Newsletter: Exhibition of Literary Magazines and Related Art Works

Maybe it’s the ex-comic book geek in me (well, uh, maybe not so ex?), the former Reggae/Ska fanatic with over 500 albums, the obsessions I have with text as a mediation/translation/creation of art and history, or maybe it’s just really rad – but this show kicks @ss.

Warren Siebrits, his wife (huge Wopko Jensma fans, and their first gallery – Metroplex – in Rosebank showed some of his subversive work from the mid-Apartheid era) and Michael Gardiner have collectively put together a show of rare South African literary magazines from the 50s through the 80s. As if the collection of covers – laid out in glass tables – weren’t enough, some of the less hard-to-find gems are in the open air for us to gape at whilst we turn the pages, and Siebrits has also found, and is exhibiting, paintings, photographs, drawings and prints by artists whose works were either featured, or who created cover art or illustrations for them.

Says Siebrits:

The aim of doing this was to reinforce the strong links that existed at this time between artists and writers working in South Africa, in their common goal to fight censorship and challenge the status quo with regard to the stringent limitations placed on freedom of speech and association during this era.

A bit more on the show, from Gardiner, another collector and scholar:

The first focus … consists of a brief account of fifteen of the literary magazines published [from 1956 – 1978]. The account is designed to provide essential information about [them] and a taste of each magazine’s qualities.

The second area of focus is the display of works by artists associated with five magazines on this exhibition: The Purple Renoster, The Classic, Wurm, Izwi and Staffrider. These works have been selected by Warren Siebrits.

There are omissions that must be acknowledged. One, the round of interviews with editors is incomplete. Where possible, written accounts by editors have been consulted instead.

Second, some magazines from this period have been omitted. These are: S’ketsh’ (1975 to 1979) and magazines from the early eighties such as Heresy, The Bloody Horse and Quarry as well as Taaldoos and Stet. They are part of the story and should be included in future accounts.

A figure in this exhibition that merits particular mention is Wopko Jensma. He is associated with every magazine on display except three. His presence, therefore, runs like a thread through the story that these magazines tell. It is for this and more personal reasons that I dedicate this catalogue to Wopko Jensma, the wonderful artist and poet.

My other favorite things are the knowledge bits, like the sticky note on the one of the covers that says “actually, this is issue number 2, not 3 – this is a misprint” and the articles that cover the history of their collecting and showing (where they found the zines, what interested them, etc), just as much as the history of the magazines themselves.

This show is worth a lot more time than I gave it, and I plan to go back. You should, too.