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ART TIME TIMES S
Pieter Wenning Artists supplment inside
New Arts Axis for Johannesburg new outlet will become a platform for up-and-coming artists from outside their existing stable.
Arts on Main will foster experimentation and see artists and art institutions working closely, writes Mary Corrigall
Baring traces of its former life in the cycle of industrial commerce its face brick facade does little to betray its new incarnation as a multi-use arts hub. So it’s a surprise when one enters the Arts on Main development in the east of Joburg’s inner city to find oneself in the centre of an über trendy centre boasting a grassy courtyard studded with lemon trees. But it is still early days in this much awaited centre’s existence. The Canteen, a fashionable eatery, which flanks one side of the courtyard, is only one of a handful of establishments that is already up-and-running. But with a host of studios and exhibitions spaces nearing completion one is able to get glimpse into the future of this pioneering art centre, which will see a range of established artists, gallerists and art institutions
“As a leading contemporary gallery we really wanted to establish a project space. Our schedule at the Goodman is so busy that we don’t have the flexibility to work with younger artists and give them a chance to show,” observes Liza Esser, owner of the Goodman Gallery franchise.
settled in one destination. It is a first for Joburg. With assortment of arts practitioners working cheek-by-jowl, Arts On Main will more than likely foster an intimate ambience – or at least deepen existing associations. For example, the Goodman Gallery’s new project space at the centre is a stone’s throw from the kingpin of their stable: William Kentridge, who has snapped up a humongous new studio. Other artists from the Goodman stable such as Rosenclaire (Claire Gavronsky and Rose Shakinovsky) and Mikhael Subtotsky will also be nearby in more modest workshops.
Arts on Main is the brainchild of twenty-seven-year-old Jonathan Liebmann, an ambitious and astute property developer with a penchant for the east side of Joburg’s inner city, which has not to date been the target of revitalisation projects. He obviously shares an affinity with the visual arts – no doubt fostered by his familial connections (he is the son of Benji Liebmann of the Nirox Foundation) – but his plan to gentrify this industrial part of town was also dependent on setting up an arts related development. He is well aware that the gentrification cycle of cities tends to begin with artists. London’s Shoreditch and New York’s Soho are cases in point.
The centre’s edgy location seems to have encouraged residents towards embracing experimental art activities. Goethe on Main, a derivative of the Goethe Arts Institute, will be a venue for unconventional art initiatives such as its current exhibit, Trolleyworks, by social art activist, Ismail Farouk. The Goodman Gallery have envisioned that their new space will also facilitate alternative projects and installations and are, therefore, hoping that this continued on page 3
“Artists want to be part of regenerating a city. I think they also see the value in areas more than others. The structure and volume of space particular to industrial properties also An art collector views “The Centre vs. Periphery Ultimate Cage Fight” by Avante Car Guard at the Brodie Stevenson Gallery, Johannesburg. To see AVG Show see www.www.brodiestevenson.com
Johannesburg to get Kentridge’s Fire Walker
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A Cape Town Museum of Art?
Staff writer
Image : joburg.org.za
Published monthly by Global Art Information PO Box 15881 Vlaeberg, 8018 Tel. 021 424 7733 Fax. 021 424 7732
Melvyn Minnaar
The city of Joburg is to get its first Kentridge, in the shape of a monumental public sculpture, entitled The Fire Walker, the Weekender reports. The work is a collaboration with Gerhard Marx and will be constructed of laser-cut steel plates, standing 10 m tall. According to an article posted by Bongani Nkosi and Lucille Davie on Joburg.org.za, the piece will be up by the end of June, and will be positioned at the
The manner in which the Natale Labia museum was abandoned by Iziko is a blot on its hapless history as ‘flagship’ manager of Cape Town’s cultural institutions – with the overseeing department of public works and the one responsible for arts and culture as hapless accessories to the crime.
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Johannesburg winter auction features over 200 works from traditional South African artists August 4 and 5 in Rosebank, Johannesburg, sees the staging of a remarkable two day auction with its focal session being on the Tuesday evening, featuring some 230 paintings, drawings and sculptures, the bulk of them South African works. Some of the art represents pinnacles from the lifeworks of the artists involved, and their release onto the local market is a significant event. Stephan Welz & Company, in association with Sotheby’s, is pleased to issue the following sneak preview details of each of the four sessions. It all starts on Tuesday 4 August at 14h00 with a session including books and maps, then on through ceramics, metalware and silverware. Of over 80 lots of books, a remarkable collection of original manuscripts and first editions of the works of Sarah Gertrude Millin will be certain to attract bibliographic attention, as will a number of lots from her book collection inscribed to her by various political and literary luminaries. Lot 96 is of particular cartographic and collectable interest, being a first issue John Speed, London 1626, map of Africa with a frieze of cities and peoples of the times with a woodcut imprint on the reverse indicating its first issue status. It is conservatively estimated at R16 000 - R20 000. In the ceramics
section, Lot 112 is an assembled Belleek ‘Neptune’ green tint part tea service from the Second Period 1891-1926, notable for the inclusion of a much sought-after matching 45cm tray. The set is pre-sale estimated at R6 000 R8 000. The lot most likely to attract top level bidding is Lot 122, a pair
of William Moorcroft ‘Eventide’ pattern vases at R20 000 - R25 000. In silverware, competitive bidding is expected generally for this popular section, but with specific attention likely to focus on Lot 176, a German 19th century 800 standard silver jardinière estimated at R7 000 R9 000 and Lot 201, a large circular silver bowl by Charles Boyton of London, 1939, in martelé finish (R3 000 - R5 000).
