All the Chickens in One Basket
Sunday, July 22, 2007
I was just doing some banking today, transferring my last R100 to Satan, a slow and embittered journey to buy back my soul, when I stumbled across a headline: "Winners Of The 22nd Absa L'Atelier Art Awards". Just what I needed.Pierre Fouche we already mentioned.
Gerard Sekoto prize goes to...Nina Barnett
And the ten finalists...
| Pierre Fouche | Cape Town |
| Nina Barnett | Johannesburg |
| Wayne Matthews | Port Elizabeth |
| Lyndi Sales | Bellville |
| Jaco Spies | Bloemfontein |
| Lynette Bester | Belville |
| Lothar Böttcher | Pretoria |
| Rikus Ferreira | Belville |
| Sarel Jansen van Rensburg | Pretoria |
| Marlise Keith | Bellville |
My mind really boggles. Is it possible that they have reverted to the Volkskas L'Atelier Awards. Are the top ten artists really, really all white? Could someone please explain to me what is going on. Is Bellville the centre of art making in South Africa...
From the Absa site: Absa Art Curator Cecile Loedolff has been developed a keen eye for the thematical trends in the competition in the more than two decades she's been organising it.
"Absa L'Atelier has always been the barometer for what is happening in our country, as reflected in the consciousness of our young artists. Thematically the last few years were dominated by social aspects such as crime, violence, and HIV/Aids. 2007 suddenly presented a curious new undercurrent: the entries strongly resonate the issue of identity...be it cultural, linguistic, gender or individual identity."
So at least we know that the barometer says the weather will be fair, with blue eyes.
Labels: absa l'atelier
posted by Robert Sloon at 4:58 PM
15 Comments:
still more desrving than little ruthie though
There are a lot of people with a lot of money in Belleville, and they shop. They have hyperama-size stores just for gothic accessories. They're also blissfully unaware that they live in Africa, except for the chunks of it they own, and would be happier if black people stuck to stuff they're good at, like polishing the RAV4.
Hell Yeah was also All White Show (not that i really really care, just interesting in the context of this site and this post).
With ABSA this it is predictable but with MOContemporary! Contemporary! Contemporary! its more surprising... problem in africa? problem in hell (whiteys only?) ?
Fair Enough. But Absa does claim to be a barometer of contemporary art in South Africa. Hell Yeah had slightly different curatorial concerns.
Hell yeah all white, maybe, but lots of black hearts (and souls by the looks of things) and anyway isn't Dan Halter black ? or at least blackish
I overheard a radio interview with a person who seemed to be the chief curator or public potentate of the ABSA Artelyay : the honey ran in mouthfuls. Great gobs of vomit. Stuff about The Cutting Edge and so on. This is what happens when fools jump on a bandwagon. When is a bandwagon a sinking ship? When it is an Absa Lifeboat. What is an Absa Lifeboat?
I dunno, but it sure as Hell isn't a soap.
I heard a story from a source i can't disclose that at one of Absa's big openings their main art honcho walked over to some very wealthy black businessmen and asked them if they had invitations to be there. I think they're a hardcore old apartheid organisation using art to whitewash their name, and not being very sophisticated about even that.
So Jules, please help me help all of ourselves move past this stalemate by collaborating like I axed ya! Signed, you know who.
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blah blah blah: does this really suprise people?
p.s. you know who, i am on it, just been a lil busy ok ok...soon we meet soon.
Fair enough regarding Absa/Barclays’ corporate blabbering … at least it worked for Kebble… but the curator (Cecile) has no part in the selection process. Who were the deciding judges for the L’Atelier this year?
your husband
He was a regional judge for the Western Cape. Who were the national judges?
Shame - it must have been CECILE whom I caught on the talkshow. Lest I be accused of hate speach, or reveal myself to be a misogynist & misanthrope, I will say no more, except DOESN'T ART AND CULTURE DESERVE THIS? What a load of pretentious crap most of it is. Most of us are?
Why do Toyko Sexwale and Gil Marcus allow this....
Rikus Ferreira, uhm shouldn't that read Anton Kannemeyer?
Anyway, since when is Bellville a place of privilege? Pretoria isn't exactly Gay Paris either, is it?
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