State of the Institutions

With President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address still fresh in the minds of most South Africans, ArtThrob approached directors at the Johannesburg Art Gallery and the Iziko South African National Gallery, to look at the state of the national institutions. Here Director of Art Collections: South African National Gallery and Old Town House, Riason Naidoo, and Director of the JAG, Antoinette Murdoch, each talk to Michael Smith.

Riason Naidoo

Michael Smith: Riason, you’ve been director of the South African National Gallery (SANG) for a little over a year-and-a-half. What is the gallery’s standing in terms of finances, staffing and public perception?

Riason Naidoo: It’s actually coming up for two years in two months' time.

It is important to note that the gallery is not autonomous. It is part of the broader Iziko Museums structure, which is made up of 12 museums, all based in Cape Town. Iziko is funded by annual grants from the Department of Arts and Culture, which are then allocated to the different departments (natural history, art, and social history) according to needs and available budget by the Council. For this financial year the global figure for all departments and museums was around R50,7 million, which included all running costs, salaries and programmes. Iziko’s projected income from gate revenue and other sources for this financial year is R20 million, notwithstanding separate and exclusive partnerships that make certain exhibitions possible.

At the gallery we could always do with an extra few million a year towards large-scale touring retrospectives focusing on deserving local artists, on acquisitions, on training young curators, and on art education programmes.

With regard to staff, we are fortunate to have an almost full staff complement, with the exception of the position of curator of contemporary art, one which is in the process of being filled. It is most certainly a long-term goal to have a staff complement that closely reflects the country’s demographics. Of course individual ability is also an important factor.

During the '1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective' exhibition we doubled our numbers compared to the previous year for the same period, while other Iziko museums experienced an average 2% drop. And over the last quarter October to December there has been a 25% increase in attendance compared to the previous year. So if that is any measure of improved public perception, then the future is definitely looking brighter.

We are definitely attracting new visitors from the local population, revealing a broadening interest in the exhibitions we are showing. And our openings seem to reflect a more diverse crowd with lots of younger people now also attending! The 'Borders' exhibition, from the 8th Encounters Photo Biennale in Mali, also seemed to bring in many African immigrant visitors living in the Cape Town area.  


MS: Thus far, what have been the highlights of your tenure?

RN: '1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective' was definitely the highlight for me. The fact that we made this exhibition a reality in the face of obstacles and lack of finances, is something we can be proud of. A show such as this focusing on 100 years of South African art was unprecedented. It was also the first time that we also used the whole gallery for one show, and that works loaned from 48 other collections were included. Our team at ISANG really dug deep to pull this one out the bag. And I must make special mention of Joe Dolby, Pam Warne, Andrea Lewis, Robyn Leigh Cedras, Nigel Scholtz and William Visagie and Majiet Isaacs. The decision to show local art instead of international art during this time was, looking retrospectively, a good one. The exhibition made a huge impact and stimulated a lot of debate. The two-day conference we held at the end of the exhibition was definitely a highlight because it raised many critical issues to the surface, and revealed the mechanisms and local agendas. And, of course, being subsequently invited to talk about this at the Tate Modern in October last year was a great development.

We also made extra efforts to bring important shows such as Alexis Preller, Louis Maqhubela, 'Borders',' In Context' and Ernest Cole from Johannesburg to the gallery, which audiences here would otherwise not have seen. Similarly, we have given our support for and hosted other important local exhibitions like 'Dada South?', which was on at the end of 2009. Soon we will host 'Tretchikoff: The People’s Painter' at the end of May, which will challenge old taboos.


MS: The global economic crisis has obviously exacerbated the challenges already faced by national art institutions. Have acquisition budgets been cut or frozen during this time? What is the SANG’s current official annual acquisition budget?

RN: The gallery acquisitions budget is definitely healthier than previous years. Last year we got a 50% increase in our acquisitions budget, based on increased market prices and global competition for South African art. Still this is not enough to keep the best pieces in the country and in the gallery collection but it’s a move in the right direction; towards us acquiring the pieces we think are important, which will hold the collection in good repute into the future. We still need considerable sums though to address the collection historically.

