNT

• • • • • •

FLAMING WHITEY 100% RECYCLED SMART LAYERS FINE PRINTS

TEACHING METHOD SUPER LUXE

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review/ADVERTISING

flaming whitey The use and abuse of white guys in local advertising is fascinating

By Brandon Edmonds

Think of big brand ad campaigns as fables compressing and packaging wider social currents into expensively expressive forms. They can tell us a lot about the evolving intricacies of race relations. A great ad campaign distills a mood or electrifies a feeling shared across wide segments of social life. They can be very powerful.

We know how quickly catchphrases become currency. “YeboGogo whassup ismaklik serious ovvias itsnotinsideitson…top”. That last one was from a classic 80s coffee creamer ad. It had a sleepy white guy who couldn’t remember where the product was. His wife yelled the catchphrase at him and he repeated it with a winning distemper that made married couples nod in bittersweet recognition. It was more about the diminishing erotic returns of cohabitation and age old vaudeville comedy tropes about henpecking wives – than race. But the white guy was significantly dopey, befuddled and inept. He is a strand in the originating gene of a long line of inept, dopey and befuddled white guys in local advertising.

I don’t get paid enough to exhaustively research the rich marketing history of disparaged white masculinity – but it’s there. A legacy that suggests a social signifier entrenched and powerful enough to be messed with – even without diminishing its real-world advantage. White guys still rule the boardroom and consume luxury goods and services far more than anyone else locally – if not globally.

The darkly brilliant cell phone ad with the white guy dancing alone to that one off kwaito cross-over monster ‘Nkalakatha’ is a baroque refinement of marketed racial disparagement. It approximates the poignant atomized loneliness of glum worker bees stuck in empty rituals – perfected in BBC sitcom The Office – while, yes, punching holes in the myth and relevance of white guys. He dances badly in the ad. He’s alone. Everyone else has gone home but he’s stuck in a kind of party death drive – dancing mindlessly to a song whose township brio and lyrics surpass his

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understanding.

It’s a portrait of whiteness as chilling and singular in its abasement as Edvard Munch’s great expressionist painting, ‘The Scream’ (1893). White guys, the cell ad suggests, are monstrous in our pleasure seeking indifference to the reality around us. We just don’t see how we look to Others. We step over bodies in the street and guard our homes. But the less we engage with the country around us – the more we dance alone.

Strong stuff.

This masterful apotheosis of white baiting was prepared by the famous ‘Yebo Gogo’ campaign. At their best these ads had the malicious majesty of Roadrunner cartoons. The coyote comes close but never quite bests the savvy bird. Beep Beep. Yet the eternal antagonists develop an intimate dance of competitive ill-will – set on an everlasting loop. Winner and loser need each other to be who they are – that’s their strength, and their curse.

This historic ad campaign had a dopey white guy helped out (or foiled and effortlessly bested) by a wise gray-haired African patriarch with the voice of God. Plus a smile you could mesmerize nations with. The black guy saved the day and made the call. The campaign ran parallel with the default State ideology of non-racial democracy – it set white guys at a different angle to blackness. No longer giving orders – but opening their minds to black know-how and indigenous skill – to the vast productive capacity of black entrepreneurial foresight. It was all about lessening the symbolic power of whiteness for an emerging market.

The white guy wore a leopard print g-string for fuck’s sake! He was white trash. Lower middle class. Not so far from the economic level of the black mass market. He dressed badly and fell over things. He had a kind of emasculated Minnie Mouse voice. Where the African patriarch was regal and patient, tolerant and aware – an analogue Tambo or Sisulu – the white guy was wheedling and flustered, incompetent and way out of his

Illustration byJason Bronkhorst

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review/ADVERTISING

flaming whitey The ad was held together by the dance moves, a winning pop song, and, yup, the inept, badly dressed white guy front and centre. There he is in denim hot pants and suspenders – earnestly mimicking the moves of one of the most visible and happening black women on the planet. He’s channeling Beyonce’s amped up blackness. Feeding off her star power.

depth. The catchphrase was affirmative. Yes it said. YeboGogo. Yes, yes, yes. We can help each other, black street savvy and moneyed white capital, we can BEE together, as long as you’re willing to lose cache, to re-tool your image status, and drop down the totem pole of iconicity.

The same communications behemoth updated the dopey white guy sales premise with the ‘All the Single Ladies’ campaign. With interesting and highly suggestive revisions.