That evening, at 18h30, the mood and tempo will be upbeat as South African art comes under the hammer in the best place for it, here in South Africa in the sale rooms of the country’s best-established auctioneering company. It’s difficult to pick stars from the stellar selection, but the cover lot would seem to fit all criteria including appropriate timing. It is Lot 326, used by the company to ‘front’ the entire sale, a Cecil Skotnes (South African 1926-2009) work entitled ‘Three Standing Figures’, a carved, incised and painted wood panel 122 by 120cm and estimated at R300 000 to R500 000. Of equal import, four works from Jacob Hendrik Pierneef (South African 1886-1957) are to be offered, two of which, Lots 248 and 249, being sure to attract interest in the upper financial bracket. Lot 248, ‘An Extensive Landscape with an Aloe in the Foreground’ (R800 000 R1 200 000) and Lot 249, ‘Karoo Landscape’ (R700 000 - R1 000 000) provide ample proof of the inimitable talents of this artist across a broad executional and stylistic base and, at the same time, deliver investment potential and ownership pleasure for collectors and investors alike. In relative terms, for the more conservative budget compared to the rarified atmosphere of the foregoing, a range of paintings from much-favoured artists has been consigned to auction in the R50 000 to R300 000 region. As examples, Lot 219, a Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk, ‘Wood-Clad Mountains, George’, estimated at R150 000 R200 000 can claim considerable appeal, as can Lot 227, a Pieter Hugo Naudé entitled ‘River Landscape’ (R80 000 - R120 000). To further illustrate the breadth of appeal, examples abound, including Lot 242, a rare Dorothy Kay mayoral portrait of Clifford Bell Payne, Mayor of Walmer 1941-1947,
catalogued at R200 000 - R300 000, Lot 381 a still life from Irmin Henkel (R80 000 - R120 000) and Lot 435, a Judith Mason mixed media in relief work entitled ‘Tourist Photo’ at R50 000 - R70 000. Carter, Mayer, Oerder, Domsaitis, Roworth, De Jongh, Laubser, Stern, Coetzer, Sumner, Battiss, Klar, Boonzaier, McCaw, Villa, Ngatane, Bhengu, Tretchikoff, Rose-Innes, Van Heerden, Büchner, Fasciotti, Boshoff and many more … a veritable feast for collectors of taste and discernment. On Wednesday 5 August, interest will be maintained in the 10h00 morning session by carpets & rugs, furniture, clocks, pocket watches and a spectacular array of wristwatches. The carpets on offer include Lot 451, a four-strip North-West Persian decorated cover, c1900, estimated at R8 000 - R12 000. The furniture section features Lot 500, a Victorian rosewood secrétaire Wellington Chest, c1855, pre-sale estimated at R10 000 - R12 000, Lot 530, a 19th century Italian walnut and marquetry commode (R15 000 - R20 000) and Lot 536, a most unusual late French onyx, marble, gilt-metal and champlevé column, late 19th/early 20th century, 120cm high and estimated at R9 000 - R12 000. Timepieces in their various forms have emerged as stars of the
company’s broad-based auction categories, and this sale is no exception, with the session moving on to longcase clocks, featuring Lot 553, an imposing 19th century 230cm oak clock pre-sale estimated at R18 000 - R24 000. The session then progresses to wristwatches where no fewer than 40 examples are to be auctioned. Featured are Lot 608, a gentleman’s 18ct gold Cartier Divan automatic wristwatch (R45 000 - R65 000), Lot 612, a gentleman’s IWC Schaffhausen Big Ingenieur stainless steel automatic wristwatch (R66 000 - R68 000) and Lot 624, a quite superb and highly sought-after gentleman’s 18ct white gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Chronograph ‘Daytona’ wristwatch, circa 2004 (R115 000 - R120 000). The fourth session of this two day auction is scheduled for 14h00 on Wednesday 5 August and is dedicated to one of the most exciting jewellery sessions seen for some time. With just under two hundred lots of antique, period, contemporary and modern jewellery on offer, it’s difficult to illustrate the breadth of appeal which spans unset diamonds from around one-half up to over three carats, diamond rings galore, brooches, pendants, bracelets, gemstones, pearls and more. The company’s departmental head, Eva Miklas, also a director and auctioneer, pinpointed four lots of particular interest. Lot 646 is an early Victorian diamond cluster brooch, circa 1840, composed of flowerheads and leaves in 18ct gold, silver fronted, and set with rose-cut and old miner’s-cut diamonds, estimated at R40 000 R60 000. From the Victorian era, circa 1870, comes Lot 648, a diamond and pearl
brooch highlighted with rose-cut diamonds on 15ct gold, silver fronted (R30 000 - R40 000). Of about the same age, Lot 649 is a Victorian serpent-form necklace employing an enamelled and garnet design, pre-sale estimated at R30 000 - R40 000. Then, from Garrard of London circa 1940, Lot 678 (R20 000 - R30 000) is a platinum brooch set with a total of approximately 4.50cts in total.
Stephan Welz & Company, in association with Sotheby’s, looks forward to this being a significant sale across a wide range of consignments. The following times and dates apply. VIEWING Friday 31 July 10h00 - 17h00 Saturday 1 August 10h00 - 13h00 Sunday 2 August 10h00 - 17h00 AUCTION SESSIONS Session One Tuesday 4 August 14h00 Session Two Tuesday 4 August 18h30 Session Three Wednesday 5 August 10h00 Session Four Wednesday 5 August 14h00 For further details please contact Natalie Randall on 011 880 3125
South African Art Times
July 2009
5
Johannesburg to get Kentridge’s Fire Walker
New Arts Axis for Johannesburg
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southern end of Queen Elizabeth Bridge in the CBD. Commissioning agent for public artworks in the city, artist Marcus Neustetter, reports that the Johannesburg Development Agency has been hoping to get Kentridge to produce a public sculpture for the city for some time. Lael Bethlehem, JDA chief executive was heard exclaiming on 702 Talk Radio “We are getting our very first William Kentridge!” The sculpture will resemble a woman carrying a burning brazier on her head, but only from certain angles; “If one approaches the work from the direction of the bridge, these loose steel fragments combine to create the cohesive image of The Fire Walker...
This image then ‘explodes’ into loose individual fragments and abstraction as you move around it”, Marx and Kentridge explain. The work is being hailed as Johannesburg’s Statue of Liberty, evoking the Big Apple’s monumental torch bearing woman. “But she is a very particular Statue of Liberty – Johannesburg’s Statue of Liberty – which carries with it, at every point, either the history or the threat of its own collapse”, the artists say. Neustetter also noted the contradictory implications of the work, which, while its message of survival inspires, “if we carry fire on our heads, what else can we do?” it is also disturbing; “should someone have to do this?” In her article for the weekender, Alex
Dodd also draws attention to the possibility of theft, a problem which has plagued various public sculptures in the city in recent years. “We’re trying to make it as solid and strong as possible, but there is the chance that parts could get stolen”, Marx concedes, adding that concerns about safety, and the piece being used as a possible hiding place for hijackers were also taken into account in the manufacture of the piece. Then again, theft of part of the statue’s metal might only add to the sense of contingency offered by Joburg’s “exploding” and fragmented Statue of Liberty. For more information, visit www. theweekender.co.za/article
attracts them,” asserts Liebmann. Consisting of five roomy industrial buildings, the centre boasts some formidable exhibition spaces. With its vaulted ceilings, the Seippel Gallery’s new space (they will be leaving August House) will be able to accommodate enormous hanging or sculptural artworks that smaller suburban galleries couldn’t dream of displaying. For Essers the generous dimensions of the studios was also a selling point.
KUNSGALERY
JOHANS BORMAN FINE ART GALLERY
CAPE TOWN
“We really wanted a space that we could show big installations,” says Essers. The first show planned for the Goodman Gallery will consist of a collection of Kentridge’s tapestries – some are as long as four metres.
A Cape Town Museum of Art? continued from page 1
A more worrying issue, hinted to by some readers’ letters to the Cape Times in recent weeks (including one from the original Muizenberg satellite museum benefactor, count Labia), is one about the overall management of Iziko: specifically in what it envisages as its day-to-day job and its future aspirations. The serious question is whether, for all the bureaucratic ducking-’ndiving, Iziko has a future vision and a practical plan. As has happened from time to time, visitors to the Iziko SA National Gallery had travelled from afar with the hope of seeing one or two of the holdings for which the institution is quite well known - yes, even in foreign places and academies. Of course, as we Capetonians know, the SANG shows only a few works from the vast permanent collection in the overflowing basement. (In fact, we take the officials’ word that those paintings and pieces are not rotting away, and are, in fact, still there.) Our disappointed visitors wrote to the newspaper to say how sad it was not to see what they came to admire. Why are these well-known works not on view? This, of course, is a question that
lingers in many local art lovers’ bosom. Many of us only realise the treasures in the SANG collection when they are hauled out for retrospectives in other museums (Judith Mason, Johann Louw) or appear in print in a rare monographs (the upcoming Alexis Preller). The old, hackneyed excuse is the one of exhibition space. In fairness, it’s a complaint that runs as a refrein through art museums world wide. But, and this is the crux of the question Iziko seems to evade, what’s to be done at the SANG?
(and old) pieces. On the other, a large number of those associated with the previous paradigm were hastily shoved into storage. The taint of our sad past fell like a veil over many great pieces, doomed to the dark below. At the same time, a vigorous empowerment process of upcoming artists and new art also stressed Iziko curators in terms of funds and space.