I would prefer not to give the actual acquisition budget as it does present us with certain advantages when negotiating and it could be open to manipulation by interested parties if it were made public. For example, when you buy a house do you tell the estate agent how much money you have in the bank?


MS: What is the SANG’s current policy regarding acquisitions? Where do you locate your emphasis?

RN: In terms of acquisitions we have made important shifts to move to look nationally, not just at the big names but the lesser known names too. This is very important. I grew up in Durban and worked at the Durban Art Gallery so I’m familiar with the art of that region. Having studied at Wits University for several years and having worked in Johannesburg for a decade has been an advantage in getting to know the Johannesburg art scene.

The '1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective' show was immensely useful in revealing historical gaps in our collection and identifying a list of works and artists that we need to acquire to live up to our name of being a truly representative national collection.

We have also made the shift to collect younger contemporary artists. It is important that we show leadership and take initiative to identify younger artists making their mark with interesting work so that we also collect early in their careers. One might also argue that this is also an effective way for us to use our budget prudently and creatively.

MS: In the wake of your much-publicized relegation of Gainsborough and Reynolds to the storeroom in favour of Subotzky and Sibande, what is your stance on balancing the SANG’s history with the urgency of needing to show contemporary work?

RN: It is very clear to me that we have to know our history in order to talk about it articulately. But it can’t be a skewed reflection of history, maintaining old hegemonies. We should not be held to ransom to show certain histories over others. We live in a multicultural society in AFRICA and our acquisitions and exhibitions should adequately reflect that.  

I have nothing against Gainsborough and Reynolds, in fact I admire their technique. They are important artists for their time and they give us a lot of information about attitudes of the time. For me, we should be able to draw on the historical, the modern, the traditional and the contemporary and to show them in interesting ways. We have a Joshua Reynolds portrait of David Stewart Erskine as Lord Cadross from the 18th century on the 'Imagining Beauty' exhibition right now but it is shown in a different context, illustrating adornment. The exhibition is curated by Carol Kaufmann with significant contributions from Hayden Proud. That’s a way we can use our historical collections in appealing new ways to open up conversation and debate on different themes; in this case, fashion. Another example is a new show from the permanent collection entitled 'Random Works?' which brings historical works together with modern and contemporary art in oil painting, charcoal drawing, sculptural installation, wooden sculpture and photography, from our different collections, which I think works well and is worth checking out.
 
MS: On their UK news website, The Guardian journalist David Smith made mention of your ‘frustration at the slow pace of racial transformation in art 16 years after apartheid’. At the same time, I have commissioned Sharlene Khan to write a follow-up to her ‘Doing it for Daddy’ article, which first appeared in Art South Africa five years ago. My brief was for her to consider her experiences following the publishing of the article, and to talk about progress in transformation since that article. Do you think your appointment indicates a change in the kind of laager mentality Khan originally spoke of?

RN: I cannot comment on my own appointment. That’s for the management of Iziko to comment on.  

What worries me is that the slow pace of transformation is not isolated to the art museum world.  We know that you can buy good coverage. If you take out an ad in some print and online journals, this is often reciprocated with a good review. In my experience the editors hold huge influence. There’s most certainly a lack of space for black authorship with regard to fine art, which is unfortunate.

Many of these issues were raised at the conference we held at ISANG at the end of the '1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective' exhibition.

MS: Moving to the immediate future, what kind of program does the SANG have for the coming year?

RN: We have Ernest Cole on right now. Then the big exhibition will be 'Tretchikoff: The People’s Painter'; another first. Do you know he was rejected outright by the ISANG, so much so that when I included The Herb Seller (1948) in the '1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective' show it was the first time a Trecthikoff was shown at the ISANG? So this will be the first significant showing of Tretchikoff in an art museum in South Africa. About time, don’t you think?

