The Cape Africa Platform may have flunked out on opening TRANS CAPE in September as scheduled, but Capetonians celebrated the postponed not-a-biennale anyway - twice. Andrew Lamprecht put together the 'real' Cape Biennale salon-style at blank projects while CAPE itself linked up various spaces in an Art Circuit night around the city centre [see
News]. There was even a foreign journalist, Italian Iolanda Pensa, who flew in to dissect the non event for Domus.
If the purpose of art is to communicate, that communication cannot be made in a vacuum. Art needs an audience. And discourse. Informed and lively writing about art from different viewpoints is essential if art is to provide a source of enrichment to the general public. In the interests of encouraging and developing young art writers, ArtThrob this month publishes the first two student reviews from a class of graduate students at UCT. Other lecturers around the country are invited to contact the editor@artthrob.co.za to arrange to submit reviews from their own students.
Design Editor Ralph Borland leaves ArtThrob this month to study for a PhD at Trinity College, Dublin for the next few years. Taming the enormous number of stories, pictures and captions from contributors each month and getting them all into place is an onerous task ... thank you, Ralph. Design assistant Michele Horwitz will take over as Design Editor from next month.
Sue Williamson
Founding Editor
Next month: Special section on new art books
Next update: Friday, November 3
CAPE
Capetonians celebrated the postponed not-a-biennale anyway last month - twice. Andrew Lamprecht put together the 'real' Cape Biennale at blank projects while CAPE itself linked up various spaces in an Art Circuit night around the city centre [see News]. Comic-related work is a recurring theme this month: Bitterkomix launches its new handbook at Michael Stevenson, Lizza Littlewort pokes fun at the artworld at what if the world... , and artists like Brett Murray (João Ferreira) and Francois van Reenen (Rose Korbert Art) employ the genre in their visual language.
GAUTENG
A host of important exhibitions open in Jozi this month, notably Clive van den Berg's show at Goodman, Shepherd Ndudzo at Gallery Momo, and the curiously-titled 'Sightings of Robert Sloon', by none other than Robert Sloon, at the Parking Gallery (one night only).
KWAZULU-NATAL
Sifiso KaMkame, Andrew Verster, Kristin Yang and Gabi Nkosi show at the KZNSA Gallery which also hosts 'Negotiated Spaces', a show by Nontobeka Ntombela and Bronwen Vaughan-Evans, and Nivea Art Award winner Mxolisi Sithole's first solo exhibition later in the month. ArtSPACE durban shows work by the innovative students from the Imagination Lab.
INTERNATIONAL
Once again, young South African artists come to the fore this month, with Ed Young exhibiting in Caracas, Cologne and Italy, and Mandy Lee Jandrell taking part in three different shows in the UK. Ledelle Moe has a solo exhibition in New York while The Horse Hospital in London hosts a George Tobias retrospective.
CAPE
The language of spin is intensely dissected in William Scarbrough's multimedia installation, which uses media coverage of a series of child murders in the United States as raw material. Charles Maggs gets caught in the web in his review of 'Reclamation' at the Michaelis Gallery. Did it kick ass? Read Ed Young's review of the Thembinkosi Goniwe-curated group show 'Amajita in Conversation' at the AVA.
GAUTENG
In 'Free for All', Johannesburg-based Brenden Gray questions the access we have to the construction and re-presentation of our immediate history and the 'culture' it implies writes Michael Smith . Basel-based Philipp Gasser and Bruno Tremblay have been participating in a residency in Johannesburg where they presented a collaborative work produced in response to their stay. Smith reports on this powerful work, marred only by the use of, what he terms, 'hot button' words. Zhan´e Warren's 'Recurrence' finds the artist showing photographic documentation of her performance entitled 'eatmyheartout'. She manages, Smith argues, to transcend a mere representation of her performance. Sue Williamson looks in at Norman Catherine's 'Dualities'.
KWAZULU NATAL
Tom Cullberg's first solo outing in Durban reiterates the role of the artist as observer, subtly documenting human interaction and the relationships between identity, object and geographical place. Francesca Verga finds 'House' to be very intriguing.
INTERNATIONAL
The fourth museum stop for mega-show 'Africa Remix' after Düsseldorf, London and Paris was a three month stint at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo - the society perhaps furthest away from Africa in every sense. Graduate student Genevieve Wood considers the reception of the show in Japan.
Marcel Waldeck's 'Burn Out' tears up The Premises Gallery and Art Bank Jo'burg launches officially at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Canadian-born Basel-based artist Bruno Tremblay, whose work is reviewed on this site this month, speaks at Wits. Gordart Gallery celebrates three years of existence with a show at Aardklop and David Krut Arts Resource launches several new publications. Kim Gurney got on the bus for the CAPE Art Circuit. Also in Cape Town, the Gregg Smith-initiated 'Very Real Time 2' commences. Sanell Aggenbach reports on the death of painter Adriann van Zyl. The Goodman Gallery, who last month gave their annual Award to artist and editor Sue Williamson, is to open in Cape Town. The Association for Visual Arts appoints a new director. Francesca Verga reports on the relocation of Durban's very important African Art Centre.
In a singular 24 hour period, the editor wins a major award and learns that she has been given the cover of an international art magazine
ABSA Atelier Award winner Ruth Sacks is this month's focus.
Carine Zaayman visits three blogs - ModernArtObsession, LondonArtGirl and HD Rants - all of which observe the art world from a fresh, unconventional angle.
'Waste at Work' is an initiative between Cape Town-based Coeo Art Collective, BASA (Business and Art South Africa), artists and a number of businesses.
UNESCO calls for video podcast proposals, artSPACE durban Affordable Art Fair 2006 calls for contributions, sound artist and musician Brendon Bussy runs a Creative DIY Digital Audio Techniques at Vega, Cape Town, and Unyazi 2007 invites participation.
Don't agree with our writers? Let us hear from you. This month, Michael Smith responds to a question by Brenden Grey.
Send us your feedback.
ArtThrob is proud to offer an outstanding print from the remarkable Jo'burg series by one of the country's most distinguished photographers, the award-winning Guy Tillim. The series focuses on the teeming hotspot of Hillbrow, where overcrowded apartments are filled to capacity, and evictions a way of life.
This month, David Goldblatt will travel to Stockholm to receive the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography 2006. Please look at the two remarkable David Goldblatt prints available through Editions.
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