After reading Robert Sloon's article on how nice Melvin Minnaar was to Jimmy Webb's Lights going on and off (rings a bell), I decided to read it. It was indeed if not an overtly flattering review. Melvin never writes nice reviews on young artists. In fact he is more of the "let me hit my head on the typewriter" school of critics (the non-existent ones in our beautiful country).

So let us examine:

I have only read a few positive reviews from Mr. Minnaar. These include, inter alia, James Webb, Cameron Platter and any show at Michael Stevenson Contemporary.

Michael is an easy one. He probably just slides him a bit of his well-earned cash on the side. Or maybe they are just old war buddies.

Now we must remember that Mr. Minnaar is in fact a wine critic, just doing some art reviews on the sly for some extra dosh. James Webb is heir to the Thelema wine estate, one of SA's biggest exports. Cameron Platter is the son of our foremost wine expert John Platter.

You do the math.

This probably comes from a critic, myself, who is slightly embittered for being a failed artist having to watch from the sideline. So maybe I am just jealous. It's not that I don't believe that Platter and Webb deserves good write-ups. I mean, I wish I could make such cool art. But when Minnaar states about Webb: " Right now he probably has no equal on the local scene", he is pushing it a bit. I don't know how the wine industry works but I have watched a bit of Known Gods on M-NET. It's far more dangerous and dodgy than our little art world. Minnaar probably fears for his life.

But, it does make you wonder why he got fired from the Cape Times.