The ad was meant to be copied. It was begging to be a meme. It wanted desperately to go viral like the current Old Spice campaign which effectively erases the blackness of the hunky lead in exchange for a smooth Obama-like open-ended dudeness. Ensuring maximum relatability. Technology was the logic, pitch and method of the ‘Single Ladies’ campaign. You could make your own version of the dance, send it in and the company might have used it for the next ad. It was interactive. Participatory and open-ended.

The company wanted to suggest that the internet is there for all. It’s not a nation being addressed but a set of consumers. The imagery in the ad slid from race to race, gender to gender, location to location, class to class – without a hint of history – without an ounce of the friction of difference that makes us who we are.

Technology has liberated the image from reality. The ad was held together by the dance moves, a winning pop song, and, yup, the inept, badly dressed white guy front and centre. There he is in denim hot pants and suspenders – earnestly mimicking the moves of one of the most visible and happening black women on the planet. He’s channeling Beyonce’s amped up blackness. Feeding off her star power.

Playing at being a black woman. It is the ultimate fulfillment of the marketed abjection of white guys. The absolute inversion of a white guy is logically a black woman. He’s figuratively turning himself into his own opposite.

And he’s rewarded for it. Instead of dancing alone, like the pathetic Mandoza guy, a white guy grimly stuck in his race and gender, mired in those categories, and suffering because of it, this new version, honky 2.0, is part of the free-flowing upbeat digital world. He seamlessly slips locales and dances with everyone. He happily participates and enjoys himself. He gets laughs and has friends – joined by people wherever he goes like a postmodern pied piper – ingenuously seducing Others, the nation itself, to his routine. He’s the last white guy standing – a white guy emptied of genuine content to be on everybody’s level. The strange fruit of the disparagement of whiteness in post-Apartheid promotional imagery. The one white guy unafraid to ‘play’ himself.

Whereas the gloriously emphatic Beyonce song is a convincing shout out to the unattached to stand up for themselves and find a union they can believe in (‘if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it’) – the ad

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suggests real union is in being connected, online, hooked up. The communications company that did so much to shape the look and feel of this country is still right on the money. What matters now to big business is less national reconciliation than the youth-driven capitalization of new frontiers: social networking, e-trade, digital commerce. Markets blissfully free from the offline claims of race and history that riddle our country. And the gateway into this enchanted kingdom is still the befuddled, dopey white guy learning life and business lessons from the font of blackness.

But how come nobody complains? Don’t white guys have a right to positive social imagery? Apparently not. Apparently it’s okay to belittle white guys. They have all the power. All the fruits of historical exploitation. Their distinct social advantages (better access to capital, security and education) make them targets. Flip it and it’s then clear why its decidedly not okay to demean the ‘disadvantaged’ – the poor, the homeless, the racially or socially marginalized and sick.

But it gets complicated. Why are Stephen Hawking jokes okay? Does the supposed advantage of his whiteness override his disability? Or is it just envy over his massive brain? Is it okay that white bread corporate shill Ashley Taylor ‘blacks up’ and plays a tasteless African woman in those cloying insurance infomercials?

Is blackface minstrelsy ever justified – given its noxious US racial history? Al Jolson did it in the first talking picture ‘The Jazz Singer’ (1927). Leon Schuster did it in the worst talking picture Mama Jack (one of the highest grossing local films ever). Eddie Murphy ‘whites up’ often enough. Both comedians’ attempts at racial crossing in the name of comedy remain largely unfunny. What matters is how funny or considered and sensitive the racial crossing is. Gene Wilder blacked up was funny enough in Silver Streak – his ‘honky’ shyness liberated by jive-ass 70s blackness – while it definitely wasn’t cool when inane buffet-avoider Kate Moss blacked up for the cover of a UK newspaper doing a feature on AIDS in Africa, her nose photoshopped wider!

Companies in this country largely advertise as if race were solved.

White guys and black guys are interchangeable by now. Anyone can be a dad promoting garden furniture or bathroom tiles. Beer ads and restaurant chains conjure post-racial utopias of endless consumption – where all that matters is enjoyment. That world exists here, now – we live it daily – but the pressure of what’s shut out of the narrative – the rumbling discontent of the jobless masses increasingly unable to get by – gives this imagery a kind of apocalyptic charm. Like a quintet playing on the deck of the Titanic. _Brandon Edmonds is a freelance editor and writer based in Cape Town. brandonviera@gmail.com

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review/agency

100% recycled You can touch me on my studio

In late 2008, Garth Walker of iJusi fame decided to open a new, independent venture, Mister Walker, specialising in design. A year after its conception he found an appropriate office space – 120m² in a refurbished industrial building in Durban’s Stamford Hill.