The limited space in the lovely old building has been an issue since before the days of director Raymund van Niekerk, and it bamboozled Marilyn Martin’s reign. (The latter, using her persuasive charm and cutting arguments, made various efforts to find other spaces, to get other potential benefactors interested, to develop strategies. She constantly walked into walls.)
What we see a t the SANG these days looks very much like an ad hoc exhibition management policy. Shows come and go and linger in ways that seldom seem to make any connection with anything outside, neither the public nor social conditions in the city. (Part of the problem too is clearly that of PR and media management. Capetonians sometimes simply don’t know what’s inside those rooms.) Hit and miss, is more like it. ‘National Gallery’ hardly seems to fit its description; it’s more like a temporary slap-up exhibition space.
When political correctness also got behind the steering wheel, it took a serious turn. On the one hand - and correctly so – a major effort, over the past twenty years, to rectify the imbalance of art holdings, brought in many new
And still important art in the collection - that people, Capetonians, as well as visitors would like to admire - remains hidden from public view. (Of course, someone like curator Hayden Proud has done exceptional work in
‘re-exhibiting’ older art within a contemporary framework.) It seems that Iziko does not realise the economic value of its collections: one which is majorly linked to tourism. It is within this context - with Iziko drifting into murkier waters (has anyone any hope for the new powers that inhabit the DAC?) - that one should polish the idea, no matter how far-fetched, of a lively, contemporary, civically-minded and professionally-run Cape Town Museum of Art. There is no doubt (as we will see with the football hoopla next year) that Cape Town is the country’s favourite tourism destination. As the country’s cultural and creative hub, there is so much happening (count the operating galleries and art schools, gauge the Cape 09 buzz ), Cape Town needs a proper, well-managed contemporary art space. And it should be under the auspices of the Cape Town city council. The latter has, unfortunately, never had any serious art/culture policy, not to mention a proper such department. It’s time it does. And we culturally minded, should force its hand. Now isn’t that a vibey idea?
Maurice van Essche, ‘The Clown’ - 1972
A showcase for the best of South African Masters, as well as some leading contemporary artists. Telephone: 021 423 6075 www.johansborman.co.za Mon-Fri: 09h30 - 17h30 Sat: 10h00 - 13h00 or by appointment In Fin Art Building Upper Buitengracht Street, Cape Town 8001 Cell: 082 566 4631 E-mail: art@johansborman.co.za
the plot thickens WAS ONCE FUNNY, Michael Taylor 2009, Gouache on board, 20cm x 20cm
new paintings by
michael taylor
27/07 - 22/08
Worldart Gallery 54 Church Street | Cape Town 021 423 3075 | www.worldart.co.za
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South African Art Times
July 2009
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Taryn Cohn on Ross Douglas and Mary Corrigall’s war of words Taryn Cohn responds to a debate between Douglas vs Corrigall, published in the June edition of the South African Art Times. -Read it at www.arttimes.co.za I have been following the exchanges between critic and writer Mary Corrigall and Jo’burg Art Fair Director Ross Douglas with some interest. The debate raises some interesting and very relevant points, and, while it meanders dangerously close to getting personal, it also misses a few. Most obvious was the issue of sponsorship and Corrigall’s rhetorical question “ If ArtLogics model is so sustainable why is it that their survival depends on FNB sponsorship?” To answer simply, note the word sustainable. This is a different concept (but often confused) with the concept of self-sustainable. Like every other major trade fair the event is hosted by a sponsor. Sponsorship is a form of marketing for an organization. It is not seed funding or an investment. A sponsor takes the decision to be involved based on the opportunity for brand equity that is offered by the project. Brand equity does not merely depend on how many people attend the event, nor is it measured by how many logos are plastered around a venue. It’s about something more subtle. It’s about the value that comes from the right association - communicating a message about your brand by picking the right platform and audience. Surely, although art is not sport and it offers a lifestyle and intellectual
association rather than sheer numbers, it is still allowed to play by the same rules. Therefore, as long as there is a sponsor who values the brand equity that the event brings, the project is sustainable. The Art Fair model is no different to every major event worldwide. Like the Confederations Cup, these events could never support themselves on ticket sales alone, nor are they meant to. So while the Confederations Cup is playing to half empty stadiums you’d be hard pressed to find anybody calling for its cancellation. Why is that you wonder? Perhaps because the sports industry and those associated with it understand the symbiosis of sponsors and sports better than we in the art industry do. So, onto the business of business. According to Corrigall, “ Art fairs are about generating sales and, as such, most gallerists were keen to hedge their bets by displaying a full array of art in the hope that they would have more of a chance of nailing a sale. In such a context, the aesthetic or transcendental nature of art objects is stifled.” An interesting point. Here we have two conflicting agenda’s that make up the tightrope of being an artist. On the one hand there is a purist view that art exists to question society and explore the “transcendental and aesthetic” from outside the constraints faced by people who need to provide goods or services to make money. On the other, well I have never met an artist who doesn’t like to eat. Simply put, there is only
one way to make money from art; sell it. But really? In the year 2009 are we really still in a space where publicizing the intention to make money off art somehow taints its authenticity and intrinsic value? Surely we have seen the rise and fall of enough communist states to be comfortable embracing the essentially market driven values that govern our society? And for those who go back to issues of funding and sponsorships being responsible for preserving and supporting art, it’s still someone’s money somewhere that pays those bills. Are we to believe that you can’t sell art and be transcendental at the same time? It is time that as artists and arts practitioners we aim to engage in a more positive manner with the organizations and individuals to whom we look to for support, be they buyers or sponsors. Rather than look on the issue as black and white, we need to ensure that we build these relationships to a point where we can balance the needs of the art community and its supporters without compromising the integrity of either. That will only happen when they respect us enough to listen to what we say and how we say it. But it will never happen until we respect them, period. I am fast running out of space so am left with one more point to raise. I do support Corrigal’s observation that the Art Fair turned to design to fill spaces. But I do want to ask Douglas why this is so?
I personally know of several galleries who are most definitely not “little shops in malls peddling trite landscape art” that don’t count who either did not make the grade, or who simply couldn’t afford to take part. Apparently fair rules also do not allow the sharing of stands that would allow so many more members of our art market to participate. Surely considering smaller stands and broadening the offer of legitimate contemporary galleries and dealers on display would increase the range of works that reflect “the work the country and continent is producing”? I would assume that a broader range of more widely priced work from established and emerging artists would both invite more sales from a wider range of clientele and be better than design stands and object displays that are “derived from that fuzzy territory that delineates the overlap between art and craft.?” The questions to be asking is who judges the galleries proposals to take part and on what basis. As free market liberal, I fully endorse Douglas’s right to manage his entity the way he sees fit, but in supporting freedom of speech and in the interests of nurturing a robust and critically engaged art media , I support Corrigall’s right to ask these questions. I also thank them both for the debate.
Don’t miss the panel discussion on art fairs on 30 June, that includes Ross Douglas, Clive Kellner and Alex Dodd. See www.arttimes.co.za for further details.
South African Art Times
July 2009
New Daily News updates now available at www.arttimes.co.za
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OBITUARY Ricardo Rangel 1924 - 11 June 2009
Go to www.arttimes.co.za to read daily breaking news and stories as they unfold.
Long awaited Limited edition books of
Gabriel De Jongh
A new remix for Africa? (29 Jun 09)
finally available
Sarah-Neel Smith gives ‘Continental Rifts: Contemporary Time-Based Works of Africa’ the thumbs up in a review for Frieze magazine.