Later in the year we will show Peter Clarke, a very significant artist in our art history. Peter has his own unique style: he’s up there with Sekoto, Pemba and Feni.

I also don’t want to give too much away, we’ve got to keep some element of surprise but I promise it is an exciting, vibrant programme. So watch this space!

Antoinette Murdoch

Michael Smith: Antoinette, you’ve been at the helm of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) for nearly two years now. How is the gallery shaping up, financially, structurally and staffing-wise?

Antoinette Murdoch: Finance will always be a problem for the gallery, as we are a public institution with minimal budget from the Local Government. This has been one of my greatest ongoing frustrations and fundraising remains a large part of what I do on a daily basis.

The Johannesburg Art Gallery building is almost 100 years old and needs a lot of TLC. There are a wide variety of structural problems, which we are planning to address aggressively over the next four years. The beautiful Lutyens building needs some repairs to the external façade, and international museum standards with regard to climatic conditions in display areas need to be prioritised. The Meyer/Pienaar extension to the gallery poses larger challenges, such as the ongoing leaking of the roof.

I am happy to report that the staffing configuration is looking excellent with new appointments including Nontobeko Ntombela (Contemporary Curator). Other young dynamic women like Reshma Chhiba and Musha Neluheni as well as stalwarts like Nessa Leibhammer and Jo Burger make for a formidable team.

MS: Thus far, what have been the highlights of your tenure there?

AM: 2010 was a magnificent year with international exhibitions such as the Afro-Cuban show, while critics paid specific attention to the Ernest Cole retrospective. The Gallery was named the best gallery for 2010 in the Readers Choice awards as publicised by The Star newspaper, and Okwui Enwezor also named the Ernest Cole exhibition the best show that he saw in 2010. It is also wonderful to see lost audiences returning to the gallery, and people appreciating the space for its heritage value.

MS: The challenges ordinarily faced by national art institutions across the globe have obviously been exacerbated by the financial crisis. Have acquisition budgets been cut or frozen during this time? What is the JAG’s current official annual acquisition budget?

AM: Due to the remarkable foresight of Christopher Till and thanks to Anglo-American South Africa, R4m was invested in a trust fund in the 1980s, the interest of which is spent on purchases for the gallery. The gallery’s acquisition budget therefore remains relatively stable during this recession.

Due to the complicated process of reregistering the trust in which the acquisition budget is held, the exact figure is currently unavailable.

MS: What is JAG’s current policy regarding acquisitions? Where do you locate your emphasis?

AM: As a public institution, the gallery collects for the purposes of education, the preservation of heritage and public enjoyment, rather than for financial investment or according to the personal preferences of any of the curatorial staff. In the past, JAG directors have tried to build up a strong collection of international works (the collection was essentially founded with the purpose of representing modern European art). However, for the moment, partly due to budgetary constraints, the JAG acquires works primarily from South Africa and the southern Africa region. Moreover, the art gallery committee has decided that the museum’s responsibility lies more in the thorough representation of historical and contemporary art from southern Africa.

MS: Typically, there is a lot of pressure on public art galleries to focus on collecting contemporary art. But given the skyrocketing values of Sterns and Pierneefs, wouldn’t it make good investment sense for national institutions to be collecting SA modern art alongside contemporary work?

AM: Firstly, the gallery never collects for the purpose of financial investment: works from the collection are never sold, and therefore the promise of great financial value is not a factor for consideration when we decide on potential acquisitions.

Secondly, the JAG collection already boasts the most magnificent Sterns and Pierneefs. I feel that it is more important for our institution to focus on collecting contemporary art, and important historical art that has perhaps been overlooked or underrepresented in the collection.