The initial idea was to make the office using completely recycled objects and furnishings as well as keeping it eco-friendly where possible.

Walker describes the brief as follows: “From nothing, create a design studio with stuff found in our building’s basement. What wasn’t in the basement came from the Sunday Greyville Car Boot Market. Between the two we found everything we need – totally recycled, used and reusable studio space, furniture, fittings, equipment and office wares. Low impact, nothing permanent, movable and eco-friendly where possible.”

Walker requested that the space be left ‘raw,’ except for building code requirements, and all services left exposed. All the fixtures were recycled as part of the building’s refurbishment – a kind gift from the landlord.

The floors are sealed concrete; the ceiling and dry walls painted and clad with galvanised sheeting for security.

Trying to stick to a small budget, the biggest expense was the fit out, which was done at reduced rates by a local handyman who wanted the ‘creative challenge.’

As mentioned, all materials were sourced from flea markets, refuse dumps, street traders and informal recyclers. Starting with a bare space, they began to decorate the design studio with objects found in the

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building’s basement. All the other items were purchased gradually over a period of a year, many found in the depths of the Greyville Car Boot Market.

The studio is divided lengthways into two spaces: one is a ‘public’ area for meetings, the second is a ‘studio,’ which is screened off for privacy. The dividing screen is made up of fifteen doors, retaining the original handles, hinges, graffiti, dents and bruises. Two parking garage doors were then used to screen off the entrance hall.

All lighting is supplied by cast-off electric grass trimmers, which hang from the ceiling, with light bulbs in place of the blades. One of the main visual features is the giant bookcase and shelving unit made from recycled plastic milk crates, cable-tied together and strengthened by an internal plywood skeleton.

The office signage, showcasing the faces of employees, was painted by Hammer, a hair-salon sign painter from the Congo.

All furniture, computers, fax, copiers, teacups and kettle are recycled and bought used. Walker is yet to buy anything new, though they may be forced to buy a new printer in the near future for practical purposes. For the meantime, the studio is a work-in-progress with about 90 per cent of the interior completed.

_Jessica Rogers works at Mister Walker in Durbs

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review/agency

smart layers Brilliant ideas come from conversation.

Herman Manson certainly thinks so

The guys behind new Cape Town agency, 60 Layers of Cake, md Ben Wren and Operations Director Michael van den Heerik, both left senior positions at The Jupiter Drawing Room to launch an agency they hope will help turn traditional agency structures on their heads.

Wren and van der Heerik are financing the agency themselves, which officially launched in March 2010, and which forms part of the 60 Layers of Cake network headquartered in Amsterdam. The international office will own a minority shareholding in the new agency.

British-born Wren has a long history in advertising, having started his career at Grey Direct in London in 1993. He moved on to several agencies, including Weiden+Kennedy, before he started his own London-based agency in 2002. He left once his wife fell ill and, after she recuperated, they spent time travelling in South Africa before deciding to settle here. While in Europe, Wren handled the Nike, Microsoft and Häagen-Dazs accounts, and locally handled Old Mutual for Ogilvy before he moved to The Jupiter Drawing Room.

Dutch-born Van den Heerik fell in love with a South African while in Bangkok, and they decided to settle in the country afterwards. Previously, he worked for a number of European agencies before a stint in New York and later Bangkok. He then joined The Jupiter Drawing Room, where he served as group production director from the end of 2005. While still at The Jupiter Drawing Room, Van der Heerik had approached the executive creative director of 60 Layers in Amsterdam, Rodger Beekman, about the possibility of Beekman and his partners helping transform Jupiter structurally. Negotiations were abandoned at a late stage, which seems to have been the trigger for the departure of Wren and Van der Heerik. Beekman then asked them to set up shop in Cape Town, with the Amsterdam office providing creative backup.

Layered Amsterdam had identified the continent as a global growth point and Cape Town is its first African partnership. The duo took office space on the loft of Cornerstone House in Loop Street in Cape Town’s CBD. At an angle you get a peek of Table Mountain but then it’s not really about the view (how many CT agency execs just fell out of their chairs?). It’s open space, which means that, no, there is no glass cubicle for the MD on the side with the floor-to-roof windows looking out over the city, and, yes, seating arrangements seem quite demographic. No account handlers clustered in the right corner or the digital guys squeezed in next to the loo. This is not only part of the philosophy and collaborative culture of the agency, but also because it’s not structured in any traditional agency way.

