Tag: south africa

Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick, The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

British architectual designer Thomas Heatherwick created Sout Africa’s biggest art museum by holllowing out the inside of a historic grain silo building. Zeitz MOCAA opened on September 22 of 2017 and is located at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront.

The museum is housed in 9,500 sq metres of custom designed space, spread over nine floors, carved out of the monumental structure of the historic Grain Silo Complex. The silo, disused since 1990, stands as a monument to the industrial past of Cape Town,  at one time the tallest building in South Africa.

The galleries and the atrium space at the centre of the museum have been carved from the silos’ dense cellular structure of forty-two tubes that pack the building. The development includes 6,000 sq metres of exhibition space in 80 gallery spaces, a rooftop sculpture garden, state of the art storage and conservation areas, a bookshop, a restaurant, bar, and reading rooms.

The museum will also house Centres for a Costume Institute, Photography, Curatorial Excellence, the Moving Image, Performative Practice and Art Education.

Ardmore Ceramics

Ardmore Ceramics, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Ardmore Ceramics in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa has grown into a vibrant art pottery making unique pieces of ceramic art. Since 1985, artist Fee Halsted has created modelers and painters from the local community and they have become renowned for their exuberant use of color and their distinctive modeling of African flora and fauna. Each of the unique ceramics are made by several of the artisans working together; one modeling the basic form, one creating the minute details, one painting. On the bottom of each piece are the signatures of all who participated in its creation.

The sale of these wonderful pieces of ceramic art uplifts and supports the Ardmore community and their families. New pieces are selected for exhibition at the Pescoe Gallery in northern Miami, Florida. Special commissions are also undertaken for collectors.

William Kentridge

William Kentridge, “Blue Head”, Etching and Aquatint with Two Hand-Painted Plates on Velin Arches Blanc Paper, 47 ¼ x 36 11/50 inches, 1993-1998, Edition of 35

Kentridge was born in 1955 into a wealthy Johannesburg family, descendants of Jewish refugees from the purges and pogroms of Russia and Europe. For generations the family had been deeply involved in politics and human rights issues in South Africa. Both his parents were lawyers, famous for their defense of victims of the apartheid.

In 1976, he attained a degree in Politics and African Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand after which he studied art at the Johannesburg Art Foundation until 1978. There, he met Dumile Feni whose drawings had a major impact on Kentridge’s work.

By the mid-1970s Kentridge was making prints and drawings. In 1979, he created 20 to 30 monotypes, which became known as the “Pit” series. In 1980, he executed about 50 small-format etchings which he called the “Domestic Scenes”. These two groups of prints served to establish Kentridge’s artistic identity, an identity he has continued to develop in various media including theater. Despite his ongoing exploration of non-traditional media, the foundation of his art has always been drawing and printmaking.

Brett Williams and Hayden Phipps

Brett Williams and Hayden Phipps, “The Death and Life of Desmond Wolfe”, 2013 Entry for the Filminute Challenge

Every year, Filminute challenges filmmakers all over the world to tell a story in 60 seconds.

The concept of flipping through brief moments in a person’s life to create a short film is tried and true, which is what makes this outstanding work from Brett Williams and Hayden Phipps that much more impressive. For one, it’s got a beautifully-shot stunt at its core. For two, it subverts that common flash-by-flash exploration of a person’s existence by introducing us to a man who is not at all what he seems.

This film from South Africa received a Jury Commendation in 2013.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Troye Sivan, “Happy Little Pill”

Troye Sivan, “Happy Little Pill”

Troye Sivan Mellet), better known as Troye Sivan (/trɔɪ sɨˈvɑːn/), is a South African-born Australian actor, singer, songwriter, and YouTuber. As an actor, he played young James Howlett in the X-Men film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and most recently has starred as the titular character in the Spud film trilogy. Sivan also regularly makes YouTube videos, and as of 26 September 2015, has over 3.6 million subscribers and over 203 million total views.

On 15 August 2014, Sivan released his first major-label EP, entitled TRXYE, which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200. The lead single from the EP, “Happy Little Pill”, reached number 10 in the Australian charts. On 4 September 2015, Sivan released his second major-label EP, Wild. His debut studio album, Blue Neighbourhood, was announced on 14 October and released 4 December.

Sivan is openly gay. He came out publicly via a YouTube video on August 7, 2013, three years to the day that he came out to his family.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Gerhard van Vuuren

 

Gerhard van Vuuren, “Garden”, Acrylic on Board

Born in 1967, Gerhard van Vuuren is a self-taught artist and painter living and working in Pretoria, South Africa. Painting full time since 2992, he brings an abstract expressionist style to his contemporary portraits, layering colors and images in his work. His portraits are on permanent display at the Arts on Main Complex in Johannesburg, represented by”The Gavin Project”. He is represented by several galleries, including the Dimitrov Gallery in Dullstroom  and the Ndiza Gallery in Gordonsbay.