Archive: Issue No. 53, January 2002

23.01.02 'Surviving the Lens' at Johannesburg Art Gallery
23.01.02 'Africa Bonita' at The Zone
23.01.02 William Scarbrough at The | Premises - walkabout
16.01.02 Jacques Fuller at the Sandton Civic Gallery
16.01.02 John Moore at Art on Paper
09.01.02 Doris Bloom at Millennium II
09.01.02 Gail Iris Neke and Nadja Daehnke at the Goodman
12.12.01 William Scarbrough at The | Premises
07.11.01 'Relationships' photo essay competition at the Bensusan
07.11.01 Wits Fine Art student exhibition

16.01.02 Friends' Day at the Pretoria Art Museum
16.01.02 Slovak-South African exhibition at Tina Skukan
16.01.02 Fibre Art at the Association of Arts, Pretoria
09.01.02 Jürgen Schadeberg at the Pretoria Art Museum
12.12.01 Unisa fourth-year Fine Arts student exhibition

Arriving in Johannesburg after a run at the South African National Gallery, 'Surviving the Lens: Photographic Studies of South and East African People, 1870-1920' is a selection of 50 photographic portraits from the collections of art dealers Michael Graham-Stewart and Michael Stevenson.

The show is intended to offer contemporary South Africans the opportunity to re-evaluate colonial photography of this time and region. At a time when Europeans were busy "discovering" the exotic nature of foreign lands, both amateurs and professional photographers, in the form of tourists, scientists and commercial photographers, were subjecting indigenous people to their exploitative lenses.

As the exhibition publicity states, these images can be seen as art, ethnography, anthropology, amateur snapshots or visual souvenirs, and perhaps even pornography, but the underlying issue in collecting these images for an exhibition - and a lush, coffee-table publication - seems to be about subjectivity. Instead of wondering who took the pictures, we begin to ask questions about why certain images were made, as well as the attitudes of the subjects to their being photographed. The exhibition tracks images of slavery, tribal traditions and the black "middle class" in studio and field images.

Opening: January 27 at 11am
Closing: March 31

Johannesburg Art Gallery, corner Klein and King George Streets, Joubert Park
Tel: (011) 725 3130
Fax: (011) 720 6000
Hours: Tues - Sun 10am - 5pm

Poet Tholang Tseka and visual artist Payne Phalane host 'Africa Bonita', a book launch and art exhibition in empty retail space in The Zone mall in Rosebank. You'll find the venue next to Nando's.

Opening: January 31 at 8pm

Tel: (011) 880 7397

Kathryn Smith will conduct a walkabout of William Scarbrough's interactive exhibition, 'The Trials of Dr Kawalsk on Saturday January 26 at noon. Everyone is welcome. The show has been extended until January 31.

For more information, email thepremises@onair.co.za or go to www.onair.co.za/thepremises.

Sculptor Jacques Fuller presents an exhibition of representational bronze pieces in association with the Oliewenhius Art Museum, Bloemfontein. Bonang Mohale, CE of Corporate Marketing at Sanlam, will open the exhibition.

Opening: January 31 at 6pm
Closing: March 10

Sandton Civic Gallery, corner Rivonia Road and West Street, Sandton
Tel: (011) 881 6431

In his first major exhibition in Johannesburg in many years, established woodblock printer John Moore exhibits new woodcuts and lithographs in a show titled 'Illumination'.

After many years of teaching and working as a technical printing assistant, Moore recently resigned to work as a full-time artist from his studio near Fourways, Johannesburg.

He will exhibit two new series of prints, the first being a reworking of the Greek muses in the guise of different species of South African antelope. The second series is called 'The Whale', a portfolio of six hand-printed, hand-coloured lithographs in an edition of 30, printed at the Artist's Press.

Moore will be in residence at Art on Paper for the duration of the exhibition, and will conduct walkabouts on Saturday January 26 and Wednesday January 30 at 3pm.

Opening: January 19 at 3pm

Art on Paper, 8 Main Road, Melville (next to Outer Limits bookshop)
Tel: (011) 726 2234
Email: mwartonp@mweb.co.za
Hours: Tues - Sat 10am - 5pm

Denmark-based South African artist Doris Bloom shows 'The U in You', a collection of 60 works on paper forming part of an ongoing "chronology in progress". The show centres on Bloom's preoccupation with reinterpreting and personalising the kinds of information contained in media photographs.

There will be a performance by the artist at the opening.

