A new law firm? No, just artists that feature in to-day’s ArtsPage. No prizes for recognizing the first name. On Tuesday the intimate Art Film Club (at Rodney Anderson’s private cinema tucked away in Vidivox – Gateway) screened a documentary on Picasso: Magic, Sex and Death. We were promised a presenter with real passion, one who had studied his subject. John Richardson, friend of Picasso and his circle, did not let us down. The DVD traced the life of Spanish-born Pablo Picasso and his many conquests and inspirations. Footage of the artist showed his dark eyes burning like coals, as he made his art or simply lived his intense life with friends, lovers, family. France became his home but Spanish machismo remained his life’s theme.
Constructed Situations
Now about the other man in my title, Tino Sehgal. Certainly not as instantly recognizable as the illustrious Picasso, Mr Sehgal is a British-German artist in his thirties. He works in Berlin and has exhibited at the Tate, the Institute of Contemporary Art and the 2005 Venice Biennale among other important venues. He may be as important as Marcel Duchamp in terms of forcing us to look at art afresh. Alternatively, he may just be a consummate salesman.
Sehgal’s works are “constructed situations.” He puts together a scenario which is performed and which expects the participation of his audience. While professional actors are used for some pieces, one work that intrigued me can be enacted by individuals. Called “Those Thoughts” , it involves two art collectors, usually a couple, hosting a dinner party. When the first course arrives, one gets up and leaves. The co-host follows after a minute or two. Then they return, but swap places and eat each other’s meal. The guests of course ask questions and the resulting discourse is the object of the piece.
Gallery works
Public works might, for example, involve a museum attendant reading headlines from the newspaper to the visitors. In another piece, also staged in a gallery or art museum, five people surround a visitor but keep their backs to him/her. The five chant “ The object of this work is to become the object of discussion”. If they get a response, a discussion ensues. If not, the five slowly sink to the ground. The work, from 2004, is called “This objective of that object.”
Undocumented
Now this may sound like a simple variation on performance art; but the difference is that Sehgal, (or his dealer) sells a single or multiple edition of the right to perform the piece for ever or to loan it to other institutions. There are quite stringent conditions in the sale; no contract, no written set of instructions, no catalogue, no pictures and no receipt. If the work is to be exhibited, it must be performed or on view each day for six weeks. But despite the lack of materiality, top public galleries have bought works. I am not sure that I am ready to purchase but I do think that he may prove to be a seminal influence on art.
Strauss & Co
Strauss and Co’s first sale, in Johannesburg on Monday, seems to have gone very well and sold 86% by lot. The superb Hugo Naudé seascape pictured last fortnight made R557 000 including buyer’s premium. An Irma Stern fetched R5,8m and another one went for R7,2m. A pair of Tretchikoff oils failed to reach their reserves of R250 000 and R450 000.
Stephan Welz/Sothebys
Highlight of the end-February auction at Kirstenbosch was Erik Laubscher’s Still Life with Mandolin, Music Score and Fruit. This superb work in late post-Cubist style, has echoes of Braque and Léger from two years he spent in Paris in the early Fifties. Laubscher (b 1927) is alive and well and working in Cape Town. The price of R1,1m was a world record for him, and a SA record for work of a living artist at auction. He and his wife, artist Claude Bouscharain, whom he met in Paris, must be delighted. They would no doubt be even happier if the sale were subject to ARR (the Artist’s Resale Right which exists in Europe and England to give artists a royalty when their works are sold at auction or by dealers.) One wonders if this will ever be introduced in South Africa.
New auction house for Hermanus
This week ArtsPage welcomes a new venture for Hermanus by Hennie Niemann Snr and Derrick Benzien , owners of the Onrus Gallery. It will be known as Whale Rock Auctioneers. Monthly sales of fine art, antiques and collectibles are planned at their premises in Adam Street, Hermanus Business Park (behind CTM). The first one is on Sunday 22 March at 10h00 and you can view beforehand, Thursday to Saturday. Sales will be conducted by Jason Children, who relocated to Onrus about a year ago. A painting by Gregoire Boonzaier, illustrated, is among those to be offered.
Auctions can be great fun and an opportunity to acquire artworks at “wholesale” prices. If the auctioneer and the public are on a roll, sellers can sometimes get really good prices, too. Remember that there is a buyer’s premium in addition to what you bid; and please, please inspect the works on the viewing days before the sale. A good auction house guarantees that the work it sells is as described in the catalogue. There are a fair number of dubious artworks out there looking for new owners so make sure you are very comfortable with the work itself and the firm selling the work. I shall be discussing authenticity in a later ArtsPage.
Meet the artist
Pure South at 155 Main Road is having another of its popular Meet the Artist evenings next Friday, 20 March at 18h30.We shall get a chance to chat to the engaging young ceramist Andile Dyalvane who is pictured on this page. He had a successful show in Italy last year and he will be telling us about his studio Imiso Ceramics. Let Liz know on 028 312 1899 if you would like to attend.
Keep your news and views coming to me at niblos@telkomsa.net
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