Original published August 28, 2013
One of the advantages of working with a project that reaches across the borders of countries and cultures is the opportunity to meet other people passionate about their interests. This is what we found in the Museum for African Art located in New York City. In response to a plea for a fund raiser long closed, they offered up their catalog and said, “Pick something.” We believe we found a treasure that expressed what we were trying to accomplish and did so within the spirit of our project. We selected a wonderful book entitled Personal Affects: Power & Poetics in Contemporary South African Art.
Straight from the catalog description the “artworks represent artists’ responses to a week-long stay in New York and visits with the international team of curators. The common thread throughout the exhibition is the highly personal point of departure of their working methods, informed by their varied experiences as South Africans.”
Participating artists include Jane Alexander, Wim Botha, Steven Cohen, Churchill Madikida, Thando Mama, Mustafa Maluka, Jay Pather, Johannes Phokela, Robin Rhode, Claudette Schreuders, Berni Searle, Doreen Southwood, Samson Mudzunga, Clive van den Berg, Minnette Vari, Diane Victor, and Sandile Zulu. Exhibition catalogue with Introduction by curators David Brodie, Laurie Ann Farrell, Churchill Madikida, Sophie Perryer, and Liese van der Watt, and essays: The Enigma of the Rainbow Nation: Contemporary South African Art at the Crossroads of History by Okwui Enwezor, Towards an ‘Adversarial Aesthetics’: A Personal Response to Personal Affects by Liese van der Watt, and artist interviews by Tracy Murinik.
Published by the Museum for African Art, New York and Spier, Cape Town. September 2004. 176 pp.
It is through art (and writing) that our species expresses those things which touch us most deeply, that give rise to all that is good, and bad, within us. It is how we convey emotion and thought across language and cultural barriers. Understanding the power of the word and art can give us the tools to become better citizens of our global home.
The project that initiated this search was near to my heart. I met wonderful people and made a connection with folks that live half way around the world. I still have lasting connections with some of these people. Of all the experiences tied to Uganda, I was able to confirm my undying faith in humanity and our need to reach out and understand each other. We are one family. We share so much, and can take pleasure and joy in our differences. Take time to see beyond your own horizen.
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