Photographer Crispian Plunkett passes awaY (26 Jun 09) Suid-Afrika verdien beter (South Africa deserves better). De Rust, Western Cape. Courtesy Michael Stevenson Gallery
Some of the daily stories include: David Goldblatt wins Henri Cartier Bresson Foundation Award Veteran South African photographer David Goldblatt has won the Henri Cartier Bresson Foundation’s grant of R 341 400, Volksblad reports.
Development Grant winners announced
Visionary fashion photographer, Crispian Plunkett, passed away last week as a result of diabetes-related complications.
Countdown to Grahamstown (29 Jun 09)
2009 Tierney Fellowship winners over the moon The 2009 recipients of the $5000 Tierney Fellowship have been selected; the South African Art Times chatted to young Cape Townian photographer, Ariane Questiaux about her success.
Hanging out with Hlobo (29 Jun 09)
Sloon and Maggs in shady dealings
“I think there is a tradition of English language and culture being very dominant in the art world, and I feel there is a need for that to be challenged somehow.”
Controversial blogger Robert Sloon and video artist Charles Maggs pair up for a two-man show, ‘Syndrome’, which opens at Whatiftheworld/ gallery in Cape Town. Sloon, (a pseudonym), has edited the blog ArtHeat since 2006, and has long been a mysterious figure on the Cape Town art scene.
“Christian does whatever the f**k he wants with my name” says Barend de Wet. In a shock disclosure, Cape Townian tricksters Barend de Wet and Christian Nerf have revealed that they have been using each other’s signatures since 2003, “to an extent which may never be known”.
started his career as a darkroom assistant during World War II. He worked as a photojournalist for a number of newspapers, including Notícias and La Tribune. In 1970 he became a founding member of Tempo, the country’s first colour news magazine.
As exhibitors head off to Grahamstown to frantically begin installing work for the opening day, on Thursday, the South African Art Times picks out some highlights.
The Arts and Culture Trust (ACT), an independent funding organisation for arts and culture, has announced the 2009 recipients of its development grants.
Christian Nerf is Barend de Wet (maybe, sometimes)
Ricardo Rangel, In the embrace of the night, 1970.
‘Maybe art is the spinach’ Jeff Koons’ current exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London looks back at Popeye, the iconic strong man of the last big recession, in the hopes of learning something from his optimism.
Self-portrait, Ricardo Rangel
Written by: Market Photo Workshop “I used to say to the younger photo–graphers, photography is one of the most beautiful professions you can have. It can take you to places more strange and wonderful than you have ever imagined.” Ricardo Rangel Rangel was born in Lourenço Marques (Maputo) in 1924, and
Rangel covered the events that lead up to Mozambique’s independence from Portuguese rule in 1975, and was appointed chief photographer for the Notícias in 1977. He then began training photographers for both Agência de Informação de Moçambique (AIM) and Notícias. In 1981 he became director of the weekly Domingo, and three years later was asked to establish the Centro de Formaçao Fotográfica in Maputo, a school for photography. Often regarded as Mozambique’s greatest contemporary photo– grapher, Rangel will be sorely missed. Ricardo Rangel died 11 June 2009.
Image courtesy of Afronova Gallery www.afronova.com
To order: phone
Office 011 783 5080 John Contat 083 2666 188 or P-J 082 4506 598 Cost: R600-00, incl. vat & postage
Errol Boyley books also available at R750-00
Daniel Novela
Mother and child carrying wooden fire – commissioned by Sarah Salm NY
Exhibiting at room no. 2 Barret Art Centre from 2 to 11 July daily from 09h00 to 17h00. After the festival people may visit his studio in Klerksdorp near Potchefstroom For a preview please logo on to www.danielnovela.co.za To book an appointment please contact the studio at 018 489 1780 or info@danielnovela.co.za I first met a 28 year old Daniel Novela in 1992 while organizing an art exhibition on the campus of the then Potchefstroom University. In the spirit of the policial moments we were living in at that time, the exhibition was called “Images of Reconciliation” and featured works by more than eighty artists from all walks of life and virtually every colour and creed in the country. Daniel’s works featured a style of hyper realistic renditions of figure studies including those of San hunters amidst the setting of the veldt in which they live. It was abundantly clear that here was an artist with great talent, who only needed to be pointed in the right direction, and I predicted even then a bright future for this young artist. Daniel subsequently enrolled for Fine Arts studies at the Klerksdorp Campus of the Vaal Triangle Technikon where he eventually obtained his National Diploma in the year 2000, receiving accolades as one of the top students. With his wife Frangely they form a close knit family that includes two children. Daniel has evolved a style of painting that is remarkably sophisticated; although he maintains his ancestral roots with the land, Africa, he interprets this in a style that is neither purely realistic nor overtly abstract. He uses his very sensitive feeling for colour to imbue the works with a sense of time and place that is quite ephemeral. Always in contact with the human scale, it is nature that eventually dominates his works, and his singular use of bold brush strokes combined with an innate sense of composition shows an artistic sensibility born of pure intuition. His paintings become a real sensual experience in which the eyes are used to touch and relay emotions in much the way that Kandinsky would have appreciated.
He has participated in some ten group exhibitions has at least five one-man shows to his credit. Daniel has exhibited in America, where his works were very well received. After his recent solo exhibition in Potchefstroom I was quoted in saying the following: “Daniel is an incredibly talented young artist with a vision embedded in the long tradition of Impressionism that can be said to have started with Turner. He has a tenacity an an integrity that has led him to his exhibitions in New York, and I predict great things to come. His works are well worthy of investment, and his artistic style, particularly the sensitivity of his brush strokes and his feeling for atmosphere, is commendable.” I am very proud to be associated with Daniel’s development as a painter and as an artist who is represenative of what I would like to describe as a new breed. For too long we have been satisfied to applaud the works of mediocre artists in order to promote them as part of a political agenda. It is time to undertstand that good art or even more important, great art, can only be produced by integrity, talent and a commitment to work hard and produce quality. This can be said of Daniel Novela, that he is a child of Africa, rendering pictures of Africa. But he is also an artist of the world with an understanding of the need to produce qualitative works with an inherent artistic value that can even now be translated into investment value. It remains exciting to keep an eye on his future development. John R. Boha Associate Professor: History of Art, Univerrsity of the North West
Peter Willem Frederik Wenning Supplement to The South African Art Times
Red Hibiscus (Johannesburg Art Gallery) oil on canvas
“I think that there is no higher calling in art than to be true to ourselves.” (from a letter to Pierneef) Pieter Willem Frederik Wenning (1873 – 1921) was born in The Hague, Southern Holland. After his schooling he entered the Railway Services, and due to his linguistic abilities, worked as foreign correspondent in the Clearing Department. This necessitated that he travelled frequently to England and various other European countries, providing him with the opportunity to visit galleries and museums – giving him a broad and solid grasp of European art trends. Wenning was then posted to Zaandam, where he became familiar with Dutch Socialism. The principles of the movement
appealed to his serious, enquiring and sensitive nature. It was also here that Wenning’s sympathy for the poor and working classes began to emerge in his artworks as he chose to represent marginalized urban spaces. Even though he was a white-collar worker, he supported the strike action taken by the bluecollar labourers in the Great Railway Strike of 1903, resulting in him being fired. Wenning was by now married and this period of unemployment was to mark the beginning of financial difficulties for Wenning and his family. He eventually found work with the largest publishing firm in Holland – J.H. de Bussy. In 1905 (age 32) Wenning was offered a transfer as
bookkeeper to the Pretoria branch which, having a great spirit for adventure, he readily accepted. Wenning was a keen amateur musician; playing the mandolin (he was part of a mandolin / guitar orchestra formed by the Italian Community of Pretoria), and violin. He was deeply interested in philosophy and the religions of the world (reading the Bible, Talmud and Koran) – he hated narrow-minded bigotry and yearned for a ‘new religion’. He joined ‘The Theosophical Society of Pretoria’, where he took on the responsibility of secretary. He believed he was a re-incarnation of a monk from Benares, India and to this end he
became a vegetarian. Although he did not create a ‘new’ form of art as so many of his European art counterparts were seeking to do – he sought to find truth for himself. His artistic pursuit was to express the essence of that which he perceived; a philosophy in keeping with the Japanese printmaking and calligraphy he studied. It became an earnest desire of his to visit Japan to study printmaking further; to this end he set himself the task of learning to speak Japanese. It was only at the age of 41, that he found himself in a position to pursue painting as a profession. A circle of friends and patrons
contributed to a small fund, which allowed him to start painting fulltime. This he did with passion and fervour at the forfeit of his own health. Wenning never lived to see his name become established as one of South Africa’s leading art masters, as he and Hugo Naudé are credited with establishing the genre that is referred to as ‘Cape Impressionism’. He died at the age of 48 due to fragile health. His impassioned pursuit to paint (mostly outdoors and through all kinds of weather) created a small but invaluable legacy of landscape and still-life masterpieces produced in the short time-frame of ca. ten years.