MS: In January 2011 the JAG suffered yet another theft, this time of a 71cm-high sculpture by 19th Century French artist Jules Dalou. This is the latest in a long line of thefts from the institution over the past fifteen or so years. Other thefts include:
•    Jongkind’s Normandy Beach (1863), stolen in 2004.
•    El Greco’s Apostle Thomas, stolen in 2002. At the time of the theft www.joburg.org.za called the work ‘priceless’.
•    Kendell Geers's Suitcase was removed from the gallery in 2002, but was later found in the adjoining car park. The motive for this theft may have been vandalism more than acquisitive theft.
•    In 1996 a section of a two-figure sculpture by SA artist David Brown was stolen from outside the gallery, where it was on display. The figure was later recovered in a Cape Town scrap yard, was restored and returned to the gallery.

It would appear the gallery is something of a soft target for art thieves. Exactly what sort of security system does the JAG have, and how is it possible that it is continually breached?

AM: On the contrary, art theft is an increasingly common occurrence internationally. The previous Director of the museum upgraded the security system significantly and it is important to note that the aforementioned list of thefts took place more than 6 years ago, before our current security system had been put in place. This obviously does not make the loss of our Dalou less painful and urgent, and we are working tirelessly to improve our systems. It would be counter-productive to reveal the particulars of our security system, but I can report that we have guards on duty 24 hours per day and I would not consider us a 'soft target'. Once again, a lack of financial resources restricts us from building on our current security arrangements.

Incidentally, it is also interesting to note that several major thefts around the country have been reported since May 2010 including:
•    A bronze sculpture by Stephan Rautenbach to the value of R255 000, stolen in Paarl
•    A Maude Sumner painting stolen in Johannesburg
•    An Irma Stern painting stolen in Cape Town (the artwork has subsequently been recovered)

MS: Are there any leads on the missing Dalou work?

AM: Unfortunately, the Dalou has not yet been found. We do have a private investigator on the case.

MS: Moving to mentorship and development, does the JAG have any policy for developing curatorial skills in Johannesburg? What programmes are you currently running?

AM: JAG and other museums in Johannesburg are currently investigating the development of curatorial skills in collaboration with the Mellon Foundation, but this project is still in its inception, and it would be premature to give any further information at this stage.

MS: It appears that the JAG still doesn’t have its own dedicated website. A Google search on the web still brings up only JAG-related entries on the www.joburg.org.za site. This seems odd, given that the JAG holds one of the largest and most important collections of art on the African continent. Also, both the Pretoria Art Museum and the Iziko SANG have websites. Why is there no JAG website?

AM: This was a decision of the City of Joburg Arts and Culture Directorate, based on their wish to consolidate all Joburg museums and galleries in this way. The JAG is part of a consortium of museums in Johannesburg, all of which have to abide by this decision.

The direct link to JAG on the internet is http://www.joburg.org.za/culture/museums-galleries/jag. We realise that this is not the most practical web platform for users, but I would like to encourage people to make use of it, as the information is regularly updated and we are doing our best to generate quality content for it. You can also find us on Twitter (username: @artthisway) and on Facebook. Please become a friend!

MS: The Department of Arts and Culture is making some encouraging noises about digitally recording heritage items and places. Is there a chance that the JAG’s extensive collection of works could be digitally photographed and become digitally accessible to the public?

AM: In terms of the DAC, I would not hold my breath. We fall under local government, and the DAC will be concentrating on national institutions first. We make ongoing effort to have our collection digitised and hope that in the not-too-distant future this will be possible. Information has been captured on a digital database and the photographing of the collection is an ongoing project.

MS: Moving to the immediate future, what kind of program does the JAG have for this year? Will there be a good mix of local and international work on show again this year?

AM: As we are gearing up for a major international show in 2012, this year will be more focused on local artists and curated exhibitions from our collection. The year starts with a large mid-career retrospective by Tracey Rose from 20 February 2011 and closing on 17 April 2011. The late Alan Crump will also be appropriately honoured with a retrospective exhibition later in the year. In addition to this, visitors can look forward to many curated exhibitions focusing on the schools’ curriculum, and we will also reintroduce the Project Room with some exciting newcomers.