Tuesday July 27 2010

What mortifications of the flesh artists will go through to make art! Belinda Blignaut’s ‘Stealing the Words’ installation on the windows of the YoungBlackman Gallery required the artist to chew 10 000 pieces of bubblegum to make enough bubbles which in their weirdly detumescent state pinkly coat the windows of the gallery. Only by leaching the bubblegum in hot water first to draw out some of the nauseatingly sugary flavour could the artist complete her project.

Belinda Blignaut at the opening of ‘Stealing the Words’.

Anti xenophobia stickers are popping up all over town. The next meeting of the Artists Action Group against Xenophobia takes place on Saturday, August 7 in the Oliver Tambo Centre in Khayelitsha from 11 am to 2 p.m. It’s really easy to get there – just take the Mew Way exit from the N2 and you’re right there. Email organizer Suzy Bell at HYPERLINK "mailto:bellsuzy@gmail.com" bellsuzy@gmail.com for more details of the workshop.


Seen on an ad at the airport

This past weekend, 20 years of figure drawings strewn across the floor of Erdmann Contemporary gave viewers a mini retrospective of Mark Hipper’s graphic work. Many of the vigorous charcoals were done in life drawing sessions, but there were a number of the late great Robert Hodgins, naked but still robust, brought back to life by Hipper’s swift and always assured line.

Mark Hipper takes a closer look at past drawings at Erdmann Contemporary

‘Mounting Queen Victoria’ is the title of Steven Dubin’s book on the transformation of museums in South Africa, and whether museums are still relevant –or not - will be the subject of a Book Fair panel on Sunday afternoon at 2 for 2.30 at Iziko South African National Gallery. I will be part of the panel, together with Riason Naidoo of the SANG, Andrew Lamprecht, Pippa Skotnes and the author himself.

Friday, July 16

In a week when the World Cup final ended a month of celebration, a time in which all South Africans seemed to have discovered – again – how much they really liked each other, Dan Halter’s exhibition ‘Double Entry’ opened at Whatiftheworld …..


Halter’s entry visa

The title of the show refers to the artist’s visa to enter once more the country of his birth, and and focuses on the cruel situation in which Zimbabweans trying to leave the country find themselves.

Performance poet Suzy Bell flashes her Goodbye Mugabe T shirt in front of Halter’s Beitbridge Space Invader video.

And then this week, as if to bring us all down to cold reality now that the World Cup is over, there were fresh outbreaks of xenophobic violence all over the Western Cape, with Somali shop owners being chased from the shops, beaten up, and their shops looted.

So please take note that on this Saturday, July 17, there will be an anti-xenophobia creative workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Oliver Tambo Centre in Khayelitsha. And if anyone needs directions to get there, phone
Suzy at 076 375 5675. For more info, email Suzy at bellsuzy@gmail.com Also, on Sunday, there will be a march from a 12 noon meeting at St George’s Cathedral.

Suzy Bell’s graffiti

We have to do everything we can to creatively bring about a change in consciousness, to make all feel welcome in our midst.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Friday before last, I spent the evening wandering down Greatmore Street in Woodstock. It is here one can find Greatmore Studios, the centre of the latest Thupelo workshop, a two week interaction between local and international artists. That Friday was the culmination of the workshop, the open night.

Julia Raynham prepares for the night.

On the Main Road corner, Julia Raynham had made up a bed for the night. Dressed in a white woollen dress which made her look like a legendary snow queen, Julia was preparing to talk to visitors, sleep a little – a bodyguard was there to stand over her while she slept – perhaps give a performance, and generally see what encounters the night would bring.

Julia with Thupelo artist Lionel Davis

In the grounds of the school where the artists had been staying, there were drinks, bands, entertainers and artists’ videos, and the great thing was to see how many local residents were taking in the scene. High up on the school building, visiting artist Rob Moonen had written his message to himself, the artists and the community: Challenge Yourself.

Rob Moonen’s message

In one of a number of interactions with the locals, Jenny Parsons painted beautifully subtle broekie lace designs on the façade of a house in a deeper tone of the wall colour, so that at first glance, they appeared as a trompe l’oeil shadow of this traditional cast iron trim. Look closely at the right hand house in the photo.

Roscoe Martin renovated not only the shopfront of a corner shop, but also painted an expressive portrait of a resident on the wall of his bedroom.

The Roscoe Martin portrait and his subject.

The Thupelo workshops play a unique role in the art life of this country, and provide one of the few points of access for international artists to work here alongside local artists. Long may they continue.