Archive: Issue No. 66, February 2003

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ARTTHROB
MONTHLY ISSUE #66 FEB 2003
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YDESIRE

YDEsire
It's Softserve time again!

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William Kentridge

Zeno (Dawid Minnar) on his bed in William Kentridge's
The Confessions of Zeno

Photo:Ruphin Coudyzer

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Stephanus Rademeyer

Stephanus Rademeyer
Vanishing Points
Lightbox

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Patrick de Mervelec

Patrick de Mervelec
Untitled
Digital print by Andrew Meintjies

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Terry Kurgan

Terry Kurgan
installation view of 'Lost and Found' at the
Johannesburg Civic gallery, 2000

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Zwelethu Mthethwa

Zwelethu Mthethwa
Untitled, 2002
Chromogenic print

Courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery

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Robert Hodgins

Robert Hodgins
La Contessa Venemosa, 2002
Lithograph
Paper size 57 x 76cm
Image size 49.5 x 68cm

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SELECTED LISTINGS

STANDBY

THIS WEEK:

"The slow level of transformation in the cultural arena" is the subject of an extensive review by Zayd Minty in this update. A key member of the defunct Black Arts Collective (BLAC), Minty and a band of like-minded individuals overcame the difficulties currently facing black artists by initiating a number of crucial exhibitions and workshops. Looking contemplatively back, his commentary reveals that a subtle blend of personal passion, enviable networking skills and a group-based sense of purpose can produce startling results. Personally, I have seen this kind of determination achieve the same outcome in a totally different context, a group of young Pretoria artists recently managing to stage two well-received shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg. (And let's not forget about the youthful efforts sustaining the forthcoming staging of YDESIRE.) True, there is a lot that distinguishes these latter examples from BLAC. South Africa's 'previously disadvantaged' artists still do not enjoy the same wide-ranging privileges as their white ('currently disadvantaged'?) counterparts. Which, on one level, is exactly the point of Minty's piece. It is, however, too easy to simply cling to a despairing view of the situation. BLAC didn't, neither should anyone else.

Robert Hodgin's witty and richly coloured lithograph La Contessa Venemosa is the second offering in the Editions for ArtThrob.

Next Update: March 3, 2003


CAPE

Kevin Brand and Robert Hodgins both present headline grabbing solo shows this month. The Sanlam Art Gallery is showcases installation works by Leora Faber and Jan van der Merwe alongside classical realist bronze by Anton van Wouw. Art.b presents three female artists: Kim Boezaart, Marlise Keith and Zhané Warren. Deryck Healey is at the AVA.

Warren Siebrits presents yet another astounding collection of recent South African art, this time prints. Included in the impressive line-up are works by local artists Alan Alborough, Jane Alexander, Marlene Dumas, Penny Siopis, Robert Hodgins, Thomas Knuna and Cyprian Shilakoe; Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys add international prestige. The Goodman Gallery is closed for the rest of February, workmen preparing the space for William Kentridge's auspicious homecoming.

Terry Kurgan shows 'Lost and Found' at the Durban Art Gallery, and the Tatham presents a retrospective look at Gladys Mgudlandlu.

Zwelethu Mthethwa is on three shows. Berni Searle opens in her first solo museum show in Berkeley, California. Notions of representation predominate in two other important shows: 'How Latitudes became Forms: Art in a Global Age' at the Walker Art Center, which includes Moshekwa Langa, Robin Rhode and Usha Seejarim, and a group show at the Artist's Space in New York. Gavin Younge's Curating the Waves is in Paris.

REVIEWS

The Black Arts Collective has been dissolved; Zayd Minty looks back on the role this organisation played in making a diverse range of black cultural workers visible. Kevin Brand has adopted a "more fluid, and at times considered, approach" to painting writes Andrew Lamprecht in his review of '4x4'; Paul Edmunds uses the word incorrigible a lot in his joyous celebration of Robert Hodgins; and Sue Williamson assesses William Kentridge's Confessions of Zeno. Michelle Matthews weighs up Broadcast Quality: The art of Big Brother II, and Sean O'Toole reviews Group Portrait, a book about nine South African families.
NEWS

New York-based curator, Lauri Firstenberg comments that Zwelethu Mthethwa's new décor studies "reinvent the terms of photographic portraiture within South Africa by reversing colonial models of representation"; Francesco Bonami announces details pertaining to the 50th Venice Biennial; the Trinity Session make their working process transparent and share resources at Berlin's Transmediale; and archival African postcards intrigue a US curator.
SUE WILLIAMSON'S DIARY

Deadline woes beset Sue Williamson as she negotiates with two translators to finalise her new catalogue - and prepares to go to Australia. Phew!
ART BIO

Diane Victor is an artist of uncompromising directness. Her pastel, charcoal and linocut works typically confront viewers with a highly charged, often fraught psychological landscape. Yet it is not simply her fraught subject matter that she engages with that identifies this artist as a remarkable talent. Diane Victor's output is characterised by its impeccably drawn figures and virtuoso handling of flesh. We profile a talent who wants make audiences "take one step beyond their comfort zone."
WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

Links to artists, galleries, and institutions; we point out www.glowlab.com.
PROJECT OF THE MONTH

Indymedia - a network of independent media collectives and hundreds of journalists offering grassroots, non-corporate coverage - have drawn-up a striking visual map indicating where the US stockpiles its massive arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. This is not a joke; A Threat to Peace is cartography with conscience.
EXCHANGE

Entries are invited for the 18th annual Absa L'Atelier competition; Art & Science Collaborations, Inc. call for submissions for 'Dark Science'; and Judge Albie Sachs invites artists to submit work for new court building at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.
FEEDBACK

Have we misstated the facts, gerrymandered about with the truth, or just plain got it wrong. Let us know: submit your thoughts and comments to us.
EDITIONS FOR ARTTHROB

Following on the successful launch of Editions for ArtThrob in December 2002, ArtThrob is proud to announce that Robert Hodgins will be our featured Editions for ArtThrob artist for February and March. We are currently offering readers (and art buyers) an opportunity to acquire an original artwork by this enigmatic painter.
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EDITIONS FOR ARTTHROB

Joao Ferreira Fine Art

Urban Art

Standard Bank Gallery

Bell-Roberts Contemporary

Goodman Gallery

The | Premises

Association for Visual Arts

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