The publication of Lin Sampson's article entitled ‘The Cringe Crowd’ in the ‘lifestyle’ section of the Sunday Times this week has called into question, yet again, the Sunday Times’s credibility.  After the now famous David Bullard incident, Lin Sampson’s article about Cape Town’s art scene seems to confirm the lack of editorial and journalistic rigour at the newspaper. 

Amongst the inaccuracies...

The publication of Lin Sampson's article entitled ‘The Cringe Crowd’ in the ‘lifestyle’ section of the Sunday Times this week has called into question, yet again, the Sunday Times’s credibility.  After the now famous David Bullard incident, Lin Sampson’s article about Cape Town’s art scene seems to confirm the lack of editorial and journalistic rigour at the newspaper. 

Amongst the inaccuracies were the claims that Dan Halter is the owner of the Whatiftheworld Gallery, that goody bags are handed out at art openings and that Beezy Bailey (spelt in the article Baily) is an ‘aficionado’ of the Goodman Gallery.  Also among a litany of inventions, misquotes and distortions was the claim that Roger Young said: ‘I only go to an opening when I know the artist and when the drinks are free.’  When asked for comment Young said that he was misquoted by Sampson.  Young has confirmed that what he said was that: ‘I only go to openings when I know of the artist.’  Young did, however, go on to admit that he did make the other claim but that he then did go on to offer to buy her a drink.  Young stated that the irony seemed to be lost on her.

Of the more defamatory comments that Sampson makes is the claim that there are twins that frequent Cape Town’s art openings, ‘looking for woman and anything going free for the Previously Disadvantaged.’  The article goes on to claim that the Cape Town art scene is filled with perverts and mindless hipsters who are devoid of any real interest in contemporary art.  Sampson also recently published an article where she made a similar claim about young Michaelis art school hipsters saying that: ‘the words "post modern"' could be tattooed on their foreheads, although they have difficulty in explaining it.’  At the top of the article she attached the picture of the student Anna Stielau as an example of one such person.  Anna Stielau was top of her class in art theory at Michaelis.