GALLERY
Lane, Malay Quarter, Cape Town – oil on canvas
The Influenza Epidemic (known in other parts of the world as the Spanish flu) struck Cape Town and its environs in 1918 going on to 1919. Despite Wenning’s fragile constitution, he worked in the most contagious areas and never succumbed to the illness. Wenning related to his son that when he would visit his studio in Keerom Street in the Bo-Kaap, the streets would be deserted due to the illness.
Winter Landscape c. 1920 (Rembrandt Van Rijn Collection Stellenbosch) – oil on canvas
“everything a painter has to say can be said on a small canvas”
Old Oak, Vineyard Hotel, Newlands pencil on paper with touches of watercolour heightening
“Wenning handles his colour in a manner that is totally different to any other artist in the country and it is in this handling that his individuality proves so strong. His pencil and wash drawings are exquisite in their simplicity, and in a few lines he is able to convey the impression of streets, houses, people, light, shadows, and a big distance.” (From the catalogue of the sale held at Lezard’s 21st December 1917 by Ernest Lezard)
Backyard, Malta Farm (Johans Borman Gallery) – oil on canvas
Still Life – oil on canvas “For the deep-thinking artist a still-life painting was an essay in colour, form and composition. Wenning’s achievements in this field were governed less by the influence of Dutch precedents than by the lessons gained from Oriental art.” (Berman, E. Art & Artists of South Africa, p. 498)
Wenning responded to the Cape with its softer light and more verdant greens. The weather, trees and buildings were more akin to his homeland, igniting recognition within. His brushwork became more deliberate, precise and calm. Malta Farm was one of his favourite painting sites. He returned time and again to paint and sketch it from various angles.
Blue Vase with Sweet Peas c.1916 – oil on canvas Wenning studied Eastern philosophies, Japanese and Chinese printmaking, and collected and revered both Chinese and Japanese artefacts. His brushwork imitated the calligraphic pen and ink strokes of their pictorial conventions – the simplification of elements to the essentials, creating the poetry of haiku in an uncrowded still-life.
Location outside Pretoria (Early period) – oil on canvas
Wenning, under the auspices of Bubberman, had studied his country’s painting and became increasingly attracted to the naturalistic plein-airism of The Hague School. On arriving in Pretoria, he continued to study and explore the environment around him, struggling to capture and depict the harsh atmospheric conditions of the Highveldt environs. The scenes he did find to inspire him were the areas where man and nature intersected. His application of paint tended to be heavy and his depiction of detail was laid down in overly sketchy mark making. In time, however, the discipline of etching honed his mark making ability, while his study of Japanese printmaking refined his ability to discard unnecessary detail.
Artists signature style Wenning discarded non-essential details in his pursuit for the essence of form, eliminating any unnecessary details. He was able, much as Cezanne was, to paint swathes of surfaces such as vegetation, fields of grass, walls and roofs in a simplified swift laying down of paint. His work is also recognizable in his mastery of greys and greens, his dark outlines, and the under-painting showing through the paint to surround, define and delineate form. He represented trees either as stark black silhouettes or in rhythmic simplified lattice-like patterns. He was inspired and influenced by Japanese calligraphy and emulated this stylized, simplified and elegant art especially when representing trees or a detail in a still-life. He did not try to emulate time of day or deeply receding pictorial planes.
Oakfield, Newlands 1917 – oil on canvas Although Wenning delighted in the green of the trees – a characteristic of his work deriving from Japanese printmaking, was to choose to depict the trees in their winter bare starkness as dark silhouettes, which formed a rhythmic lattice or fretwork across the canvas. Wenning primed his canvas with washes of ground colour; laying a foundation upon which to apply the lighter colour to create form. However he allowed the base colour to show through as shadow and outline, surrounding shapes and defining details. The dark imprimatura would serve to unify the composition into a harmonious whole, while also highlighting the brighter colours he would use sparingly, to bring a spark of life to his scenes. In effect the musician in Wenning would allow him to orchestrate the scene – not merely replicate it - “What we see around us is merely our theme upon which we ourselves must create the melody.”
Analysis of the artists work/ key stylistic influences From an early age Wenning showed a passion and talent for art, with a keen eye for observation, perhaps unsurprisingly as both his father and grandfather were artists. At school, his excellence in languages and drawing were recognized by his teacher Mr. Bubberman. He nurtured Wennings talent, taking him on drawing excursions and visits to art galleries and museums. We may trace Wenning’s working methodology to the mentorship of this teacher and a high school friendship with Grada van Woude. She and Wenning would regularly go on long walks in the country, with Grada collecting plant specimens, which he would then illustrate in drawing and watercolour. Wenning was a versatile artist, working in water-colour, pen and ink, pencil, pastel, etching and oil. His subject matter included landscape – mostly semi-rural where man lived in nature, urban environments and still-life. Although he did paint a few portrait studies, he was not at ease representing the human form. Where figures occur in his paintings, they are represented in a few dashes of paint as a highly simplified symbol. Wenning would walk out into the country until a scene would “seize him with the impulse to paint” - he later referred to this method of working as ‘Impulsionist’. He had many favourite drawing and painting locations that he would return to time and again. He was a plein aire artiste, which meant he painted outdoors at the scene of his subject. His paintings would be completed in situ (on location) in one ‘sitting’. He would set out early in the morning with his easel, leather briefcase with paint, palette and brushes, and two canvases strapped together
face-to-face. He would draw the scene onto the canvas in soft lead pencil or charcoal. Next he would fill in the foreground and middle-ground with washes of dark imprimatura in earth tones of umber and ochre. His paint was applied using the following methods; either the brush would be heavily loaded with paint and applied in a swift assured motion, which he rarely re-worked or overlaid, or he would drag a lightly-loaded, dry brush over the imprimatura in a action called scumbling – leaving the darker tones of the base colour to show through the paint. Details were captured in light, calligraphic touches. As his work matured, Wenning no longer covered the entire canvas in thick paint, rather by letting the ground colour show through it would create outlines to forms while simultaneously tying the whole composition together. This would provide the bass note to the daubs of brightly-coloured accents he would use sparingly, to create a musical harmony in his paintings. Wenning’s work matured at a rapid rate from 1910 to 1920 as he honed his techniques. He was his own worst critic and would destroy work that he did not feel was good enough. His friend, the caricaturist, D.C. Boonzaaier, had to rescue many beautiful works from Wenning’s overly harsh self-critical eye. As his body of work was produced over such a concentrated time period, we can only speak of his early (1910 to 1916) and mature work (1916 to 1920). Wenning used to state that he would not attend exhibitions as he did not want to see or be influenced by other artist’s work, this seems to have been a strange affectation on his part. We know that Wenning’s high school teacher, Mr. Bubberman, had taken him to see many
exhibitions, galleries and museums in Holland. While working for De Bussy’s, he would have handled books filled with representations of historical and contemporary art pieces aside from the actual art prints they handled. We also know that Wenning was compelled by Japanese and Chinese artworks; he spent hours pouring over the prints of Hokusai and Hiroshigo, so that he might learn from these masters, which he applied in his use of black as outline, the stark silhouettes of trees, simplified compositions and calligraphic mark making. He was often accompanied on his excursions by his fellow Pretoria and then Cape Town artists, and while we can see the influence of Wenning on the work of Nita Spilhaus, perhaps then we might assume that she in turn would have an influence in his work. Wenning’s choice of subject matter and colour palette also relates back to The Hague School and the works of Willem and Jacob Maris, Anton Mauve, Josef Israels, George Breitner and Marius Bauer. His choice of subjects and paint application references the work of Cezanne.
