STUDIO: Celebrating the Lives and Works of South African Artists in an exhibition which draws from Iziko SA National Gallery Permanent Collection curated by Yentl Kohler, Philippa Coleman (art educators) with Andrew Lewis, Hayden Proud, Ernestine White, Carol Kauffman and Ingrid Masondo (Art Collection curators) until September 30. LUCINDA JOLLY reviews.
GENERALLY National Galleries are places where finished art works of well established or up and coming artists are exhibited. The Annex next to the gallery was always where practical educational projects happened, but for co curator and art educator Yentl Kohler “there was always a disconnect between it and the National Gallery.” For the first time in the history of the Iziko National Gallery a substantial room in the actual gallery has been specially set aside for school art students to “mess about with paint” in workshop situations.
Studio marks a quantum shift from the notion of galleries as highbrow art places uncomfortable for the uninitiated, to a place where one can stick around long enough to really look at and respond to images that have something to do with one’s life, and in this instance create an image of one’s own. The exhibition is supported by walkabouts, worksheets, practical projects and an assessment rubric.
For Kohler this is one of the highpoints, Studio is an exhibition where “education comes first “and the education community and teachers are starting to feel a lot more welcome in a space like the gallery”. Kohler says that they leave confident and empowered.
But this is not the only instance of a first for the Iziko National Gallery. It’s also the first time that an exhibition focusing on works and themes from the Art Curriculum has been exhibited. The curriculum was updated two years ago and although artists are the same, the themes have changed. The exhibition came into being as a result of ongoing pressure from art educators and the input of Director of Education and Public Programmes, Dr Wayne Alexander, over a number of years for an exhibition relating to the national matric syllabus.
It was down to the basement for Kohler and her co- curator Philippa Coleman for whom “education is the most important thing in a museum”. They explained to the rest of curatorial team what teachers and students would need for students to pass. The dictates of Studio were also clearly defined by both the works in the collection and what Kohler describes as “the fine balance between what has been seen recently and what has not.”
In order to cover and follow the themes such as the emerging voice of ‘black’ art, activist art, spiritual art and identity in the curriculum, Studio has been divided into six digestible sections grouped in the same way a student would see in a textbook. The exhibition begins with The Original Report, moves on to The Quest, Striking Back!, Sacred Heritage, The New Report and culminating appropriately in The Body Politic.
One of the strengths of Studio is that it doesn’t only talk to matriculants. For if a viewer were to wander into the exhibition unaware of its raison d’etre it would not matter. In fact Kohler points out that some students returned with their families after a school visit to the exhibition. But what the viewer would certainly be aware of is the rich and varied diet of wonderfully diverse work from early traditional work, to work reflecting current times.
The Original Report reflects emerging local artists in the 30’s and 40’s, including work by Dumile Feni, Gerard Sekoto, Peter Clarke, Peter Magubane, Ernest Cole and David Goldblatt, who in a sense were reporting on the goings-on in communities which were often not covered by media.
The Quest deals with the search for identity profiling work by artist’s such as Sidney Kumalo, Lucky Sibiya ,Cecil Skotnes, Alexis Preller and Karel Nel.
In Striking Back! activist or protest art from 1970’s to 80’s onwards presides. Here you’ll see the work of Gavin Jantjies, Helen Sebidi, Khaya Witbooi, David Koloane and Jane Alexander. For many of the students, Alexander’s sculpture The Butcher Boys is one of the peak experiences. Many students Kohler explained have only ever seen the sculpture as a photograph in a text book. And “some of them don’t even understand that it’s a sculpture. It’s just amazing to see their faces, they get so excited” she said.
Sacred Heritage includes rock art fragments, many beautiful ceremonial items made by unknown artists, Jackson Hlungwane’s curious Christ Playing Football and Sophie Peter’s Crucifixion.
The New Report shifts away from apartheid to a post democratic identity. For students the highlights are many. There’s the Essop twins Hasan and Husain’s photograph Pit Bull Fight. Often, Kohler explains students see art as something that is not easily understandable but in this photograph many actually recognize the wall against which the fight takes place. Mary Sibande’s The Reign inspired by her domestic worker grandmother’s projected fantasies is another that many students can relate. Mustafa Maluka’s camp Don’t Stand me Down is another painting that students gravitate towards. Students also really responded to Thania Petersen’s two photographs from I am royal series. It deals with identities constructed by society and yet how in another society the same person can have a very different identity. Petersen discovered that she is a princess and her great grandfather, a political prisoner on Robben Island, and was one of the first people to bring Islam to the Cape.
The Body Politic deals with gender and features the photographs of lesbian activist photographer Zanele Muholi and works by Stephen Cohen, who was banned at one stage from the syllabus, Athi Patra Ruga and Nicolas Hlobo.
One of the quickest ways to make sense of the history of a country is to look at the trajectory of its art works. Even for students it’s important to Kohler that they understand that it’s “not just about the grade 12 syllabus but a trajectory of SA history in visuals” One of the most telling statements in terms of the impact Studio had on its young viewers came from a student who turned to Kohler and said “Miss, the more things change the more they stay the same” Go see.
l 021 481 3970