Sam Nhlengethwa urges young artists to take up printmaking
JOBURG – The critique of Sam Nhlengethwa’s print work from 1978 – 2018, highlights his use of printmaking as a means for self-expression, collaborations, artistic and intellectual engagements.
Sam Nhlengethwa, one of South Africa’s distinguished artists was put under the microscope as Wits Art Museum opened Leeto: A Sam Nhlengethwa Print Retrospective on 11 June. The exhibition was filled to the rafters as art enthusiasts took a peak of Nhlengethwa’s printworks which span over four decades – periods that saw the artist contribute enormously to South African art and discourse.
The exhibition, taking its name from Leeto – a seTswana/Sesotho word which refers to undertaking a journey, explored Nhlengethwa’s ongoing artistic footsteps. The critique of his print work from 1978 – 2018, highlights his use of printmaking as a means for self-expression, collaborations, artistic and intellectual engagements. As well as his work functioning as a site for conversations with the broader public.
“When I was asked to curate I thought a lot about what it means for an artist to have a retrospective and I went as far as looking up articles that speak about the value of having museum retrospectives and of the few that I read, one thing that stood out for me was the idea of being able to offer a different perspective to an artist’s body of work,” said exhibition curator, Boitumelo Tlhoaele.
READ: WAM to interrogate Sam Nhlengethwa’s artistic evolution in new exhibition
The exhibition is underpinned by its exploration of jazz, which can be traced back to the early influence of the underground township jazz community on the artist. Nhlengethwa’s brother was a jazz musician and he began collecting jazz records at the age of 17. The exhibition therefore drew links between the fluid nature of jazz improvisation and Nhlengethwa’s study of an ever-changing community.
“I knew that I wanted to take the jazz theme which often comes up in Sam’s work and centralise it for this retrospective. I wanted to centralise it, not just as something Sam enjoys personally, but to the extent it speaks to the lived experience of the black communities across the country. Beyond that, I wanted this moment to offer new ways to write about his work,” Said Boitumelo.
Accompanied by an impromptu performance by jazz legends, Herbie Tsoaeli and Sydney Mnis, the exhibition shed light on the diverse ways in which Nhlengethwa approaches printmaking and how he has evolved with each print – growing in confidence and mastery.
“I want to tell the public that I’m pro-printmaking and there are youngsters who should take printmaking seriously and they can make it a full-time profession,” Sam said.
