ArtsPage Friday 5 June 2009 - Drums of Africa

Oh the excitement! My mailbag was overflowing this fortnight as readers e-mailed me (and my editor) commenting on the ArtsPage and on the art scene in our area. And not a single letter from “Disgusted” of Sandbaai. Well, I must be doing something right. Or not, depending on your standpoint.

Getting to know about art

Certainly the galleries are feeling the winter pinch and even the most forbidding will be pleased if you drop in. To build one’s art knowledge, there is no better way than to browse regularly at our better galleries. Start at Abalone where you will find the newly-hung series of Cecil Skotnes woodcuts dating from 1976, available individually in simple frames – he captured Africa in bold and idiosyncratic forms and colours. Check out what the galleries are offering. We have a glorious range from classic to kitsch. Exposure will train your eye and mind to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Grande Provence

To Franschhoek on Sunday in the company of Karen McKerron, 18 years a leading gallerist in Johannesburg and now living an art-surrounded life in Eastcliff. Franschhoek is out of range of the ArtsPage but I like occasionally to mention it to alert our galleries; there is the lingering threat that the pretty wineland town could overtake Greater Hermanus as Art Destination if we do not get our message across by joint marketing. They have a superb sepia brochure , just a one-page A3 sheet, but stylishly presented and showing a diagrammatic art route surrounded by pictorial advertisements. Where we have whales, they go for the French connection with food, book fests and music.

Maritz and Dhont



We were on our way to see Jacques Dhont’s eco-sculptures and Nicolaas Maritz’s enamels on board, at Grande Provence’s lofty exhibition space. A treat, and on show till 30 June. According to Dhont, his powerful sculptures of woven wattle bark are portraits of contemporary life: reflections on modern man as a scavenger; the relentless passing of time - forewarning about man’s troubled relations with nature. “The Earth has become an island prison where man may be concerned and become extinct because of a terrible lack of insight, energy and effort.” In the context of this environmental catastrophe, the sculptures seem quaint and nostalgic: a tribute to human folly.


Maritz is an established artist with works in most of the major national collections. His landscapes are stylized and his large abstracts hint at musical rhythms. The works of sculptor and painter work well together, their earthy tones resonating in the airy gallery. In opening the show, Catherine Du Toit said that what she personally admired in both Nicolaas and Jacques was their indomitable spirit, their commitment to their own artistic vision. “They are not driven by commercial, political or sociological objectives. They make art, not ‘documentary evidence’ as Nicolaas puts it, because it is in their nature to do so.”

Recycled dreams



Izibini Life Lounge is the name of the quaint studio on Voëlklip’s lower Main Road ( 10th Street). It occupies the premises known as the Old Post Office and was, in a subsequent reincarnation, a popular steakhouse. Now outside on the pavement you will spot weird and wonderful artifacts made up of scrap iron, driftwood, the detritus of our modern world. It is the passion of the owners, architecturally-trained “AD” Strydom and artistic Yolanda, to take unconsidered trifles and add their magic touch to create pieces of decorative art. The circular mirror fragment is set in an angry sunburst of metal – octopus-like; the chandeliers of white-sprayed found objects; the distinctively-backed barstools – you will recognize them when you see them. And the braziers, whether you call them braai drums, patio warmers or good old konkas will be a talking point. No concession to “Beach Palace Interior” design, the items are rawly honest. Not for the fainthearted!
But hey, they also serve good cake and serious coffee so if you think this is Baghdad Café come to Hermanus, you could be on target. The “second life” they give to their objects is vibrant and distinctive and very much of Africa.

Another Gallery?

Well, almost. It is the spacious auction rooms of Whale Rock Auctioneers at Adam Street, Hermanus Business Park. When they are not actually displaying their items for auction, (and the next art, antiques and collectibles sale is from 10h00 this Saturday), there will be a changing display of artworks on show. The catalogue for tomorrow’s sale is on the web at www.whalerockauctioneers.co.za.

Remember that your news and views are always welcome at niblos@telkomsa.net.