Wren argues that structurally South African agencies are about 5-10 years behind their counterparts in Europe or the US. Agencies still have sections dedicated to above-the-line (ATL), below-the-line (BTL), digital etc. All these constitute cost centres to the client and compete internally for a piece of the pie, sometimes to the detriment of the core strategic idea. It spreads money across cost centres (which serves the agency well

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but maybe not the client) and unit divisions are sometimes, well, divisive.

ATL often come up with the strategic concept and then hand it down to other divisions to adopt.

Fluid Employees tend to have specialist skills instead of being multi-skilled.

It’s a model the 60 Layers team definitely want to leave behind. In any case, the agency business model has not evolved in 50 years, argues Wren, who adds that traditional models are broken and that only client pressure will ultimately change the way agencies operate. They are, says Wren, in a word, inefficient, and it is partly what drove him and Van der Heerik to go on their own. One of Wrens’ pet peeves seems to be that account handlers continue to be amongst the highest paid employees at ad agencies. He views this as an indictment against a supposedly creative industry.

Wren thinks agencies need to be media neutral, rather than ATL, BTL, experiential or digital. It needs multi-skilled staffers, smaller and more effective teams to come up with concepts not bound down by media.

Coming up with strategic solutions takes collaboration between agency staff, client and people outside the agency environment such as writers, app designers or artists – and this is also the form strategy meetings take at 60 Layers. Clients can sit in and contribute to strategy meetings from the get go, and join in deliberations as often as they wish, making them party to the process of creative development.

Instead, an agency needs to be optimised for solutions and the 60 Layers team believe its collaborative communication model achieves this.

Integrated work is no longer cost-efficient to client, says Wren, and great ideas should not rely on big budgets or mass media. His staff works in flexible units in their open plan office, which helps facilitate fluidity amongst client teams.

60 Layers recently added its first South African creative director to the Cape Town office with the appointment of Theo Erasmus, formerly of Membrane. Wren says the duo spent a lot of time interviewing for the position and eventually found common ground with Erasmus. “Theo is a rare talent; he is a strategist, creative director, journalist, editor and collaborator all rolled into one person,” explains Wren. A Jozi office is in the works and will be launched in partnership with a new client (Wren didn’t reveal details of who this was) who will share the space.

Will 60 Layers fire up the imagination of South African marketers?

For the brave and the bold, those tired of business as usual, the answer would be yes. Strategically, 60 Layers is one of the most exciting new ventures in advertising this country has seen in years. With its model, communication has truly gone two-way – the client can only win.

_Herman Manson is Enjin’s Contributing Editor in Cape Town and blogs at www.marklives.com. This article first appeared on Biz-Community.com

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review/print

on the digital edge Silvertone has helped many a fine artist and art photographer cross the digital print divide



Norman Catherine

Silvertone in Johannesburg was established specifically for the artist and art photographer who demands the highest standards of image reproduction – be it for books, art catalogues, digital fine art prints or hand prints.

In preparing digital prints, the artist and printer have numerous creative options and tools available to them – where the image is enhanced without detracting from its true nature or the artist’s intention.

Drawing on decades of experience, coupled with the latest digital technology, Silvertone ensures complete control over print detail, including colour, contrast, saturation and sharpness. Colours are rendered in delicate yet precise tones, while contrast enables them to interpret the image – thus allowing it to communicate a particular mood or feeling.

In charge of the digital darkroom at Silvertone, partner Andreas Kahlau trained as a scanner operator, retoucher and Photoshop expert in Germany. He has been on a number of workshops with Jon Cone (of Cone Editions), one of the pioneers of digital fine-art printing in the US, as well as a number of advanced workshops with Photoshop legend Dan Margulis. Kahlau has also gained an Apple Pro Certificate in Colour Management.

Kahlau has mastered the skill of producing black-and-white archival digital prints with carbon pigment quad inks. The quad inks consist of one black and three greys. Sepia and selenium tones are available – when mixed with tailor-made profiles, a smooth split-tone can be achieved.

Silvertone uses only Epson’s archival Ultrachrome inks for colour printing – working from transparency, negative or digital file, prints of the highest quality are printed onto a variety of beautiful smooth or textured, acidfree cotton papers and canvas.

