Baseline Brenda’s broken mic
NEWTOWN - TWO years after being repaired, the Brenda Fassie bronze statue outside Baseline in Newtown is once again missing a portion of the microphone that stands alongside her.
The life-size bronze statue, created by artist Angus Taylor, was installed on March 2006 and was the first of 40 sculptures commissioned by the Sunday Times newspaper in celebration of its 100th birthday.
It recently came to the attention of City Buzz that Brenda’s microphone stand was much shorter than usual and her microphone was missing. This after the bronze sculpture of the late pop diva was restored in 2012 after the microphone was believed to have been broken off by raucous revelers from the club.
Eric Itzkin, deputy director of Immovable Heritage at the City of Johannesburg said the City was aware of the damage and assured City Buzz that the microphone was not lost and was in safe-keeping.
“The intention is to fix it. We have requested a quote from the artist and the statue will receive attention,” said Itzkin.
“Although the statue has fared well over the years, we have acknowledged that the microphone is vulnerable as it is the second time it has been damaged.”
Fassie is perched on a barstool with another barstool next to her – an invitation to passers-by to take a seat and chill with the diva for a while.
Itzkin said the missing microphone has not deterred people from taking photos with the statue.
“People are drawn to the statue, I see people cuddle up and pose next to Brenda for a photo. The statue is one of the most successful artworks in Johannesburg, and it has given rise to other bronze statues,” he added.