The predominant art trends in South Africa at this time were either highly stylized picturepostcard scenes of gabled houses and pink-tinted soaring mountains, or more realistic works done in the English Academic tradition. While Wenning did not create a new genre of art, he did bring a refreshing new breath of artistic insight and inspiration, helping to create an artistic language that more relevantly reflected the landscape of South Africa. His influence continues through the second generation of ‘Cape Impressionists’, principally Terence Mc Caw and Gregoire Boonzaier and on.
The friendship between Nita and Pieter
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Red Hibiscus (Johannesburg Art Gallery) – oil on canvas
“The Red Hibiscus… has actually been signed twice – in the top and in the lower right-hand corners. Dad told me how this had come about. When the picture was completed and Boonzaier was inspecting it, he said to Wenning, ‘For goodness sake, why don’t you sign your pictures?’ – so Dad took up a brush there and then and signed it, twice. I find it quite amusing, just something that Dad would have done.” (Wenning, H. My Father, p.80). Harco Wenning confirms that his father often did not sign his artworks. He goes on to relate that years later he would see paintings that he knew were his father’s that were unsigned, and then the next time he would see them, a ‘Wenning’ signature would miraculously have materialized. Wenning has been given the unfortunate notoriety / compliment of having been the first South African artist to have had his style forged and artworks not painted by him sold under his name.
Malay Quarter, Cape Town – oil on canvas The Dutch Tradition from the Seventeenth Century was a celebration of that which the artists saw around them; the domestic environment and the ordinary everyday occupations of people going about their chores in the home, the towns and markets and out on the farms. Th is was not plein-airist painting as the artist would first sketch
outdoors, and then paint the scene later in their studio, however, it was the stimulus which lead to French Impressionism. An interesting cycle of influence occurred starting with the Dutch Tradition, which inspired John Constable’s choice of subject matter, method of working and depiction of atmospheric conditions and light playing naturalistically on
the landscape. This in turn inspired the French schools of plein-airists – the School of Fontainebleau, the Barbizon School, leading to the Parisian Impressionists. This, in turn, inspired The Hague School of pleinairists, who returned to the subject matter of the Dutch Tradition of the 17th C, but this time capturing the scene spontaneously in one sitting.
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Her name is never mentioned, but his friends new her and strongly tried to dissuade them from the union. If Nita was this secret intended other, this was cut short when in July of 1920, under the advice of his dentist, Wenning had all his teeth extracted, causing his health to go into sharp decline. Wenning spent the last few months of his life being cared for either in hospital or in the homes of various friends, eventually resulting in Harco fetching his father and escorting him home to Pretoria via train transit; many friends from his artists community were there to see him off, including Nita. The possible romantic nature of their friendship is hinted at, but not confirmed, as it could have caused a scandal, which might have destroyed her reputation. Having been friends with Wenning while he was still a married man, they had gone on many unchaperoned painting excursions together, it is possible that this is what kept Harco from confirming whether this was the true nature of his father’s relationship with Nita or not.
Riverbank, Newlands – oil on canvas
s The canvas is alive with the quick and lively application of paint through which Wenning has allowed the brown ground of his imprimatura to show through. This acts as a warm base note to the varied cool and muted greys and greens for which he has become famous. Another characteristic of his colour palette is the use of a
Nita Spilhaus. A young artist and close-friend of Wenning who accompanied him on many painting excursion – she was strongly influenced by his style and choice of subject matter. It is alluded to in many of the texts on Wenning that he became engaged to a much younger woman after the death of his wife.
deep earth tones in the foreground and repeated on the roof of the house. Wenning stuck to a limited range of colours within a composition, but created a multitude of subtly varied tones within each colour. This work shows his use of black as an outline to define and delineate form reflecting his appreciation and study of Japanese printmaking.
This influence may also be traced to his simplification of forms and shapes to fit within an overall balanced, simplified and harmonious composition. Wenning has created a lyrical refrain in the repetition of the roots of the trees, repeated in the branches against the light blue of the sky, with light, staccato notes of the leaves.
Nita Spilhaus – Street Scene – oil on canvas Wenning returned to work in Cape Town in July of the year 1919, but his health was now in serious decline – he seemed to pay no attention to his own physical reality while trying to capture the corporality of the world around him. It was during this time that his friendship with Nita Spilhaus, seemed to become one of a more tender nature. Theirs was more than just a meeting of minds, but of genuine fondness, with Wenning and Spilhaus going on many painting excursions together and Wenning being instrumental in her development as an artist.
However it is interesting to note that he left instructions in his Will to have all their correspondence (which was in Harco’s possession) destroyed after his death, thereby unfortunately erasing what may have been an interesting insight into a secret chapter of South African Art History.
