THE SOUTH AFRICAN

November 2008 • Issue 11 Vol 3 • Subscription RSA 180 p.a • November Print & Distrib. 7 000 copies • Full online version available at www.arttimes.co.za

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The Joburg Art Fair will run in 2009,

conrmed Ross Douglas, the fair’sdirector and head of Artlogic, at apress brieng in Johannesburg last

week.

This wasn’t unexpected news given

the accumulative R27-million sales

garnered during its rst three dayrun at the Sandton ConventionCentre in March this year. However,while all the galleries did a roaringtrade, Artlogic incurred a R1-million

loss. Keen to turn the Joburg ArtFair (JAF) into a sustainable event

Artlogic, therefore, has been forcedto make a few alterations to the2009 rendition.It was expected that the fair would

grow in size, attracting more galler-

ies for its second run but only two

more galleries will be participating,bringing the total to 24. Douglas

implied that there was only a limitedamount of reputable galleries in thecountry that could size up to theethos of the fair.“There are a number of ways wecould make it sustainable; we couldhave opened the doors to other gal

leries and expanded the exhibitionbut we really only wanted quality

galleries. So to make ourselves

more sustainable we have hadto look to sponsors,” commented

Douglas.First National Bank (FNB) will

once again sponsor the event, andDouglas hinted that a partnershipwith BMW might also be in theofng. Despite this backing Artlogichave decided to tighten the pursestrings to make the 2nd fair morenancially viable. Artlogic wantedto kick the rst art fair off with abang but they were perhaps too ex

travagant, nancing events aroundJoburg, observed Douglas.“We did a launch party at theold JSE (Johannesburg StockExchange) and discussion ses

sions at the Alexandra Theatre inBraamfontein. We wanted to createa week-long event around the city.This year the focus is on creatingattractions at the fair to keep

people there.”

Artlogic have somewhat scaledback all the attractions for the 2009art fair. Instead of forking out a for

tune for a world-renowned curator such as Simon Njami, who curatedthis year’s curated exhibition, thecurated show for the 2009 art fair will be in the hands of a lesser-known but established internationaltalent, Tumelo Mosaka, who cur

rently holds a position as assistantcurator at the Brooklyn Museum,

New York.

Instead of staging events aroundJoburg, the 2009 fair will presenttalks at the fair by participatinggalleries and two internationalspeakers supported by the GoetheInstitut and WISER. The featuredartist of the 2009 fair will be Jane Alexander, whose installation,Security, which was originally com

missioned for the 27th São PauloBiennale, will be on view for South African audiences for the rst time.•The 2nd Annual Joburg Art Fair is scheduled to run from

April 3- 5 2009

Joburg ArtFair ‘09

- a more

modest affair

Artlogic have cut back spending and fallen backon sponsors, writes Mary Corrigall

Ross Douglas, director of Art Logic , has scaled back spending for the 2009 Joburg Art Fair, although it is expected that the fair would grow in size,Douglas implied that there was only a limited amount of reputable galleries in the country that could size up to the ethos of the fair.Photograph is of Ross Douglas at the opening of the Joburg Art Fair 08 earlier this year. Photo: John Hodgkiss

Page 2South African Art Times. November 2008

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By Mary Corrigall

This article rst appeared in theSunday Independent

The conict between corporatesponsorship and art has doggedthe Sasol Wax Art Award, reachinga crescendo in this, its third andnal year. It wasn’t just Hentievan der Merwe’s winning workthat made an overt assault on

the corporate. It was also the

recent brouhaha over Sasol’s

other art initiative, the Sasol New

Signatures Award, which saw thecorporate giant distancing itself from the winning work, RichardtStrydom’s Familieportret 2, a sup

posedly risqué photograph, that

also brought the

politics of Sasol’s art sponsorshipunder question.The art world’s relationship withcorporate South Africa has alwaysbeen a love/hate affair; althoughcorporates have stepped in to sup

port art initiates in the absence of government aid, their assistancehas often come at a price. With theSasol Wax Awards, the price hasbeen high – artists were forced toproduce either works in wax or usewax as the conceptual impetus for their art. Without a doubt, over the past three years there havebeen artists who have ourishedunder the artistic restraints of thecompetition, such as last year’swinner Walter Oltmann, the 2006winner, Jeremy Wafer, and nalist

Diane Victor.But the compromises that the com-

petition demanded of the artistsdid not engender such satisfyingresults this year. The ve nalists – Stephen Hobbs, Tracey Rose,Brett Murray, Avhashoni Main

ganye and Van der Merwe – all re

sponded to the competition’s brief in intriguing and unexpected waysbut, ultimately, you have to wonder whether any of the artworks theyproduced have any value outsideof the competition. As one art acionado observed:“There was nothing visually thrill

-ing” to view.

