Friends of the National Gallery

Report from the Vice-Chairperson

Many of you will have read in the Press about the theft of the small but valuable oil painting Royal Hotel, Dieppe by Walter Sickert from SANG on 3 October. I am sure like me you were shocked and horrified that such a brazen theft could take place on a Saturday morning with such ease! We can be thankful that the thief was filmed on the video camera and has been arrested and sent to prison. We can only hope that this important work will be recovered and returned to SANG.

A recent programme on SABC - Special Assignment hosted by Max du Preez - focused on thefts from museums in this country and emphasised the need for stricter security measures to ensure the safety of these collections. Financial constraints of course impact on this problem.

I attended a Cape Malay buffet with the Director at SANG and met a most interesting and interested group of Americans who are Friends of or work for the Independent Broadcaster in the States which produces excellent educational programmes. Simon Marks, chief correspondent of the Washington Bureau, (you may have seen him on international TV news), led the group and they were enchanted and impressed with our Gallery and the collection.

An exciting programme of lectures and events is being planned for next year and we invite you to send in your suggestions. One such suggestion received from Sue Robinson is for a social occasion for Friends to get to know other Friends and to bring a plate of snacks and a bottle of wine or something of their choice. Please indicate your interest in such an event by contacting Ann Norris (tel: 465 1628; fax: 461 6005; e-mail: sang@gem.co.sa).

I would like on behalf of the Friends Council to thank you for your support in 1998 and to wish you all peace, prosperity and good health for the New Year.

Margie Sedgwick

We have received more welcome contributions for the SANG Library Appeal and acknowledge the generosity of these donors with much appreciation: De Beers Fund Trust, Ms L S Jones, Mr M Stevenson, Mr D Viljoen, Mrs G Youngleson.

Not Your Obvious Stockholm and London

A curator's view

I was delighted to have been invited to participate in the panel discussion and to contribute an introductory essay to 'Dreams and Clouds: Contemporary art from the new South Africa', an exhibition curated by Ingemar Arnesson and Wessel van Huyssteen for Kulturhuset to mark Stockholm's 'reign' as the cultural capital of Europe in 1998. Not only did this mean researching South African artists and promoting them abroad but it gave me the opportunity of spending time with some of our leading artists and of hearing them address the press, guides and the general public on their work. Artists present included Siemon Allen, Willem Boshoff, Kevin Brand, Maureen de Jager, Isolde Krams, Ledelle Moe, Santu Mofokeng, Jo Ractliffe, Clive van der Berg, Sue Williamson and Sandile Zulu. Research into the artists who were unable to be there (William Kentridge, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Albert Munyai, Johannes Segogela and Konrad Welz), enabled me to speak about their work when called on to do so.

Situated in the centre of Stockholm, Kulturhuset is ideally located to draw large audiences. The opening events, including a spectacular fire work by Clive van der Berg in the shape of a voter's cross, drew much attention. The exhibition was well hung in the building's modernist spaces with Sandile Zulu's works providing an eye-catching introduction and many thought-provoking dialogues between works. The panelists, including David Elliott (Director of Moderna Museet in Stockholm), Andries Oliphant, Albie Sachs and some artists, gave illuminating insights into present-day South Africa and current cultural debates.

With some free time on our hands Sue, Santu, Sandile and I opted for Moderna Museet. The exhibition, 'In Visible Light: Photography and Classification in Art, Science and the Everyday', set out to examine the numerous contradictory histories and meanings contained within photography's attempts to classify the world. Divided into sections such as ethnicity, mortality, desire, beauty, science and nature, the exhibition included a wide range of work from Faisal Abdu'Allah's life-size portrait of a rapper-style youth with a gun and Ajamu's race and gender-bending images of black men in blonde wigs and women's underwear to Andres Serrano's haunting morgue portraits and Joy Gregory's 'Objects of Beauty'. We also viewed 'Dialogues', selections from the Museum's magnificent collection which includes Duchamp's Large Glass and Etant Donné amongst its many highlights. Sandile's attention was caught, not surprisingly, by one of Cai Guo Chang's vast drawings achieved through the use of gunpowder on paper.

After five hectic working days in Sweden my holiday in London was a welcome relief, despite the fact that most days were happily spent in galleries. In fact, I went straight from Heathrow, suitcase in hand, to the opening of Yinka Shonibare's 'Diary of a Victorian Dandy' (see above). Shot on location in an opulent stately home in Hertfordshire, this series of five large-scale photographs depicts a day in the life of a young Victorian gentleman. Playing the central role of Dandy, Shonibare subverts the myth of the archetypal English fop, ironically drawing attention to the difficulties of negotiating British class-based society as a black and handicapped man. Commissioned and produced by inIVA the images were presented as posters in Underground stations.

In London I enjoyed the hospitality of British photographer Joy Gregory, who had two major shows running concurrently in the UK. 'Objects of Beauty' opened at the London Museum and 'Memory and Skin' at the The Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh. The latter was one of 10 portfolios commissioned for 'Continental Drift: Europe Approaching the Millennium'. Using photography, video, text and sound pieces collected on journeys through the Caribbean and Europe, this installation constructs and disrupts the nature of contemporary European identity. In tracing her ancestry back to the Caribbean, Gregory began her journey with the notorious 'triangular trade' of transatlantic slavery. Given the profile which she is developing, we were extremely fortunate to have had Joy Gregory as Invited Artist at the Natale Labia Museum in November 1997. We owe the British Council a debt of gratitude for making this possible and for their continuing commitment to the arts and development in South Africa.

Artists and academics both within the UK and throughout it's former empire are deconstructing notions of what it means to be British through various post-colonial discourses. Without doubt, the variety and impact of these debates and practices ensures that while Rule Britannia may be out, cool Britannia is very definitely in. My thanks go to all who gave so generously of their time and resources, confirming their interest and commitment to the visual arts in South Africa. I owe a special debt of gratitude to all at Kulturhuset who funded this trip.

Emma Bedford

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