Silvertone had the privilege of printing the limited edition sets for Obama’s People by London-based Nadav Kander, a technically challenging undertaking comprising two sets of fifty-four digitally

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printed images. The sets were printed on an Epson 11880 using Epson Ultrachrome pigmented inks on Innova FibrePrint acid-free paper. The prints were then couriered to London, where they were signed, embossed and presented to the clients in beautiful hand-made boxes.

Silvertone is very active in the exhibition space – having printed sets for countless exhibitions – both locally and overseas. Recent projects include an exhibition by Beverly and Dereck Joubert at the National Geographic Museum in Washington D.C., as well as exhibitions by Michael Meyersfeld (they are currently hard at work on the new Meyersfeld exhibition opening in October at the Obert Contemporary Gallery in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg). Says Michael, “Over many years Silvertone has printed some beautiful pieces for me, but they surpassed their own high standards with the printing of my exhibition for 12 Naked Men. These prints have a tonal range, a delicacy and brilliance that I have rarely seen.”

reputable But perhaps it is their willingness to go the extra mile that has ensured Silvertone’s continued success – as summed up by artist Norman Catherine. “Silvertone has been printing my work for the past five years – and the quality is of an extremely high standard. They are efficient, accurate with colour reproduction and use quality paper and printing products. It is extremely important to me as an artist that I am able to trust Silvertone to do my limited-edition prints. Silvertone has an excellent reputation among my peers as being the most reputable fine-art printing facility in Johannesburg.”

Silvertone (011) 482-7413; www.fine-art-printing.co.za

review

  

Beverly and Dereck Joubert, National Geographic, Washington, USA Michael Meyersfeld, The Busy Bride Nadav Kander, Barack Obama

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review/learn

teaching method Educators must engage in the design of new models and methods

By Miranthe Staden-Garbett

There can be no doubt that a paradigm shift of dramatic proportions is in progress in the fields of design and education on a global and local level.

Neither design nor education are what they used to be and there’s no use lamenting their fate.

Urgently required now are creative and practical solutions that respond to contemporary contexts and imperatives. In this regard, the imperative for service-learning in higher education, particularly within a South African context over the past decade, is surprisingly compatible with recent trends in the world of design. It’s clear from the literature, academic and popular, that the future demands a new breed of designer whose life and consciousness are fully integrated into the design practice.

The evolution of this creature might well be propelled by new trends in education which emphasise the social and personal aspects of design, which see design as a platform from which to communicate a valuable message, develop a worldview and process existing perceptions in the light of new experiences. Thus, emerging design education models such as those put forward by Davies and Reid emphasise that learning design is not a case of only acquiring skills and knowledge but potentially a personally fulfilling activity that offers a transformational experience.

This deep approach to learning, otherwise called intrinsic learning, replaces the traditional extrinsic mode which emphasises teacherfocused, skill-based studio learning. It seems likely that a designer educated according to these higher cognitive levels of understanding might be better equipped to deal with the question of what it means to be a designer in today’s corporate driven, over-branded global consumer culture.

Design icons such as Tibor Kalman, Bruce Mau, Stefan Sagmeister, Katherine McCoy, Milton Glaser and Steven Heller have long espoused a more ethical function for design, highlighting issues of social responsibility and value in an ever increasingly economically driven industry. In 1999, Émigré published the First Things First Manifesto 2000, in which thirty-three world renowned designers re-iterate the political and cultural agenda of the original manifesto of 1964.

This clearly shows the re-emergence of social consciousness entailed in the current paradigm shift. In their revised version they call for ‘a mindshift away from product marketing and toward the exploration and production of a new kind of meaning’.

What they perceive as the harmful culture of commercial advertising and rampant consumerism is held up to critical scrutiny, along with designers’ traditional role as accomplices in ‘manufacturing demand for things that are inessential at best.’ Their basic premise is that there are more worthy pursuits in need of design expertise such as unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises, charitable causes and other information design projects.

In a similar vein, policies and papers in the context of South African education, such as the Green Paper, aim to create a new breed of learner whose sense of citizenship and social responsibility is challenged and

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stimulated by community engagement. According to the Green Paper on Higher Education Transformation 1996, previous educational models failed to respond to the needs of society. In this regard, service-learning is an important aspect of the new paradigm in education in which experience, personal knowledge, process, participation and learner empowerment are seen as core elements of the learning process. As such new curriculums and educational models seek to incorporate these elements in programmes that are responsive to the social, political, economic and cultural needs of the country and all its people.

