Dedicated to democracy
Today there is a diversity of different visual art forms which ranges from installations, video, photography, site specific sculptures, digital and much more. The 21st Century has provided a new generation of artists who has new concerns and who uses modern media as a method of expression.
Review by Judy Jordan
An exhibition currently on view at the Carnegie Art Gallery celebrates 20 years of democracy and consists of works created and acquired between l994 and 2014.
Today there is a diversity of different visual art forms which ranges from installations, video, photography, site specific sculptures, digital and much more. The 21st Century has provided a new generation of artists who has new concerns and who uses modern media as a method of expression.
The works on exhibition reflect both positive and negative aspects of the last 20 years, touching on issues like wealth, poverty, identity and tradition.
Artists are no longer bound by earlier artistic constraints. Nicholas Maritz in Onder Paradyse uses the controversial material of enamel paint on board. His approach is tongue-in-cheek, painting with deceptive naiveté and colour style that gives his work an almost “whacky” appearance.
Moshekwa Langa uses acrylic mixed with nail varnish and glitter to reflect his notions of globalisation and identity.
With painting, abstraction is very much in view. Paint is not used as a medium to achieve a final recognisable image, but the poetics of “paint” itself are explored.
In Maja Maljevic’s f, the surface the paint creates, the gestural manner of painting, the cracks and drips, the relationship between the forms and the vibrant colours are the subject of the painting. She intends the painting to be viewed as an object in itself, nothing else.
Over the last 20 years, rural artists entered the art world, using age old techniques for contemporary expression and where a vibrant cross pollination between Western and African art has taken place.
Contemporary Zulu potters such as Jabu Nala and Clive Sithole have made pot making into an art form no longer for domestic use, but for decorative use too. Bead collectives such as Ubhule Beads, create stunning wall panels using thousands of shiny beads. Jane Makhubele in Mandela’s Birthday Celebration makes the traditional Tsonga minceka (shawl) into an art piece with her design of a Mandela shirt made up of beads and safety pins.
The sculptures on display are also very varied and range from traditional woodcarving to assemblages using humble materials such as rubber tyres and wire, grass , horns and beads, despite the materials already exacting processes of craft making in their construction.
Technological advances are seen in the Rocking Springbuck by Michaella Janse van Vuuren. The piece is manufactured by a 3D printer. It is made from nylon polymer powder through a process of selective laser sintering. The artist makes a series of sketches which are transformed into a technical drawing and software programmes translate the sketches into a printable digital object.
There is an array of beautiful and diverse artwork on display. The exhibition will be open from October to December 2014. Gallery hours are from Tuesday to Friday 9am to 5pm and on Saturday from 9am to 12pm. Call 034 3287622 for more information or school bookings.
