implicit art

Lots of mourning activity going on, on the Kebble site - artists expressing their feelings of loss. The whole nation has pretty much had very mixed views of his life actions, but I think in general, we’ve been opting to focus on the wonders he worked rather than some of his more questionable business practices. He did not deserve this, and nor did his family. He made amazing things happen in the arts and mining worlds/industries, and was more recently focusing on black empowerment projects…

The Kebble Quote:

Roger Kebble said today, ’ÄúThe Kebble Art Awards will proceed as it is and the family will meet at an appropriate time to discuss going forward.’Äù

More: going on as planned:

Controversial mining mogul and arts patron, Brett Kebble, was shot and killed last night in Melrose. He was in his car, which was not taken (nor was anything else), so police think it may have been a “hit.” No suspects yet, but it is under investigation.

Altho, like most people, I’ve always had mixed feelings about the man himself, Kebble did great things for the arts, and by bringing foreign investment to the SA mining industry.

BKAA Press Release
Mail and Guardian article

tonight, tuesday 27 september, at 7pm, museum africa, 121 bree street, newtown, it’s the world premiere, all visitors to nathaniel’s blog are welcome to attend. if you can’t make it watch the broadcast by sabc1 on monday night at 10pm, 3 october.

For those of you who didn’t notice, we added yet another guest blogger to our ranks a short while ago!

Sean Slemon, a South African artist currently doing his MFA at Pratt in NYC (and winner of the 2005 Sasol New Signatures award), will be doing occasional write-ups of exhibitions, shows, performances and talks over in the five boroughs.

And I will be writing about his solo show in Chelsea this November, at David Krut - NYC here I come! Hey Sean, should I ask to write about it for a more professional SA pub, too? Not that they like me or anything…. Or you, for that matter.

Psyched to have you on board, Sean.

This guy is very cool. He created a single unit made of polyvinyl plastic of some kind. And then repeated the unit a hundred times or so. His exhibition is completely white in a white gallery, and he also has “drawings”- framed works which are really sculptures made up of paper card cut to size and layered beautifully, to form different patterns and abstract forms.
He comes into the gallery each day and changes the exhibition, or the pattern that the helix forms that he has created. You can check his work out at www.virgilgallery.com and follow links to John Powers.
The shape he uses is somewhat reminiscent of a sculpture that Robert Smithson did early on in his short lived career( he died in a plane crash while working on a project when he was 36) The Smithson retrospective is currently on at the Whitney Museum and its very good.
We all know him for his work ” Spiral Jetty”- one of the first serious land art works. It was good to see what other work he did. He produced many sculptures using steel glass and mirror, which would reflect off whatever was in the environment around you. www.whitney.org
In future Ill try to go with my camera to these shows. many of them don’t let you take pics, but if your good you can sneak one in.