Seen in light of the above, it is both an exciting and anxious time to be teaching design. Few of the old rules apply and many educators feel disoriented and disempowered by the shift to learner-centred models and methods.

Tried and tested methods are no longer sufficient because on both global and local scales the role of designers and educators must evolve to meet new needs and respond to new contexts. Design educators therefore are required to actively engage in the design of new models and methods better suited to the global stage and local imperatives.

With this in mind, in 2009 the Graphic Design Department at Midrand Graduate Institute incorporated a service-learning assignment into the 2nd year syllabus to supplement existing studio-based assignments. This brief required students to burst their bubble so to speak and go forth into the wide world in search of a cause and community to champion.

The brief included stipulations designed to facilitate a team-oriented, interactive, and community-based approach. The objective was to ‘make a difference’ by providing a graphic design service to a NGO of their choice.

Lecturers took a back seat with the student teams driving the entire process. They were encouraged to think of design as ‘a powerful force for social good’.

Personal interest and passion are not the usual prerequisites for a design project where typically the designer’s preferences are subsumed by the client’s demands, yet it is perfectly in keeping with the new trends toward intrinsic learning. By contributing to the charitable activities students were empowered by a sense of purpose and involvement in the ‘production of a new kind of meaning’. Moreover, the opportunity for real human interaction, between our privileged young students and those far less fortunate, offered those transformational experiences associated with deeper learning.

This project serves as a good example of how curriculum building might incorporate the necessary shifts from commercial/corporate advertising to community-based design, studio to real life, individual to team, and teacher to student-focused practice, thus enabling students’ active participation in the development of their own design practice.

_Miranthe Staden-Garbett is a lecturer in Graphic Design and Fashion at the Midrand Graduate Institute. miranthev@mgi.ac.za

Transform S the colour of

pring

Graphica is the leading supplier to the local covering materials market. With Swiss-based Winter & Company as a major shareholder, the company has put high priority into developing and promoting innovative products, bringing a unique touch to modern creative projects in the packaging, book publishing & stationery fields. The company continuously releases the latest in fashionable covering material aimed at creative agencies – offering unique concepts in colours, materials and pigments – inspirational tool with the emphasis on colour clusters creating various moods supported by an array of different tactile functions.

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Kashgar & Siltex

We would be delighted to personally present to you the fascinating world of our creative covering materials

Johannesburg (011) 493 6833 Cape Town (021) 510 8023 Durban (031) 700 4881 www.graphica.co.za ENJIN 50 71

review/cover

super luxe For luxury phones, only the best covering materials will do

Like Toyota’s Lexus, the Finnish giant Nokia has a subsidiary that markets and sells luxury phones.

Established in 2002, Vertu created the luxury mobile phone market with the launch of its distinctive Signature collection, which combined exceptional materials with the best in craftsmanship. Within the three distinctive Vertu collections, Signature, Ascent and Constellation, each phone is expertly assembled by hand at a state-of-the-art facility in Hampshire, England.

Until recently, the vast majority of mobile phones have been priced between R1 000 and R4 000, with only Vertu manufacturing uber-premium phones – with prices starting at around R40 000, Vertu phones are only for the ultra rich. Should you be one of those, the phones can be bought at over 600 leading department stores and jewellers – including over 60 Vertu boutiques – around the world.

Lately, Vertu’s monopoly of the luxury phone market is coming to an end, with the launch of several new luxury mobile phone brands, including Gresso, Mobiado and GoldVish. Other mobile phone manufacturers have partnered with luxury brands to produce a range of premium mobile phones, such as LG/Prada, D&G/Motorola and Tag Heuer/ ModeLabs. It is estimated that 200 000 luxury mobile phones worth R50 000 and more are sold each year, and that this market will grow exponentially (up to five times) within the next ten years. The market could therefore be worth between $2bn and $3bn worldwide in the same time period. As may be expected, there are three areas where the phones are in high demand – the Middle East, Russia and China, (especially Hong Kong). These places really like their bling.

For premium cell phone products, only the finest in packaging materials are used. As a premium supplier of high end cover material for the luxury goods market, the Swiss firm Winter & Company, a shareholder in the locally based Graphica, is a preferred supplier to Vertu as well as other leading luxury mobile phone makers.

Says Graphica MD Simon Grose, “the market is looking for unusual covering materials to support their product ranges – for an expensive, exclusive phone you have to use the material that suits the product.

