14 September. 2nd Cape Town Biennale
Friday, September 14, 2007
The 2nd Cape Town Biennale will be officially opened by Native intellectual and writer Ronald Suresh-Roberts at 6 p.m. at blank projects tonight.
After the enormously successful 1st Cape Town Biennale in 2006, curated by Kathy Coates, Executive Director Andrew Lamprecht decided to make the biennale an annual event in recognition of Cape Town's reputation as a city that moves twice as fast as the rest of the world. This year's biennale will consist of three consecutive "one night" exhibitions, curated by Lamprecht and Coates.
The opening exhibition, on Friday 14 September, will consist of a tribute to Suresh-Roberts's groundbreaking study of Thabo Mbeki, Fit to Govern: The Native Intelligence of Thabo Mbeki, published earlier this year. This will be followed by an exhibition of invited international artists on Wednesday , 19 September, curated by Kathy Coates. On 26 September Andrew Lamprecht will curate an exhibition of local artists. All these events will open at 6 p.m.
In response to queries about the choice of the opening speaker and event, Lamprecht commented, "Thabo Mbeki embodies an ideal of intellectual leadership that should stand as a model for the world. Suresh Roberts has highlighted his unique approach to the problems of our times which as a Native curator I find attractive and thought-provoking. I have no interest in 'illiberal' approaches to art-making and the control of the South African art market. This biennale highlights a truly locally-grounded approach to art within an international context."
The biennale runs until 28 September.
Labels: andrew lamprecht, Cape Town Biennale, listings, Ronald Suresh-Roberts
posted by Tim Leibbrandt at 11:27 AM
11 Comments:
Its been pretty well publicised, yes, that Ronald Suresh Roberts is a fool. Just how much of a fool we now know. To be hoodwinked by the little art bunch makes the point. Or maybe it’s the other way round. Either way he is a fool and a rather funny looking one at that. More sinister however may be that Roberts is using the little art people to promote his feeble book that author Rian Malan called "a load of impenetrable academic hooey" to ensure wider publicity for ABSA his sponsors who paid him 1.4 million after Essop Pahad’s (who lied to Parliament) arm twisting.
Now little art people. Roberts is a fool but also not a nice person. He called Brenthurst Foundation Head, Gregg Mills the “academic rent-boy of imperialism” and Rian Malan a “publicity-whore”.
I sincerely hope I am wrong in surmising Roberts has found a home in our little art peoples hearts. For be warned, and remember also what Judge Leslie Weinkove noted: that Roberts had launched "venomous" attacks on public figures. He described him as "haughty and arrogant" and he concurred with the defence counsel that Roberts had exhibited the hallmarks of an "unbalanced paranoid" in documents he submitted to the court in his attempt to sue the Sunday Times for defamation. (With apologies to Patrick Lawrence)
So, little art people, be careful while you send up this dangerous man. Or is it the other way round. But all of the above sounds like art in Cape Town.
fuck you you illiberal honky hoochy
dear ronald,
how erudite, you know what I mean.
this beats bitching about the hip hop party
Sure does... ;D
Lamprecht claiming to be a Native Curator is neither more nor less fraudulent than the rest of his practice (& theory). Dr. A. L. and Dr R.S.R kind of deserve each other: obviously clever, probably ambitious, arguably deluded and .... not very nice.
Andrew is great. He has done more to help young up and coming artists in South Africa than most of his contemporaries who are too self obsessed to forward the art scene. Maybe people should start giving him credit for that instead of finding something to bitch about everytime he does a show.
I thought this show was really profound. It performed as a microcosm of the theatre of this country's politics in very clever ways and gave lots of food for thought. Politics as art, the art of politics, where does polilits leave art in this country, to name but a few themes.
And on the subject Riaan Malan, he is not above being a fool himself, a prime example being advertising himself as a neo-conservative. What a jerk. And the Brenthurst foundation is funded by the Oppenheimers, to cloak their operations in liberal tastefulness. Lovely.
Anon 10:38am and Anon 1:09pm. I agree completely. Great show, Andrew. Great speech Ronald, Im looking forward to the rest of the Bienale.
get out of my ass, frank
According to Zapiro you should know how it feels eh Ronald. He he.
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