Perhaps Hobbs’s State has themost visual and expressive gravi

tas. State is an atmospheric video

work that maps the metaphorical

and physical regeneration and dis

integration of a city. Focusing onthe shadows of rudimentary scaf

folding structures fashioned fromwax, the cycle of reconstructionand devastation is played out over and over, transporting the viewer into an almost meditative state.

This seems to suggest that al-though humans are instrumental in

this cycle they are simultaneouslypowerless bystanders – we see nohuman intervention. Also implied isthat a city is alwaystrapped in a state of becoming – either ascending or degrad

ng. Never static, it is unable to

maintain its state of completion. As it uctuates between birth,death and rebirth, the city comesto mirror an order more common

to nature. So, although cities are

seen to be in conict with nature,they follow an organic cycle thatmimics the cycle of all living

beings.

State may be a natural extensionof Hobbs’s artistic practice, whichhas always been concerned with

urban issues, but it is not bub-

bling over with the usual headyconcoction of themes that typicallyinfuse his art. The point is that anartist of Hobbs’s calibre shouldnot be hemmed in by any kind of

thematic or technical regulation

– nor should Brett Murray, whosework for the award was like a wryand one-dimensional advertis

ing slogan. His large text piece,Power, is fashioned from candlestick holders and consists of the

struggle mantra “Power to the

People”. Lawrence Lemaoana alsoreferred to this slogan in his recentsolo exhibition. Clearly thephrase is coming to symbolise thedisillusionment with the ANC andits betrayal of the values it oncerepresented. Murray’s work refersexplicitly to the load shedding of electricity, but it also obliquelypokes a nger at corporate spon

-sorship.

Van der Merwe’s attack on corpo

rate sponsorship is more direct.His video artwork is displayed ina corporate setting and shows asuited man giving a speech. He isstanding in front of the company’s

slogan, “Reaching New Frontiers”,

and, speaking in Latin, he explainshow bees make wax.This is a multilayered piece inwhich the corporate’s ambitions tobe part of the future clash with thestaid traditions of its capitalist out

-look. The speaker also representsthe artist, who communicates ina language that is unintelligible

to the corporate world and needstranslation. The content of the

speech has no place in this set-

ting, creating an incongruous andconicted scene that parades asif it’s an established functional rela

tionship. Van der Merwe suggeststhat it is in the ofcial pageantrythat the vexed and unbalancedrelationship between the artist andcorporate is glossed over.On the evening of the awards, Vander Merwe’s observations came tolife in the trite speeches and cor

porate rituals that all but ignoredthe uncomfortable disconnectbetween art and business.• The Sasol Wax Art Awardexhibition is atthe University of Johannesburg Art Gallery until

November 5

‘Benign’ relationship melts under the spotlight

The South African

Art Times

November 2008www.arttimes.co.za

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Global Art Information

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Deadlines for news, articles andadvertising is the 20th of eachmonth. The Art Times is publishedin the last week of each month.Newspaper rights: The newspaper reserves the right to reject any ma

terial that could be found offensiveby its readers. Opinions and viewsexpressed in the SA Art Times donot necessarily represent the of

cial viewpoint of the editor, staff or publisher, while inclusion of ad

vertising features does not implythe newspaper’s endorsement of any business, product or service.Copyright of the enclosed materialin this publication is reserved.

A still from Hentie van der Merwe’s installation (right) that won him the SASOL Wax Award 08Cover: Eric Laubscher Photo: Steve Kretzmann

South African Art Times. November 2008 Page 3

KUNSGALERY

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A showcase for the best of South African Masters,as well as some leadingcontemporary artists.

Telephone: 021 423 6075www.johansborman.co.zaMon-Fri: 10h00 - 18h00Sat: 09h00 - 14h00or by appointmentIn Fin Art BuildingUpper Buitengracht Street, Cape Town 8001Cell: 082 566 4631E-mail: art@johansborman.co.za

Irma Stern ‘Still life with African sculptures’ - 1938

Patrick Burnett

Gerhard Marx, the artist whoreached an out-of-court settle

ment with BMW South Africa after he took the company to courtover copyright infringement, haspraised the support he receviedfrom the artistic community as

“phenomenal”.

