A promoter of craft art and social entrepreneurship, Elbé Coetsee has a passion for handmade objects and has been promoting this genre for many years. In fact, this is her second book on the subject after the 2002 debut publication of the same title.
She describes the book as a tribute to artists, collectors and retailers who have played a pivotal part in the enhancement of craft in this country. She includes people like Helen de Leeuw, Tim Morris, Esias Bosch, Nicholas de Klerk, Kim Sacks, Peter and Liane Visser, Harrie Ziertsema and many more.
But she also documents the progress in the area of crafts as people all around appreciate what these artists have achieved. The book, for example, also pays homage to 21 craft artists featured previously who have died like Jackson Hlungwani, Tholi Majola, Nelly Ntshalintshali and other luminous names.
In the foreword, artist Willem Boshoff describes craft thus: “Somehow we simply call them craft, but the history of the word hardly does justice to the refinement, elegance and perspicacity with which they were fashioned. I believe the advocates of craft are in essence ‘handwise’ and as such wish to pay homage to them and the fine work they produce.”
For Coetsee, this new book was to capture a renewed sense of creativity, culture and inspiration sweeping the country. This during a time of harsh global circumstances as well as our crime, corruption and unemployment statistics.
But she wanted to capture the versatility and skill of artists working in South Africa today – from Walter Oltmann’s wire sculptures to the life-size puppets of the Handspring Puppet Company, Margaret Woermann’s embroidered teddy bears and monkeys and Ruan Hoffman’s quirky ceramics, Astrid Dahl’s large sculptures and the tiny vessels turned or coiled by Fahmeeda Omar. And the list simply goes on.
If you page through the book, spend time and linger on the Jac de Villiers pictures as well as reading the stories of the many artists, it is the diversity, the ingenuity, the innovation and the artistry that captures the imagination.
Coetsee says that by no means is this the definitive book on craft, art or design in South Africa as it is impossible to cover that vast a subject in one book.
“In these pages I embrace our nation’s creative diversity and share some of the pieces that delight me.” The book endeavours to “inspire, encourage and bring joy”.
It easily does all those things but more importantly, for those who are unaware of the riches of our artists, this expands their vocabulary – hopefully. And does it really matter if we as individuals respond to the work as art or craft? The value lies in the response to the work, the understanding and appreciation.
The book is divided into different sections starting with baskets and including beads, ceramics, fibres and fabrics, glass, metal and wire, recycling and concluding with wood and cane. These headings immediately take you into that world yet it’s hard to imagine what these terms imply with specific artists.
That’s what Coetsee and this book best illustrate. Beyond categorising and attaching labels to specific objects, it is the very nature of the artistry, the breadth of the imagination that all defy easy descriptive implications.
What you want is for the artists and their work simply to be appreciated which is something the market will do. But with Coetsee’s determination, she is spreading the word and doing so in a way that’s wonderfully effective. She knows that pictures tell the real story so she has gathered the best with De Villiers as the photographer and Liane Visser as the stylist. In some of the pictures, the artists feature with their work and in others, it is the art that tells the story. Descriptive and informed text accompanies each section as Coetsee puts a particular strain like beads or ceramics into historic context and then follows with the contemporary conclusion.
No one looking at these pictures and reading about the work can have any doubt about the value. The book helps to elevate the art form. Bravo to the author, this is a fabulous way to enter that world.