Festival art from the new SA
27 May 2005
Eastern Cape community artists join the likes of Moshekwa Langa, Wim Botha, Clive Van den Berg, Roger Ballen, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Lobolile Ximba and Angela Buckland to produce a rich lineup of exhibitions at the 2005 National Arts Festival, taking place in Grahamstown from 30 June to 9 July.
Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner Wim Botha's best-known works include a crucifixion sculpted from thousands of compressed Bible pages, and a version of Michelangelo's Pietà made from materials like maize meal - exhibited to critical acclaim in the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York.
Also drawing inspiration from art history, Eastern Cape collective the Keiskamma Art Project is back at the festival this year with an embroidered altarpiece and two 15-metre panels worked in thread, beads, wood and Nguni hide. Their inspiration was Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece, a monumental fifteenth century masterwork.
Rooted unequivocally in the future,
"Sounds Crazy" is a surreal installation inviting the viewer to activate noises by touching or wearing weird music machines. The installation combines the expertise - and custom-made instruments - of local inventors headed by Toni Olivier with the talents of Netherlands-based STEIM (Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music).
Moshekwa Langa's installation, brought to the festival by the Goodman Gallery, is unnamed because it is "an open-ended continuum" which challenges viewers to find their own meanings. Internationally renowned, Langa still uses throwaway materials, as he did when his studio was a KwaNdebele backyard.
Relationships in post-apartheid South Africa are the complex topic of "Ties that Bind". Curated by Carol Brown, the exhibition is drawn from the Durban Art Gallery and features work by artists Clive Van den Berg, Roger Ballen, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Lobolile Ximba and Angela Buckland.
Also focussed on contemporary experience, "Project: Pictures for Life" is
a photographic essay in which Gregor Röhrig salutes the work of Grahamstown's Centre for Social Development by capturing key moments in the lives of community members.
The magic of community art shines out in "Umcebo" (Treasure), a collection of jewel-bright banners glittering with beads, sequins, mirrors, glass nuggets, wirework and found/waste objects, created by learners at Durban's Ningizimu School for the Severely Mentally Handicapped under the guidance of Robin Opperman.
Once again, regional art scouts have selected a collection of the most accomplished and exciting art works from a prodigious creative community for the Eastern Cape Exhibition "Paperworks".
To enrich the wide variety of experiences offered by the festival exhibitions, a series of walkabouts for all the exhibitions on the main programme will give festinos the opportunity to share and discuss their responses with arts experts.
To make the most of the festival experience, everyone needs the
maximum "me-time", and this is what the Childrens Arts Festival offers youngsters and parents alike. Fully supervised in the safe environment of St Andrew's Preparatory School, the children's programme includes shows, concerts and workshops (performance and craftart) every day.
The National Arts Festival is sponsored by the Eastern Cape government, Standard Bank, the National Arts Council, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and the SABC.
For more information, visit the National Arts Festival website.
Source: National Arts Festival, Grahamstown
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