However, the details of the settle

ment have remained tightly under wraps according to the terms of the agreement, with both Marxand BMW South Africa refusingto comment. Marx was claimingR1,5-million in damages fromBMW South Africa over the useof an illustration technique that hedeveloped in a 2006 advertisingcampaign. The case was set downfor court on October 9, but the out-of-court settlement was reachedbefore the court date. And even though the art world hasinterpreted the settlement as avictory for artists, BMW spokesper

son Benedict Maaga said, contraryto reports that the company hadapologised to the artist, no apologyhad been issued “as there wasno need to do so”. He said thematter had been settled “amicably”

on the basis that the settlement

agreement and its terms were keptcondential.“Without breaching the contents of the settlement which we need toabide by, it’s important to point outthat we continue to be of theopinion that the advert did notinfringe the artist’s copyright,” hesaid.Before the settlement and at thetime of the auction in September,Marx looked set for a drawn out – and expensive – legal battle.The event to raise money for hislegal fees was billed as the Davidand Goliath auction and took placeat The Bag Factory in Johannes

burg. It raised R450,000 throughthe auction of donated works of art, some from the likes of WilliamKentridge.Contacted by South African ArtTimes, Marx was clearly relieved

the case was over, but unable

to comment on the details of theagreement. “That was mindblow

ing,” he said about the auctionheld to raise fundsfor his legal fees. “There was basi

cally two weeks to do it in. It wasphenomenal generosity on behalf of everyone.” He praised the Davidand Goliath auction for support

ing him as an individual and the“unprecedented” support fromhis gallery, the Warren SiebritsGallery.“Without that kind of nancial sup

port you really don’t have afooting to stand on,” he said.He said the David and Goliath fundwould form a base to supportartists in other copyright infringe

-ment cases.

“I think for the artistic community,which is quite often seen asbeing individualistic, it was phe

nomenal to feel that kind of

support.”Speaking about the arts in general,

he said he felt “strongly” thatartists had a right to a private

language, meaning that it became

difcult when this was “suddenly

thrown into the public sphere”.

The Bag Factory education ofcer Bronwyn Lace said there was a“signicant amount” that wouldremain in the David and Goliathfund for future situations involv

ing copyright and for educationprogrammes on copyright and

plaguarism. “The most positive

thing (to come out of the Marxcase) has been the David andGoliath initiative and also that this(copyrightinfringement) is a serious issue inthe art world and needs to beraised.”She said when copyright infringe

ment took place artists and galler

ies often did not follow up becausethey knew they would be unable tocompete with the legal fees that

came with taking large companiesto court.

However, the damage done to art

ists could be extensive if thereplicated work was of a poor qual

ity as it gave the impression thatthe artist did not produce quality

work.

Lace said the out-of-court settle

-ment was a warning to corporates

that if they were interested in usingartistic work in an advertisementthen it would be better for them toengage with the individual artist.

Secrecy surroundsBMW - Marx settlement

A second highest Swelco recordof decorative and ne art auctionsale was set in excess of R 43Million by Swelco - Stephan Weltz& Co in association with Sothebys,Cape Town in it’s two day auctionlast week. Paintings alone yielded

close on R39 million, accounting

or 85% of the sale total. Despitenegative nancial indicators, theseresults indicate that the art marketin South Africa is maintaining astability. 19 new artist’s recordswere achieved including R1680 000 for an Alexis Preller,“New Eden”, sold for ve timesits pre-sale estimate. Pierneef “Naderende Storm in die Bosveld”sold for R 3 136 000 The Sternmarket held strong: a record of R3 584 000 was achieved for a series of 14 works on paper depicting scenes on the FrenchRiviera, a portrait titled “Woman inhe Kitchen” fetched R4 480 000.Further artist’s records includeCecil Skotnes panel for R504000. The next Swelco auction willbe held in Johannesburg on No

vember 11 and 12 in Rosebank,

Johannesburg with over 1,100 lots

of decorative art and ne art. For viewing and auction details see

www.swelco .co.za

R 43 M for latest

Swelco auction

reects stability inSA art - for now

Alexis Preller’s, “New Eden”