Cash cows go under the hammer
27 June 2005
They've captured the imagination of thousands of people as they've grazed their way on a year-long campaign around South Africa. Now the cows are finally going under the hammer.
Hundreds of business people, art and cow lovers and celebrities are expected to attend CowParade South Africa's grand finale - the auction of the cows to raise money for the Childhood Cancer Foundation SA (CHOC).
Stephan Welz will auction the beautiful bovines in association with Sotheby's at Nedbank Head Office in Sandton, Johannesburg at 5.30pm on 29 June. The guest of honour will be CowParade patron Adelaide Tambo, with celebrity host Amor Vittone.
CowParade is an outdoor art exhibition that has successfully stampeded through 24 cities throughout the world since its launch in Zurich in 1998.
The South African cows have grazed on the streets of CowZulu-Natal (Durban), Da M'udder City (Cape Town) and CowTeng (Johannesburg), where the herds have been chewing
cud at Sandton City, Nelson Mandela Square, the Gold Reef City Theme Park and Constitution Hill since the beginning of the year.
The 63 life-sized fibreglass cows were painted and created by some of the country's top artists, including Velaphi Mzimba, Leigh Voigt, Clive van den Berg, Gordon Froud, Anton Brink, Gcina Sam Mduna and Diane Victor.
Among the cows to be auctioned will be 15 Cell C and nine Kulula.com artistic cows. Nedbank, hosting the auction on behalf of CHOC, will have their three cows on display.
The cows are sought after by collectors throughout the world. Personalities such as Elton John, Oprah Winfrey, the Queen of Jordan and South Africa's Evita Bezuidenhout all own cows. The highest price paid for a cow on auction to date is US$148 000 (over R1-million).
"This exhibition has enabled local artists to showcase their talents on a unique canvas," says Bridget Kieser, chief operating officer of CowParade SA.
"It has also served a broader
purpose by contributing to awareness of the Childhood Cancer Foundation SA and the work which they do with children with cancer and their families."
Globe trotters
From Chicago and New York in 1999 and 2000 to Kansas City and Houston in 2001 and London in 2002, CowParade has caught the imagination of the world, continually evolving in size and quality.
While the cow sculptures remain the same, each city's artists are challenged by the art from previous events, inspired by the cultural influences of their own cities, and moved by their own interpretation of the cow as art object.
The event has become a coveted competition for the best and the brightest artists around the world. Famous artists such as Peter Max, Patrick Hughes and David Lynch have all shared their talent as part of CowParade.
At the same time, it is a light-hearted exhibition giving local artists, from the celebrated to the unknown, a chance to showcase their
talents.
"Art is about breaking down barriers," says US CowParade event organiser Peter Hanig. "It gets people to feel, to think, to react.
"So when you come across life-sized cow sculptures that have been covered in mirrors or gumdrops, cows that have been painted with elaborate themes or transformed into something else entirely, you can't help but stop and think about what it means. All your preconceived ideas go out the window.
"Suddenly people see that art can be fun and that art can be interesting to everyone, not just people who frequent museums."
For more information, visit CowParade South Africa.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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