SABC corporate collection at the Johannesburg Art Gallery
by Robyn Sassen
The major corporate exhibition received a fair amount of mileage all through last year. It interfaced rather well with the ten-years-of-democracy rubric, which quickly turned into a cliche; in the galleries, theatres and on other cultural platforms because it was such a true celebration. It did not always, however, meet with critical success. The showcasing of the South African Broadcasting Corporation's (SABC) collection fits all of these bills. Happily, its strengths outweigh its weaknesses.
The SABC is an interesting entity in South African cultural identity. Initially a radio broadcaster, they launched as the state television broadcaster in the mid-1970s. The institution represented apartheid-sanctioned entertainment with the local idiosyncrasy of dual-language, Christian parochialism and a straight-laced morality as part of the deal. It has grown significantly over the last 29 years, and these days aims to appropriately reflect the entertainment needs and complex fabric of our society.
The SABC art collection began informally in 1916. It was first shown in public in 1966 and then again in 1996. After democracy, the need to acknowledge South Africa's creative roots was ratified, a curator was appointed and the collection continued growing, fortified with a better understanding of artistic value. Entitled 'Making Waves', the current exhibition is designed to fit the ten years concept, and probably like the previous two exhibitions, reflects on trends, both in art and its display, appropriate to its times.
With works by Pranas Domsaitis, Irma Stern, Maggie Laubser, Dorothy Kay, Gerard Bhengu and Adolph Jentsch, all of whom were born in the early twentieth or late nineteenth centuries, the tone is set not only for professional excellence in the work, but for cultural diversity and sustained comment on a complex and often bloody socio-political and economic history.
Comprising 180 works selected from the SABC's much larger collection, the exhibition is crammed into half of the contemporary downstairs space. This means that works are often hung at odd levels and this doesn't serve them properly.
Technically and for reasons of politeness, works should be hung at more or less average adult eye level. This hasn't been applied and it means scrabbling about on the floor or putting one's neck out in trying to look at a work. Works are also squeezed uncomfortably together, which doesn't allow for decent viewing.
A free catalogue accompanies the exhibition, but this is not quite the piece of corporate generosity it seems: all the works are listed here, but just a select few (not the best, I would suggest) are illustrated. It contains two essays and a gallery plan, explaining which types of works are where, but not which specific works are where - you need to be there to decipher it.
The exhibition has been curated to fit a number of different thematic topics, which, it is understood, must be seen chronologically. While this allows for readability, it does feel forced. The reality of grouping or presenting such a large and diverse body of work, admittedly, would be a challenge to any curator or space.
The problem lies in the thematic concerns not being uniform in the type of conceptual issues they embrace. From 'Struggle' and 'Identity' to 'Sculpture' and 'Video', the categories are problematic in terms of denying the human aspect to some of the works and the exciting challenges to medium in others. There is a fairly wide range of work which would logically straddle two categories, but feels uncomfortable in either.
That said, it offers the best of the best in contemporary art. Koulla Xinisteris, SABC's curator, locates the selection framework with political sensitivity in the best sense. The work reflects on a broad historical range of artists, some not well known. Some are very current, with their beautifully realised comments on the contradictions of living in this country and culture, while others reflect directly on European traditions.
The history of South Africa - political, social, economic, geographic - is sensitively and meaningfully reflected in this show. The works originally bought and recently selected - for the collection in general, and the show in particular - reflect on artists' sensibilities and curatorial acuity, in giving the SABC the appropriate kind of profile. It's just a pity that more room for the arts on the other side of the TV screen is no longer available.
Peter Matlara, very recently ex-Group CEO of the SABC, in his introductory catalogue essay, makes all the politically appropriate gestures about the SABC feeding the cultural arc initiatives and promising a gallery to the public, where this calibre of work would be on permanent display. This type of initiative is what is necessary in a part of Johannesburg not firmly endowed with galleries and cultural platforms.
Closes: March 5
Johannesburg Art Gallery
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