Boats, Beer, Badiou and Banter
Monday, April 28, 2008
Studio 2666 artists Gimberg & Nerf are AIR [Artists in Residence] vs MIA [missing in action] at the Gugulective's TaMlamli Black&White cube space. They are boat building for the next several days, and nights, and invite you to lend a hand or just come drink beer, bring and braai and have a chat.
"One of the easier interpretive alternatives would be to simply deny a rationale altogether and frame Gimberg and Nerf's undertakings as indulgent adventures, Scooby Doo type mysteries that dabble with the dark arts and the deep seas; playful pursuits that amicably expose the futility of art to those who take it all too seriously. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your personal predilection, this projective vision of two men showing off the evidence of their various maritime, horticultural, destructive and escapist fantasies for their viewers to actively enjoy is disrupted by the very obstruction that prompted its application in the first place. Gimberg and Nerf's employment of a deliberate and strategic exchange that provides one piece of information while enshrouding another suggests that the lack of information, of reasoning and explanation is not the reactive product of a hostility towards explanation (or even over-explanation) but rather of an appreciation of obscurity that is allowed to remain obscured rather than be substituted by silliness. The indications of an approach that is sympathetic to futility within Gimberg and Nerf's various projects are also, therefore, indicative of an ability to understand the importance of attempting to express the meaninglessness of meaning without feeling the need to giggle about it (whether nervously, sarcastically or in earnest). This is not to say that the work is without humour, the absurdity of the project, so enhanced by the insecure paranoia and obsession that its obscurity often provokes in the viewer, ensures that the benefits of self-irony are not lost with the rejection of frivolity." Ryan van Huyssteen and Francis Burger
This all has something to do with "One More Day to Regret", "Escape to Robben Island" and perhaps the satanist/artist "Ed Young". Come see for yourself.
So, the something different worked ok with the piece on Brett Murray, so I'm interested in what responses, dear reader, you have towards this (developing) art work. Specifically, two questions arise:
a) Does the purposeful obscurity and secrecy Ryan van Huyssteen and Francis Burger suggest work as an artistic strategy?
b) What does it mean to be making art, as white people, in Gugulethu?
I'm curious for your responses.
Read more on the project at Studio 2666, and at the projects blog One More Day To Regret.
Labels: Christian Nerf, douglas gimberg, Gugulective
posted by Robert Sloon at 10:38 AM
6 Comments:
Well I guess it's very hard for white South Africans to construct the appearance of a valid connection with the country they live in. This is quite a nice way of discussing what an utter farce it is trying to demonstrate those connections. It certainly hightlights the defining feature of the Upstairs Downstairs show in Gugs: the obvious wealth and wastefulness of the white artists compared with the locals.
I think people get more interested in mystery if there's a suggestion there might in a shag in it somewhere for them. Just plain mystery's bit like hard work.
boat+artists=shag
boat+artists=
tits bots + aars
oh wait, tit bots + aars
Could this get any more interesting?
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