“Customers are constantly looking to develop new products in limited editions with materials such as Carbon X, Corvon Senzo, Skivertex and Hi Touch. Already Vertu is using our covering material in some volume.” www.graphica.co.za

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IMAGE BY DISTURBANCE STUDIO

*it’s out there

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specify paper and print for annual reports create corporate identities and other literature buy stock images and commission photographers and illustrators make commercials for print and tv design websites and other multimedia and interactive products

are savvy consumers of technology (especially macs) and the software and hardware that run on them use state-of-the-art photography equipment buy beautifully-designed lifestyle office and home products visit www.enjin.co.za for information on advertising in enjin magazine or call +27 (0)84 445-5067

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Silvertone International

The Open Window

Silvertone International was established specifically for the discerning artist and photographer – those demanding the highest standards of image reproduction for books, art catalogues, digital fine art prints (in colour or black & white), B&W film processing and hand prints.  Fine art printing  Hand printing  Scanning

The Open Window offers complete education in the various fields of Visual Communication.  Diploma in Visual Communication Design  BA Degree in Visual Communication Design  Honours Degree in Visual Communication t:+ 27 12 470-8680/1 info@openwindow.co.za www.openwindow.co.za

t: +27 11 482-7413/4 dennis@silvertone.co.za www.fine-art-printing.co.za

Vega School of Brand Communications Graphica Supplies Graphica Supplies offers innovative cover materials of the highest quality and value, and is the leading supplier for the book, stationery, specialty packaging and jewellery industries.  Publishing  Stationery  Packaging t: +27 11 493-6833 sales@graphica.co.za www.graphica.co.za

Vega offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in creative brand communications and in brand management and leadership. The degree programmes aim to produce a new breed of thinkers that provide creative and innovative approaches to building brands. In addition, specialist full-time photography qualifications are available for students wanting to pursue careers in the field of photography. The education and training at Vega is outcomes based and highly interactive, making for a great learning environment and real experience. All programmes are taught within a brand context. t: +27 11 521-4600 (Jhb)/+27 12 342-4770 (Pta) t: +27 31 266-2595 (Dbn)/+27 21 425-7491 (Ct) www.facebook.com/vegaschool

Vega Orbit Great! Stock

Vega Orbit is the Continuing Professional Development division

Great! Stock is aleading South African image library offering many of the world’s finest international collections, in addition to its comprehensive local image collections.  Rights-Managed  Royalty-Free  Editorial & Research

of Vega. Specialists in Strategy, Branding, Marketing, Creative

t: +27 11 880-7826 enquiries@greatstock.co.za www.greatstock.co.za

t: +27 11 521-4600 (Jhb)/+27 12 342-4770 (Pta)

Communications and Innovation, Vega Orbit offers innovative parttime qualifications and short learning programmes. Orbit provides you with new levels of awareness, creativity and skill, preparing you for a future when great ideas will be the only global currency.

t: +27 31 266-2595 (Dbn)/+27 21 425-7491 (Ct) www.facebook.com/vegaschool

Learn2 Learn2 Digital Media Academy can help you to transform your artistry into a rewarding and profitable career in animation, visualisation or visual effects when you earn your Autodesk certification.  Autodesk Authorised Training Centre  Full-time courses  Part-time courses t: +27 21 421-5501 info@learn2.co.za www.learn2.co.za

The Training School The Training School offers creative training solutions to enable you to master the skills needed to get the most out of your Adobe software. Their mission is to empower you.  Adobe Authorised Training Centre  Adobe Photoshop  Adobe Illustrator  Adobe InDesign t: +27 11 442-5136 pam@thetrainingschool.co.za www.thetrainingschool.co.za

Friends of Design Friends of Design offers full time certificate, part time evening and customised digital courses in Print, Web and Motion Graphic design. Recognised as a trendsetter in the industry, students immerse themselves in a unique blend of art and digital, where technology and creativity come together under one roof and ultimately prepare themselves for a fulfilling career in digital graphics through practical, live projects and exposure to international trainers.  Adobe Authorised Training Centre  Apple Authorised Training Centre  MAPPP-SETA accredited  Provisionally recognised by the Deptartment of Education as a centre of Higher Education (until 2013). t: +27 21 461-0971 info@friendsofdesign.net friendsofdesign.net

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Concept Interactive 2010 is a year of change and growth for Concept Interactive. Upon the emergence from our teenage years into adulthood, we felt it fitting to celebrate our coming of age with a fresh approach: a new location, a new look and new courses, all informed by a renewed energy and passion for what we do. We left our cosy Rosebank home for a modern, light and spacious building in the Cape Town CBD.  Adobe Authorised Training Centre  Quark Authorised Training Centre  Corel Training Partner t: +27 21 685-0750 info@conceptinteractive.net conceptinteractive.net

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We @ Agent Orange have one simple philosophy:

Practice safe design, use a concept!