RODIN EXHIBITION The Rupert Museum is exhibiting 27 bronze sculptures by legendary French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Included in the exhibition, which will be up until early 2010, are prominent works such as The Thinker, The Kiss and The Cathedral. Rodin, at the pinnacle of his career by the end of the 19th century, was deemed the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo. Maandag tot Vrydag / Monday to Friday : 09:30 - 13:00 14:00 - 16:00 Saterdag / Saturday : 10:00 - 13:00 Gesluit op openbare vakansiedae / Closed on public holidays
Terence McCaw (1913-1978) 1961 - The White Cottage (Lot No. 309 Stephan Welz in Association with Sotheby’s 4th of August sale R20 000 to R30 000)
Artists that influenced Pieter Wenning
Gregoire Boonzaier (1909-2005) 1963 – Mount Ararat (Lot No. 284 Stephan Welz in Association with Sotheby’s 4th of August sale R150 000 to R200 000)
Terence McCaw (1913-1978) – Genadendal (Stephan Welz in Association with Sotheby’s October sale)
Still Life with Bottle, Vase and Blooms - oil on canvas
Important artists dates
Exhibitions:
1873: Born 9th of September 1873 in The Hague - Holland. 1890: Finished High School - 18 years old 1891: Joined the Railway Company of Holland and took up a position as a clerk in Amsterdam. 1898: 3rd of September, at the age of 26, he married Johanna Hillegonda (a widow with a daughter and son). 1903: The Great Railway Strike broke out across Europe. Wenning supported the strike action and as a result lost his position with the railways. 1905: Wenning, then 32 years of age, was employed by the book sellers and publishers De Bussy, he was then transferred to the Pretoria branch in South Africa. 1906: Wenning bought his first piece of land on the outskirts of Pretoria. 1909: While living at Rietfontein Wenning began to broaden his artistic exploration, expanding from the mediums of water-colour, pen and ink, to oils. 1910: Moved to a home in Rissik Street in Pretoria 1910: The Society of Artists was formed in Pretoria – they called themselves ‘The Individualists’, Wenning joined the group, which included a young J.H. Pierneef. 1910: He sent a selection of his oil paintings to the Brussels Exposition for which he received a commendation. 1911: Bought a home in President Street (Sunnyside Pretoria) for 800 pounds – an indication that his fortunes were doing much better. 1912: A second-hand etching press arrived on order from Holland – Wenning set up a studio on their enclosed back verandah at President Street. 1913: General strike of mine workers in South Africa, Martial Law remained in effect until 24th of March 1914. During this time riots would frequently break out in the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria 1913: De Bussy’s opened a branch in Johannesburg – they appointed Wenning manager of the art department. 1913: Johanna’s health ‘declined’ and she returned to Holland with the two boys to receive treatment and to recuperate; she was hospitalized in December. 1914: Wenning met D.C. Boonzaaier 1914: 3rd of August 1914 – World War I was declared and Johanna and the boys were stranded in Holland. 1915: April the 3rd, Johanna and the boys returned to South Africa 1915: De Bussy distributed the first volume of a collection of etchings by Wenning, titled “Johannesburg Impressions”. 1915: Resigned from De Bussy’s due to managerial differences, this altercation was to further impact on his health. 1915: Bought his own business “The University Fine Art Gallery” from Denis Lefebvre, which proved to be a financial disaster. 1915: Began working in September at Van Schaik’s in Pretoria – like De Bussy they were publishers and book sellers. 1915: December – brought out a series of Christmas card etchings, which were sold through Van Schaik’s 1916: First artistic sabbatical working for 3 months as a full-time artist through funding organized by D.C. Boonzaaier 1916: Second trip to Cape Town, sponsored by Johannesburg patrons organized by art auctioneer Ernest Lezard. 1916: Elected to the South African Society for Artists (SASA) and exhibited on their group exhibition at the Cape Town City Hall. 1917: Included in Roworth’s essay on “Landscape Art in S.A.” 1917: January – Wenning and Johanna temporarily resided in Camp Street, Gardens (Cape Town) 1917: Only public commission – to paint the Vrouemonument in Bloemfontein 1917: July – went to Lourenço Marques, he returned halfway through November with a large selection of artworks in all his different mediums 1917: Sale of 53 works by the auctioneer Ernest Lezard, was held without reserve and, although all the works sold, they sold for abysmally low figures making no profit for Wenning who still had to cover the bill for framing. 1918 & 1919: The Influenza Epidemic (known in other parts of the world as the Spanish flu) struck Cape Town and its environs. 1918: An exhibition was set for 10th of October, but was delayed until the 12th of November. There is little doubt that this sale constituted some of the best work Wenning had ever produced, but once again the sale total amounted to a paltry sum of money. 1919: February 16th – Johanna fell ill and died on the 23rd. 1919: July – Wenning returned to work in Cape Town, but his health was now in serious decline. He worked feverishly through all weather conditions, ignoring his health, in his drive to pursue his passion for painting. 1920: 18th July – Under the advice (detrimental as it would turn out) of his dentist, Wenning had all his teeth extracted. The shock was too much for his system and this marked the turning point from which he would not recover. 1921: January 3rd Harco Wenning fetched his father and escorted him home to Pretoria via train transit.
1911: First group exhibition with The Individualists in Pretoria City Hall 1916: First one-man exhibition – Johannesburg 1917 – 20: Group and one-man exhibitions in Johannesburg and Cape Town After his death there were numerous exhibitions both group and solo of his work within South Africa, in England and then Rhodesia, his paintings have also been exhibited in Boston and Chicago.
1921: 24th January Pieter Wenning died.
1910 in Africa Boutros Ghali – the Prime Minister of Egypt is assassinated Haley’s Comet fills the sky April the 27th Louis Botha and James Hertzog found the South Africa Party May 31st the Union of South Africa is created
1910 Internationally
Heerco Wenning, father of the artist, was an artist who made his living as an art teacher; he also specialized in illustrated cartography and Heraldry.
Pieter Wenning, photo taken on his wedding day to Johanna on the 3rd of September 1898. Unfortunately there are no available photos of Johanna.
The Boy Scout’s were founded The Monarchy of Portugal is overthrown and a new era of governance begins – they take a severe anti-clergy / Catholic stance to separate state and religion. King George V begins his 25 year reign as monarch of England Albanians rise up against the Ottoman rule of their country An International Convention of Socialist Organizations met in Copenhagen, Denmark and proposed to launch an International Woman’s Day for the right to vote – this day is still acknowledged and celebrated throughout the world and continues to be relevant as there are still countries that continue to deny women the right to vote. Demonstrations against public executions turn into a riot in France. African American boxer Jack Johnson defeats a white American boxer James Jeffries, sparking race riots across America. The Japan-Korean Annexation treaty is signed which is then followed by the abdication of Emperor Sunjong of the Korean Empire resulting in the abolishment of monarchy. The Vatican introduces a compulsory oath against Modernism for all priests upon ordination. Mexican Revolution of 1910 when the election results are declared null and void.
Other Important dates during his life-time Haley’s Comet – 1910 1911 – The Manchu Dynasty is overthrown in China and a new Republic was proclaimed in October The sinking of the Titanic – 14th May 1912 1913 – General Strike of Mine workers in South Africa, Martial Law remained in effect until 24th of March 1914. During this time riots would frequently break out in the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria 1914 – 3rd of August 1914 – World War I
Charicature of Wenning by D.C. Boonzaier. D.C. and Wenning became good friends but D.C. could be a bit of an overbearing man at times, trying to tell Wenning what or how to paint. They corresponded regularly when Wenning was not in Cape Town. When there, he was a regular visitor to their home, he was friendly with all the members of the household including the young Gregoire. D,C. had many of Wenning’s work on his walls, leading to his work having a tremendous influence over Gregoire’s artworks.
A year in the life – 1910 Wenning painting near Tokai Forest, Cape Peninsula. Here we may see Wenning in his trademark long overcoat and hat. Wenning would have walked a long distance to reach Tokai from Newlands. It was not uncommon for him to return only after dark having painted all day that he might finish the painting. If it was raining, he would either read or paint stilllives indoors, but many times he would be caught in the rain and arrive at the Boonzaier family home drenched right through.
Wenning had contracted malaria as a child in Fresia but was reinfected living in Pretoria, which was then still a Malaria area – he became so ill that in 1910 he had to be hospitalized. This seems to have been a turning point in his life; the nature of illness and having to spend so much time in bed recovering generally calls one to rethink how one’s life is being led. It was not just his health, but his finances were also severely strained as the company did not pay him sick-leave. But then a new and exciting development occurred; De Bussy’s decided to expand their business and aside from selling books and art pr ints they decided to stock art materials to the growing art community of Pretoria – much to Wenning’s delight they put him in charge of this new department. He began to come into regular contact with the artist’s active in Pretoria at that time, which included Oerder and Pierneef. Together with these artists and various other practicing amateurs, they formed an art society named “The Individualists”, with Wenning as secretary for the society. They held group exhibitions in the Pretoria town hall, providing a platform and support for Wenning to be recognized as the artist that he was. On Sundays, public holidays and Wednesday afternoons, Wenning would set out on long walking excursions to find material suitable to inspire him to paint. He would often be accompanied by other artists and a mutual exchange of ideas would take place. These excursions, and the art books and prints he was able to study through the auspices of the bookstore, placed him a unique position of making an informed approach to what he wanted to out of his artwork. Towards the end of that year he sent a selection of his oil paintings to the Brussels Exposition for which he received a commendation.