Opening: January 22 at 6pm
Closing: February 7

Millennium II, 19 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank
Tel: (011) 880 5270
Email: mgallery@mweb.co.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 11am - 6pm, Sat 12pm - 5pm

The Goodman sets a serious tone with its first exhibition for a year, a two-woman exhibition by Gail Iris Neke and Nadja Daehnke. Neke's show, 'Killing the (M)other' is her first solo exhibition at this gallery, although the body of work was shown at the Bell-Roberts Art Gallery in Cape Town last year. After conducting research at rape clinics and referencing contemporary psychoanalytical texts, Neke has interpreted this research using mixed media installation. She interrogates why men rape, rather than examining the effects of rape on the survivor, thereby examining the processes through which male vulnerability is represented by and projected onto women who are objects of both desire and fear.

Complementing Neke, Daehnke's series of paintings entitled 'Borderlines' looks at how identities are redefined and reconstructed as individuals cross over borders. She says, "These borders delineate physical space, but more importantly their function is also to determine the identity of people within and without these spaces. Borders serve to define the identity of people (such as nationality) and thereby to determine their status and privileges." Her interest in this subject arose out of an awareness of migration as a prominent but controversial shaper of society in the international arena and out of the impact of migration in Southern Africa specifically.

The artists will lead walkabouts on January 23 and January 26 at noon.

Opening: January 19 at noon
Closing: February 9

Goodman Gallery, 163 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood
Tel: (011) 788 1113
Fax: (011) 788 9887
Email: goodman@iafrica.com
Hours: Tues - Fri 9.30am - 5.30pm, Sat 9.30am - 4pm

New York artist William Scarbrough's multimedia installation 'The Trials of Dr Kawalski' has been extended by popular demand. The interactive exhibition focuses of the life and work of this controversial scientist and researcher, who was convicted of murdering a young patient.

Presented in conjunction with independent artists' space Momenta Art in New York, the installation is designed to challenge the media's power to establish historical fact by breaking down its truths, or documents, into its components: words and images. It serves as a vehicle through which one may consider the role of media in constructing our perceptions.

Scarbrough opened the identical show on December 7 at Momenta Arts in New York City. This event was videotaped and uploaded onto Momenta's website (see www.momentaart.org). The | Premises and Momenta will be linked for the duration of the exhibition via respective websites, as well an exchange of printed matter (catalogues, pamphlets etc) between spaces.

The primary components of the exhibition are an interactive large-screen multimedia projection, audio stations and a series of digital prints. Combined, they offer visitors the means to participate in an interactive environment about the events, people and places that surround the life of the mysterious Dr Jason Kawalski. His life story takes us from the tragic childhood death of his twin sister in Itau, Bolivia, to his career as a leading medical researcher, to his controversial conviction in the murder of a young girl in Burlington, Vermont. Scarbrough's artistic hybrid presentation of Kawalski's story is emotionally engaging and intellectually inviting. The interactive display is presented by Dr Regina Garcia, a historian who has been researching the life of Dr Kawalski (see www.geocities.com/drreginagarcia).

'The Trials of Dr Kawalski' offers a frighteningly perceptive commentary on the current focus on global terrorist activities, the media's complicity in the production of historical "monsters" and our desire to treat such figures and events as sensational infotainment.

William Scarbrough's works 'Suicide: Scarbrough Industries' and 'Prosthetic' have previously been shown in Johannesburg. This is his first solo exhibition in South Africa. In addition to seminars conducted at various institutions in the US, including one at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Scarbrough has been a guest on The Jerry Springer Show.

The gallery reopens after the Christmas break on January 15
Closing: January 31

The | Premises, Johannesburg Civic Theatre, off Loveday Street, Braamfontein
Tel: (011) 403 3408 ext 184 (Boy Bangala)
Email: thepremises@onair.co.za
Hours: Noon - 8pm

Winning entries from this national documentary photo essay competition, organised under the auspices of the Department of Graphic Design and Photography at the Vaal Triangle Technikon, are on exhibition with a prize of a Leica M6 camera sponsored by Precision Photo Systems.

Opening: November 18 at 3pm
Closing: January 27 2002

Bensusan Museum of Photography, MuseumAfrica, 121 Bree Street, Newtown
Tel: (011) 833 5624
Fax: (011) 833 5636
Email: jfrost@mj.org.za
Hours: Tue - Sun 9am - 5pm

The annual Wits Fine Art student exhibition shows the best of this year's student production.

Opening: November 15 at 5.30pm with guest speaker Dr Rayda Becker
Closing: February 22 2002

Gertrude Posel Gallery, University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein
Tel: (011) 717 1363
Email: gallery@atlas.wits.ac.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 4pm

The Association of Friends of the Pretoria Art Museum, currently chaired by artist André Naudé, has been operating since 1967, promoting and supporting activities at the Art Museum. Over the years they have contributed almost R2-million in money and in kind. Naudé and the committee of volunteers that make up the Association invite existing Friends and members of the public to supply ideas and suggestions for promoting the Pretoria Art Museum, drawing more visitors and interacting with Tshwane communities.

