south african art | implicit art

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12 July 2006 by nathaniel

the storytellers @ the johannesburg art museum

the storytellers:
works from the non-aggressive narrative

So, more than a year and a half after the fact (and thanks to Sean Slemon, who insisted on lo-res versions of all my prints before deciding on a trade for his sculpture), I finally uploaded a photoset of my first major solo show to flickr. Check out images of the space, peops and work in the storytellers photoset (with thanks to Christo Doherty, Abrie Fourie and Franci Cronje for the pics. Also a thanks to the late and great Andrew Meintjes, for all his help and support). You can also read about the exhibition via my site here, or from a review in Art South Africa here.

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10 July 2006 by nathaniel

Roles / Robes @ Fried Contemporary

15 July to 5 August 2006, opens on 15 July at 18h30

From Fried site:

An exhibition of mixed-media works, paintings, collages, digital prints, etching, video projections, a short film, sculpture and installations of award-winning South African artists

The theme for the exhibition is the identity roles that South Africans have played and continue to play, and the ‘robes’ that have been and are worn at different times and places — whether real, imagined or virtual. Link.

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08 July 2006 by nathaniel

Artthrob and a New Look

I think it’s safe to say that, over the last few months, Artthrob has taken a distinctive turn toward the critically engaged; and the site is better for it. Between relative newbies Michael Smith and Linda Stupart, their influence and writing, and the influence of the upcoming international plugs for Cape Town on the older staples ("not a Biennale" and the BBC special, for example), The Throb has started to change shape from a mostly Cape Town scene Advertisement, to a mostly Cape Town scene Arts Magazine – certainly a step in the right direction. And it is not without irony that I recognize my own blog is, as Linda puts it, "usually glowing" about Johannesburg artsters. Admittedly, I’m a little jealous of The Throb’s recently energized chutzpah, and may take a leaf.

That being said, Linda’s thinly veiled "art blogs review" in this month’s issue is little more than a defense and appraisal of Art Heat, the most recent addition to online arts engagement in SA, and at the heart of the UCT scene (of which she is a part; she did not mention her own relationship with the site, which seems to be relatively tight….). Her "disproportionate" (see article to know why I use this term), dismissal of other sites as high-brow (Africa South Art Initiative – not sure I agree about this), nepotistic (SAarts – partially true, but this assumes we have power we do not, and ignores our open call policy), or in the case of this site having far too many pictures of my daughter (Linda: 4 out of 1133 posts have pix of Sid – you utterly misrepresent me) culminates in a kind of whiney "just misunderstood" and "please wade through the crap" for the aforementioned. I agree that Art Heat adds value to the SA art scene on several levels (stricken – this not true "~~disproportionate" amounts of boring, local gossip and too many posts about Ed Young notwithstanding~~); but I think most of this comes not from their irreverence, self-promotion, in jokes, or even the occasionally smart arts review that Linda is quick to point out. It’s, rather, from their not taking themselves too seriously. Perhaps we could all (this means you and me, too, Linda) take a leaf from this. (And I may take them up on their offer of guest blogging now and again for practice in the near future….)

Admittedly, some of Linda’s other comments about this site particularly – biting or not – ring too true for me to ignore, as alluded to by my looking for chutzpah, above. Read her words here.

Also worth noting in this issue: interesting feedback for a change, an artbio on Cecil Skotnes, a Zaayman bit on M. MacGarry, this, this and not least this (go mikey!).

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07 July 2006 by nathaniel

Unseen Video: nathaniel stern @ Parking Gallery

http://www.parking-gallery.net
149 Pritchard Street, downtown Johannesburg

nathaniel stern
Unseen Video
video art produced but not yet screened in South Africa
opening 13 July 18h00
by appointment til 16 July

^{screen shot from “at interval”}

These two video pieces, both part of nathaniel’s “language lapse” series, use found footage and pop iconography, along with a combination of writing and generative formulae, in order to explore listening, and accent the labors of communication.
The two exhibited works will be at interval and a song for the.

Secure parking available in basement
For directions to gallery:
http://www.parking-gallery.net/images/map.jpg

screenings / info: simon 0730247308 + nathaniel 084455396

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06 July 2006 by nathaniel

David Krut Print Workshop: New Work 2006

Preview of some prints of mine that’ll be part of a DKW box set will be up, this Saturday. Sadly, I can’t make the opening, but will be there in spirit…. From Krut site:

Opens Saturday 8 July at 12h00

This exhibition of prints produced and published at David Krut Print Workshop (DKW) in 2006 follows on from last year’s National Arts Festival show of DKW work, 25 Years of Prints and Multiples. It includes works by David Koloane, Mary Wafer, Deborah Bell, Colbert Mashile, Alastair Whitton, Bronwen Findlay, Nelson Makamo, José Ferreira, Johan Engels, Nathaniel Stern, Trasi Henen, and Sean Slemon.

David Krut Print Workshop, established in 2002, offers both established and emerging South African artists the opportunity to work with experienced printmakers. The diversity of work produced at DKW is reflected in the works and artists on the exhibition. David Koloane’s fire-and-smoke skylines can be viewed alongside Mary Wafer’s linear urban landscapes, while Colbert Mashile’s comic figurative monotypes stand in sharp contrast to the minimalist grid patterns of Alastair Whitton’s etchings. Deborah Bell’s figures, totems, and fragments of poetry are given a fresh slant with the addition of carborundum and handwork, while Nathaniel Stern’s abstract images combine digital scanning with traditional engraving.

DKW has had longstanding working relationships with established artists such as Sam Nhlengethwa, Willem Boshoff, and William Kentridge, but the workshop is also invigorated by collaborations with younger artists like Trasi Henen and Dorothee Kreutzfeldt, as well as with artists who have produced substantial bodies of work in other mediums and come to DKW to work on intaglio printing or monotypes in the collaborative environment of a print workshop. Bronwen Findlay was the first artist working at DKW to complete and show a body of work in the DKW gallery.

Jill Ross, DKW’s workshop manager and resident printer, is currently assisted by Mlunghisi Khongisa and Niall Bingham. Tim Foulds, who worked at DKW for three years as the master printer, now freelances but continues to originate and edition prints at the workshop. DKW is expanding its activities and offering regular introductory etching classes in order to encourage an appreciation of printmaking.

David Krut Print Workshop: New Work 2006 on view until 29 July

Gallery Hours 09h00-17h00, Sat 09h00-16h00

Keywords:Alastair Whitton, Art Gallery, Arts and Culture, Bronwen Findlay, colbert mashile, David Koloane, Deborah Bell, Exhibitions, Johan Engels, José Ferreira, Mary Wafer, Nathaniel Stern, Nelson Makamo, News, Sean Slemon, Trasi Henen

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05 July 2006 by nathaniel

nathaniel on BBC

Ha, one of the video re-mixes I did at the iCommons iSummit was on BBC news yesterday (or maybe the day before). Check out the page, and then download the MP3 on the right-hand side (about 10MBs) – the whole thing is about Henrik Moltke’s (along with many others) v. cool free beer project, and, as BY licenses mandate, I get a mention when they use my coolio beat-box re-mix for promotion (starts between five and five and a half minutes in, but you should really listen to the whole segment). Sweet.