Bibliography
“The Individualists” – The Art Society founded in Pretoria 1910. This photograph was taken at the first exhibition held at the own hall. From left to right: Dr Grünberger, Nina Murray (seated), Marcelle Piltán, Jacob Hendrik (Henk) Pierneef, Miss Harding, Pieter Wenning and Mrs Sent.
Berman, E. (1975) The Story of South African Painting, Cape Town: A.A. Balkema. Berman, E. (1983) Art & Artists of South Africa - An illustrated biographical dictionary and historical survey of painters, sculptors & graphic artists since 1875, Cape Town: A.A. Balkema. Boonzaier, G. (no date) Pieter Wenning - Our Art, Pretoria: Lantern Journal in collaboration with the S.A. Broadcasting Corporation. Boonzaier, G. & Lipschitz, I. (1949) Wenning, Cape Town: Unie-Volkspers Bpk. Wenning, H. (1976) My Father, Cape Town: Howard Timmins. Written and researched by Cate Wood Hunter
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Hugh Mbayiwa work entitled “Busy Bus”, Mixed media on canvas, 99 x 79cm
Salon A & B: Sandveld Diary – oils by Annelie Venter Salon C: “Brokkies nostalgie” – oils by Madelein Marincowitz. The Cube in the Clay Museum: Ceramics by Martin Swart & Noeleen Read
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South African Art Times
July 2009
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SA Art Times Contemporary Artist Profile
Staff writer With no formal art training, Khambule’s progression has been impressive. Born in 1977 in Mdlankala, near Richards Bay, he has been dedicated to art since the age of eight. After meeting fellow artist Welcome Danca, Khambule moved to Durban where he snagged a job working for Vulindlela Art and Design because of his painting talents. He was also introduced by Danca to galleries Fresh Paint and African Accent, and participated in Fresh Paint’s 2009, ‘Hayibo’ exhibition, as well as Kizo art gallery’s 2008 ‘Love Art’ exhibition. It was also Danca who suggested Khambule enter the 2008 START Nivea Art Award Competition, a prize which Khambule took home last year. The award, designed by the Beiersdorf, the makers of Nivea, gives young, aspiring artists a chance to kickstart a career in the arts. It offers prize money of R20 000 to its first prize winner, along with a mentorship program
traditional genre of portraiture to examine identity formation, appearances and prejudices based on appearances. Speaking about the work, ‘Thug’, what appears to be a portrait of a hip-gangster youth, Khambule reveals the work is in fact a self-portrait. “When you look from far, you might think I’m a thug, but if you come closer, you will see I am not a thug.”
Thug Acrylic on canvas 150cm X 100cm
(Durban-based painter, Themba Shibase was Khambule’s mentor), and crucially, culminates in a threeweek exhibition in a professional gallery. A year on from winning the prize, in June, Khambule’s debut solo show of paintings appeared at the KZNSA in Durban. The exhibition entitled ‘It’s a Mask’, a selection of acrylics on canvas, used the
Elsewhere, the notion of a mask takes on a protective meaning. In ‘This is it Kid’, a portrait of Khambule’s last born son, a pattern of umbrella’s adorn the background. Umbrellas, Khambule explains, protect one from the rain. “I’m trying to evoke the identity of children; they need to be protected”. Khambule also understands portraiture to include the spaces which we inhabit. ‘Friday Night’, a painting of a pair of shoes hovering in front of a city skyline, is one such work. “Sometimes I take a photo of where I stay and use that as a portrait”, Khambule says, the shoes were photographed in his bedroom.
Friday Night Acrylic on canvas 150cm X 100cm
While most of Khambule’s works do include naturalistic figures, there is are signs of an exploration of abstraction. ‘Free Fall’, for instance, shows a figure who is all but a ghost emerging from a wash of falling, red streaks. Khambule is currently working full time with business partner Welcome Danca at Vulindlela craft and design; an interior design company who produce unique designs influenced by contemporary African culture. Khambule is very interested in promoting young, upcoming artists, and hopes to one day open his own gallery and school for children. To read more see www.nsagallery. co.za or www.arttimes.co.za
Finalist’s Exhibition 12 July – 08 August 2009 KZNSA Gallery, Durban View the competition artworks of 23 of KZN’s hottest upcoming artists. Share in the excitement as they compete for R35 000 in prize money and a solo show at KZNSA Gallery.
For further details: Nivea.art.award@Beiersdorf.com
START Award winners 2008 are Mizuikyisa Ndlela , Bheki Khambule, Natalie Fossey
Geoffrey Armstrong (1945-) Landscape , acrylic on canvas, Sanlam Art Collection.
2008 Start Nivea Winning Artwork
BHEKI KHAMBULE
Glamour Girl Acrylic on canvas 150cm X 100cm
Sanlam Art Gallery 2 Strand Road, Bellville
The Sanlam Art Gallery located in the Sanlam Head Office in Bellville is the premier exhibition venue for the Sanlam Art Collection. Presently on show is a selection of still life and landscape paintings and sculpture covering almost a centruy of South Arican art history. Visiting Times: Monday – Friday 09:00 – 16:30 For more information contact the curator: Stefan Hundt Tel: 021 947 3359 / 083 457 2699 Guided tours of the collection can be arranged by appointment with the curator
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The Hout Street Gallery 270 Main Street Paarl The Gallery is open Monday – Saturday from 08:30 - 5:30pm and on Sunday from 10:00 - 5:00pm Visit www.houtstreetgallery.co.za or contact 021 872 5030 LOUW Mala
signed and dated 1946, oil on canvas, 72 by 80,5cm R3 000 000 – 3 500 000
signed, oil on board, 60 by 49,5cm R500 000 - 700 000 Freida Lock 1902-1962, Kitchen Interior with a Red Carpet
George Mnyalaza Milwa Pemba 1912-2001, The Blessing
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signed and dated, oil on panel, 36 by 52,5cm R250 000-350 000
Irma Stern 1894-1966, Still Life with Red-flowering Gum
Jean Welz 1900-1975, Still Life with Jugs and Fruit
JOHANNESBURG
CAPE TOWN
Important South African Paintings, Watercolours and Sculpture
Important South African Paintings, Furniture, Silver and Ceramics Including The Collection of the Late Leslie Milner
Monday, 7 September 2009
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Closed for entries Enquiries: 011 728 8246
Vanessa Phillips
Entries close mid July Enquiries: 087 806 8780
Ann Palmer
Stephan Welz
Mary-Jane Darroll
Bina Genovese
Tel: +27 11 728 8246 Fax: +27 11 728 8247 jhb@straussart.co.za www.straussart.co.za 89 Central Street, Houghton, Gauteng, 2198 P O Box 851, Houghton, Gauteng, 2041 First Floor Colinton House, The Oval, 1 Oakdale Road, Claremont, 7700 ct@straussart.co.za Postnet Suite 200, Private Bag X26, Tokai 7966 Tel: 087 806 8780 or 078 044 8185 Fax: 021 683 6085
Titta Fasciotti (1927-1993) Green Meadow, Natal (detail) Oil on Board 295 x 390 mm
The Philip Harper Galleries Hermanus, Western Cape www.thephilipharpergalleries.co.za info@thephilipharpergalleries.co.za We specialise in South African Art, both Old Masters and select Contemporary Artists, catering for both corporate and private clients Oudehof Mall, 167 Main Road, Hermanus, Tel: 028 3124836