The psychologist William James, brother of Henry James, the well-known novelist, once exhorted people to “Begin to be now what you will be hereafter”. In similar vein, Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed that one should “Become who you are” — a formulation that drives the paradox of being-human home even more clearly than James’s words. At least, […]
art
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
JAG: How to leave an impression in Johannesburg
Over a hundred years ago, a visionary couple founded an art museum in Johannesburg that was so ahead of its time, that a century later, its public beneficiaries still haven’t quite woken up to the world-class treasure it contains. For this is neither a private collection nor a visiting exhibition, and never has been. It […]
Posted inGeneral
Eben Venter’s ‘Horrelpoot’, fiction and SA’s future
Anyone who has read Eben Venter’s gripping novel, Horrelpoot (Clubfoot; Tafelberg 2006), would know that it is no easy read despite being written eloquently and engagingly. What I mean is that it is a harrowing book to read. I have read the original Afrikaans version but apparently it is available in English too. Furthermore, anyone […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Spaces of power and spaces of gentleness
Today we experienced two kinds of space that are diametrically opposed, or mutually exclusive. The first was the palace and gardens of Versailles, known as the residence of a succession of French kings, of whom Louis XIV and Louis XVI are probably the best known (the latter with his equally well-known queen, Marie-Antoinette, who was […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
I love Paris in the springtime…
How many people still know that song, I wonder. Or the one where Dean Martin sings “Oh, what I’d give for a moment or two, under the bridges of Paris with you … ” The point is that Paris is, and has been for a long time, one of — if not THE — most […]
Posted inGeneral
We are not all intellectuals
South African artists seem to be outraged by anyone who questions or challenges intellectual capabilities in the sector. I allegedly made a provocative comment about the distinction between an artist and an intellectual. I argued that, generally, local artists are good in what they do and have won awards all over the world. I suggested […]
Posted inGeneral
Beautiful, but expensive Basel
Basel is among the oldest cities of Europe, and architecturally speaking, among the most beautiful. Its founding antedates the beginning of the common era (CE), and its history from the Roman through the medieval to the modern period is as chequered as any city’s could be. It is a relatively small city, with just over […]
Posted inBusiness, General, Lifestyle
The curse of being liked by the wrong people
There is a fundamental belief in the field of liberal arts that art has an intrinsic value. Marxist theory made out a good case for art being merely a commodity with a market value like any other, but the notion of inherent value refuses to die. Cultural relativism, similarly, has attempted to connect the value […]
Posted inGeneral
A lay-by on shop U22, Sandton City / the outer fringe
The truth is, although I noticed Amos Letsoalo’s beautiful charcoal drawing of an anteater, I could hardly look at the art shown on the Joburg Fringe this year. Having visited it first, unfortunately just after it closed on the opening night, I was so taken with the fact of it, featured as it was in […]
Posted inLifestyle
SA art at Venice Biennale makes me proud
On a recent visit to Venice I was really impressed by the new South African pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale. Having read about it I tracked it down, prepared to be critical because of the scandal around South Africa’s participation two years ago. On the contrary this time I believe the department of arts […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics
What art you talking about?
The 31st of July was the deadline decided on by the South African Department of Arts and Culture (DepARTment) for arts practitioners and institutional responses to a revised White Paper they made available (in very limited fashion) earlier in the same month. There was nothing normal about the process but nothing abnormal either. Because this […]
Posted inTech
Was Heidegger right about technology?
When reading a text by Martin Heidegger, who died in 1976 at age 86, one is usually – provided one reads it carefully and attentively – startled by the almost tangible way in which one can sense the “unfolding” of the thinking that is embodied in it. I find it exhilarating. There are few philosophers […]