A community of many?
by Sean O'Toole
The list is probably the most concise form of written expression, an unadorned and trenchantly to the point way of stating things. Think of Harper's Index, Sol Le Witt's 'Sentences on Conceptual Art', Tracey Emin's list of Everyone I ever slept with 1963-95, the Fortune 500 list, the names of the town's lining the N1 between Musina and Cape Town - that scruffy thing magnetically attached to your fridge.
True, the list is a rather truncated form of expression but there is no denying its popular appeal, which is why I have opted to use it to present this list of South African art critics and writers on visual arts. In compiling this list I attempted not to classify or discriminate (even though I do concede that a list - even a democratically conceived list - suggests some form of hierarchy, which means some names have inevitably been excluded. I am sadly revealing how hopelessly circumscribed my media reference points are.).
The results of this personal enquiry is heartening. In spite of popular conjecture that local art criticism is in a bad shape, my impromptu list appears to suggest otherwise. True, quantity does not necessarily equate with quality - but that's not really the point here. Rather I wish to celebrate the large number of people actively participating in shaping public discourse on the visual arts in South Africa.
Adam Levin
Alex Dodd
Alex Sudheim
Andrew Lamprecht
Ashraf Jamal
Brenda Atkinson
Brenton Maart
Candice Breitz
Charl Blignaut
Chris Roper
Clifford Charles
Colin Richards
Emma Bedford
Greg Streak
Hazel Friedman
Ivan Vladislavic
Ivor Powell
James Sey
James Webb
Jane Taylor
Julian Jonker
Kathryn Smith
Kendell Geers
Kim Gurney
Lauren Shantall
Lloyd Pollak
Mark Hipper
Matthew Krouse
Melvyn Minnaar
Mgcineni 'Pro' Sobopha
Michael Coulson
Michael Godby
Michelle Constant
Michelle Matthews
Mike van Graan
Nadine Gordimer
Nic Dawes
Nicole Temkin
Ntone Edjabe
Paul Edmunds
Penny Siopis
Prince L Massingham
Robert Greig
Rory Bester
Rory Doepel
Sandra Klopper
Shaun De Waal
Sophie Perryer
Stacy Hardy
Stephen Hobbs
Sue Williamson
Suzy Bell
Themba Ka Mathe
Tracy Murinik
Tumelo Mosaka
Veronique Tadjo
Virginia MacKenny
Zayd Minty
Post Script: Send ArtThrob your own customised list, or better yet, a list of the names we omitted.
