Art and politics

The Soweton

The late Eugene Terreblanche, reading the bible to his murderer, Chris Mahlangu, seated on his lap.

The piece was created in February for an exhibition -The State of Chakra - that will take place in August.

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Some comment is necessary i think, i repost these contentious issues because i can, literally. I can also speak my thoughts on the matter, so excuse me if i practice awhile. We may not have this privilege for long, and since it's about art, i'll call this waxing lyrical, only i can't sing here, for which you should be grateful.

Art, that picture is art. It can only be, because it's not really anything else? Not something i'd want to own to be honest, especially with the political overtones, but if i were in an art gallery, this is what i would be seeing right? The artist had a feeling, a thought, an impression, and instead of tying it all up in words, like we do, he painted an image. A single image that can convey quite a lot of different, sometimes opposing messages.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

The creation of Zuma as Lenin in the typical Soviet style, of course with the invocation of patriarchy and naked emperors, did the same thing.  It was an idea, presented in a single helping. No sentences and paragraphs to wade through first. BANG. You are now thinking about something the artist wanted you to think about. An art gallery is where you go to be imbued with the artistic expressions of others.

And it should be provocative, in many different ways. And if a simple painting can inspire action in others, so much the better. Brett Murray can never be a poor man now, his creations have authority in the art world. The personal expression of one man made a nation talk, that is more power than Zuma has ever had. Other works of art are forgotten by the next piece in the gallery, they may be nice, but they do not inspire one with passion.

I am enjoying this re-awakening of art. The South African story has inspired many people to express themselves in many ways. I learned recently that former minister of defense Adriaan Vlok was so remorseful over his actions that he began washing the feet of his victims, as penance. That too is art. Creating something unique and beautiful even for a moment in time, is art. It is the act of living itself that is artistic, merging creativity and experience to further the boundaries of one's own world.

We live in the land of Afrika Burns, where art is created with the sole purpose of destroying it, and immortalising it at the same time. How can the same place and time co exist with the madness of the last few days? Art reflects life, it comes out of life. What we saw this week with the destruction of art, and newspapers, is death, and by extension, murder. It is the opposite of life, and art, and is the mud from whence the lotus flowers bloom.

This painting is the answer to the other. They mirror each other ... a white artist painting a black man, and a black artist painting a white man. Both show South African leaders in a context seen by the painter, and both highly relevant not only to the artist, but to all of us, the viewers. Both are emotive, possibly insulting, and open to a fair amount of personal interpretation, and both are intentionally provocative. Curious that seen from the position of their "opposites", one is remembered for his lesser known male bits, and the other in a context of a religion.

So go paint something today, or someone, which is usually more interesting!