Two new art blogs from Johannesburg
by Michael Smith
David Bullard of the Sunday Times recently incurred the wrath of a veritable army of bloggers in cyberspace by questioning whether any of them had much to say. While much blogging does indeed bare the inescapable scent of indulgent navel-gazing, it is arguably true that blogs do form a vital part of the SA art-publishing scene. Blogging can and does form an integral part of art-centered opinion, debate and exchange for an increasingly digitally well-versed audience. The time lapse between Art South Africa's quarterly output, and indeed between ArtThrob's monthly uploads, is frequently being filled by trans-geographical debates conducted in the blogosphere. A number of established visual art-oriented blogs already form part of my weekly routine, including Nathaniel Stern's Nathaniel and the Non-Aggressive (http://nathanielstern.com/blog/) and of course, the much-maligned but frequently entertaining Artheat (http://artheat.blogspot.com).
Now there are two new art blogs on the block, enriching the online art publishing environment in the Big Smoke considerably. Rat Western, artist, educator and curator has launched a blog called The Midnight Kitchen (http://inthemidnightkitchen.blogspot.com/), that seems equally at home dealing in comments on art issues and more personal entries, in both text and image. Western's critical faculties were recently something of a fixture on ArtThrob's Feedback, as most Gauteng regulars will already know. It is thus exciting to see that she has created a forum which will enable a constant flow of her ideas. Western's virtual omnipresence at openings and events places her in a great position to document and comment on a broad range of issues around the production and showing of art in Johannesburg.
Somewhat different in tone but just as valuable is the Art Matters blog (http://artmattersinsouthafrica.blogspot.com), which positions itself as a forum to 'provide commentary on the way art is presented in the mainstream media as well as art media'. Run by a pair of anonymous Jo'burg-based persons under the pseudonym of Jane Marple, the blog seems keen to distinguish itself from the ad hoc, DIY quality that makes Artheat what it is. Instead, Jane Marple places posts that are measured and thoughtful, and which intelligently restrict their focus to issues of writing on art. A great example is a recent post that takes aim at VISI magazine's latest 'Art Issue' (http://artmattersinsouthafrica.blogspot.com/2007/05/beggars-should-be-choosers.html). VISI's undeclared but immediately apparent Cape Town bias undermines the authority of article headlines like 'Who's Who in South African Art'. Also, their rampantly 'glossy magazine' ethic and aesthetic fit in with SA's burgeoning gentrification phenomenon, all but erasing criticality from the equation and leaving its readership with a sense of art as the plaything of interior designers. Jane Marple does a great job of highlighting this and other issues, with a fairly accurate critical sensibility.
I hope their professed 'frank and irreverent observations' live up to the potential they hold for broadening debates on art to include scrutiny of art writing and reporting. May I suggest they take a look at Art Times...?