We specialise in the following areas of design:

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beauty, chaos I have paintbrushes in my studio. Cheap ones. Not the kind you can change the size of

By Dean Jensen

The same goes for pencils. Packed in there is an ability to use these tools of my trade. I sat through the ‘gouache’ lectures and know where the compressor, hoses and cups go on a ‘badger’. I have scars from slipping Stanley knives and am prone to taking a marker to a board, on-the-fly, to communicate a concept to a client during a presentation. I also hear voices. In some circles this makes me a freak. At least the traditional medium part does.

Almost on a weekly basis I come across the ‘new wave’ of CS kids, who can make things walk, jump and talk. They can ‘pop’ at will and write the accompanying soundtrack at the same time. They sit through a couple of hours of a training course on how to make which desktop tool do what, and now declare themselves creatively competent. In the age of the internaf, it’s true that like the darker half of our society, gun-wielding bank robbers are increasingly being put out of business by teenagers on used iBooks.

The phenomenon is massive among newer practitioners of my craft. Where has the ability to dream gone? I remember being barred from working on the only ‘Apple Macintosh’ (a 50MB hard drive, floppy armed, 4MB RAM, all-in-one LC475) until you had your entire design drawn to completion.

Scanners were things that made actors’ heads explode in Schlock-horror films and a Ram was used to nail a Ewe. Real arguments would break out over the shapes of serifs. We had to hand-letter anything over 72 points, because Letraset just didn’t go there.

My first interview was based on my hand-drawn portfolio. I sat down at my desk and saw a Power Mac. I was in love. I didn’t have to restart it in order to run a different application – it had a 250MB hard drive and 16MB of RAM! I felt giddy. My repro house (remember those?) got a system with 256MB of RAM. It even had a Bernoulli drive – hot dang!

But, I digress. My point is that the hard yards are changing. It used to be that you had to go through tedious hours of manual illustration and mock-ups and get mowed down by clients in order to gain an appreciation of the process. I was lucky enough to work with some of the most gifted traditional media illustrators – the last of their era. I was lucky to come across a few real admen who commanded respect from their clients.

Now all too familiar are the young turks who can drag race a ‘design’ from zero to complete in a morning but which has that poisoning sameness – that debilitating lack of soul always shows up where easy access is home. Quality in creative to me has always been about a flavour that you cannot teach. It’s about a young creative mind searching for his or her feet in a production line of DTP cloning. Yes, every now and again a real gem comes knocking, one that has that elusive X-factor.

More often than not he has been a compulsive drawer since the age of 4, immediately knows what his favourite typeface is, can tell you the CMYK breakdown of his favourite colour, and can produce from his pocket the marker or pencil that it fits.

These guys have sat alone in their rooms, taken a pencil and a blade to some card and made the damn box themselves, maybe a few times over to get it right. Not downloaded a template from a free vector site.

Beauty or chaos? I am not sure of either of these absolutes.

I know that a society’s worth rests on those individuals who work towards excellence. Those that obsess about it. These individuals will always surface, no matter how easy catching up gets. With enough sameness chaos follows. Rebel, and beauty evolves – even if only for its unwillingness to submit.

Me, I am 33. Feel older. I still work in Freehand. Petrified of the jump. I can’t work with a stylus – faster with a mouse. But I find myself more and more heading for an etching needle and some steel, my old lego sets. Maybe a Bic and the back of an old year planner. __Text and image by Dean Jensen. Dean works as a designer at Trinitas Consulting in Joburg dean@trinitas.co.za

Beauty or chaos? I am not sure of either of these absolutes. I know that a society’s worth rests on those individuals who work towards excellence. Those that obsess about it. These individuals will always surface, no matter how easy catching up gets. With enough sameness chaos follows. Rebel, and beauty evolves – even if only for its unwillingness to submit.

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SPAZA www.enjin.co.za/competition

The Sins of Our Fathers Cover illustration for ijusi #8 (the Black and White Issue) by Garth Walker.

Published as one of ten artists’ prints in the ijusi Portfolio Number 1.

To stand a chance of winning this print, simply tell us what designers fear most in ten words.

Enter online at www.enjin.co.za/competition

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