Artworks acquired by the Friends for the Art Museum will be on display in the Henry Preiss Hall. The coffee shop, Chai-kofski's, managed by Gavin and Tania Wilson, will introduce their new menu. You can also preview Jurgen Schadeberg's 50-year photographic retrospective exhibition focusing on work produced in the 1950s and recent colour work produced in Soweto.

January 26 from 11.30am

Pretoria Art Museum, corner Schoeman and Wessels streets, Arcadia
Tel: (012) 344 1807/8
Fax: (012) 344 1809
Email: artmuseum@pretoriagov.za
Website: www.pretoria.gov.za/pam
Hours: Tues, Thur - Sat 10am - 5pm, Wed 10am - 8pm, Sun 12pm - 5pm

Erika Jakubínová and Helena Hugo show recent paintings in an exhibition co-ordinated by the Embassy of the Slovak Republic and the Tina Skukan gallery. Professor Marius Wiechers will open the exhibition.

Opening: January 20 at 11.30am
Closing: February 7

Tina Skukan Gallery, Plot 6, Koedoeberg Road, Faerie Glen
Tel/fax: (012) 991 1733 (Thea Nigrini)
Email: artxhibit@hotmail.com
Hours: Tues - Sat 10am - 5pm

'Fabrications II - Common Threads', curated by Celia de Villiers (Grahamstown festival artist in residence 2000), brings together the work of 30 local artists who work in fibre. The first 'Fabrications' set out in 2000 to expose the medium and draw attention to the increasing interest, both critically and socially, in textile-based and fibre-based practices. "You sleep on fibre, you eat it. You wear it every day," says De Villiers. "Textiles may indicate rank, status or membership to a particular culture. Cloth often carries memory traces. The artists in this exhibition have used these factors to conceptualise their work." Exhibiting artists include Antoinette Murdoch, Carien Quiroga, Gwen Miller, Carla Wasserthal, Marlies Herold, Dr Dalene Marais, Jennifer Hearn and Anya Krajewski, and viewers can expect everything from wall-hangings to installations and experiments with light.

Opening: January 20
Closing: February 7

Special events:

'Millennium Trends and Fibre Art' - Presentation by Celia de Villiers January 23 at 7pm Cost R30

'Three Fibre Art Collectives in Southern Africa' - Presentation by Professor Karin Skawran January 30 at 7pm Cost R30

'Make a Textile Celebration Book' - Workshop by Dr Dalene Marais January 26 10am - 4pm Cost R120

Contact Nandi Hilliard (Association of Arts) on (012) 346 3100 or Celia de Villiers (curator) on (011) 825 4863 or 083 441 4979 for more information.

Association of Arts, 173 Mackie Street, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria
Tel: (012) 346 3100
Fax: (012) 346 3125
Email: artspta@mweb.co.za
Website: www.art.co.za/artspta
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 4.30pm, Sat 10am - 12pm

The ever-prolific Jurgen Schadeberg will present a major photographic exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum, featuring work produced over a 50-year period. The exhibition, organised by the Alliance Française of Pretoria, will also be the first time - almost unbelievably - that he exhibits in Pretoria. The show features black and white and colour work and also marks the launch of two new books from the famous lensman, The Black and White Fifties and Soweto Today. The show is scheduled to tour several Alliance Française venues in South Africa and neighbouring countries throughout 2002, including Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Mitchell's Plain, Maseru and Gabarone.

Opening: January 21
Opening function: January 30, with guests Dolly Rathebe and Kader Asmal

Pretoria Art Museum, corner Schoeman and Wessels streets, Arcadia
Tel: (012) 344 1807/8
Fax: (012) 344 1809
Email: artmuseum@pretoriagov.za
Website: www.pretoriagov.za/pam
Hours: Tues, Thur - Sat 10am - 5pm, Wed 10am - 8pm, Sun 12pm - 5pm

This exhibition of student work from artists around the country runs the gamut of both traditional and experimental media familiar to art fans everywhere. Identity and redefining identity seems to be the main focus of most of the work, which has been produced by part-time and distance learning students. Work from outside Gauteng and Mpumalanga will be represented photographically.

Artists include Karin van Niekerk, Karolina Kucharzak, Lynette Lloyd, Elsabe Moolman, Paula Louw, Bronwynne Hanger, Herster Nash, Marianne Van Schalkwyk, Molefe A Mosenye, Frank Mlombo, Heidi Weber, Rudi Carstens, Erica Lüttich and Karin Driescher, among others.

Opening: December 5
Closing: January 31 2002

Unisa Gallery, Theo van Wijk Building (Gold Fields entrance), Unisa
Tel: (012) 429 6255/6823
Email: hattif@unisa.ac.za
Hours: Tues - Fri 10am - 4.30 pm or by appointment
The gallery is closed between December 24 and January 8