With its quirky approach Chris du Plessis’s programme But Is It Art? has offended the `intellectuals’ of the art world. For him that might be it’s greatest success. Alex Dodd reports
Chris du Plessis is on a rampage. “I think the intellectual influence on the arts is getting a bit much. There’s this whole, esoteric snobbishness. The arts have become much too serious and much too high-falutin and a lot of people in this country feel alienated. They don’t know what art is because it’s become this exclusive little thing that only certain people have access to – the people who think they know a little bit about wine.”
Du Plessis’s reputation generally precedes him. He’s not the sort of character to sit quietly in the corner discussing his stamp collection. But for those who have not had the pleasure of drowning in the laughter of his silly, silly jokes, he is one of those journalists whose wisdom is born of paying his dues.
Du Plessis probably knows more about Spokes Mashiyane and pennywhistling than an old timer at a Soweto shebeen, as was evident in his 90-minute documentary on the history of kwela music, The Whistlers. And although he directed the award-winning documentary about South African folk hero and snake dancer Glenda Kemp, he is probably better known as the brains behind the hit television series Not Quite Friday Night.
But his most recent triumph came when his latest series, But Is Art?, won the heavily contested title for the one and only arts programme on SABC TV.
About a year ago the gong sounded with the advent of A.R.T, the first of three contenders for that solitary, hallowed slot. Although presenter S’bu Nxumalo did much to spice things up with his casual, chatty approach, the formula was essentially tired. A bit like Arts Unlimited dressed up as Artworks, this wasn’t quite the hip, innovative package we’d held our breaths for.
But if ever there was a dearth of hip, boy was there a remedy. This came in the form of Flux which left many praying for the return of good old David Gresham and Pop Shop. “Keep your feet on the ground” was hardly the Flux team’s mantra. In fact, with it’s endless polysyllabic ramblings and dizzy-making editing, it was just about hip enough to give you hip ache.
Hence it was with a sigh of relief that many of us greeted the first installment of But Is It Art? which, apart from being original and educative, also injected a mean dose of that stuff that tends to be so rare in these parts. It was the kind of humour that got up some people in the art world’s noses. They didn’t take a liking to the black garden gnome in the title sequence and Du Plessis was rapped over the knuckles for taking the mickey out of conceptual art.
Personally, it’s the first programme that’s tempted me to stay at home on Sunday nights. Where else do you see the strange similarities between the private passions of a singing Swazi cowboy and an Afrikaans country and western singer? Where else do you learn that Springs is a stronghold of fabulous Art Deco architecture or engage in an intelligent debate about the diminishing boundary between art and craft. Well, nowhere actually. We’re only allowed arts and culture in small doses around here, remember. And on that point it’s worth noting that the new series will consist of 26-minute episodes rather than 42-minute episodes, which means that we’ll be getting 16 minutes less of art per week. Yes, I’m counting.
Totally seduced by the show’s snazzy mix of high and low art, seamless editing and general quirkiness, not to mention presenter Hugh Masebenza’s refreshingly deadpan approach, I was in danger of becoming a cheerleader for the new series. This drove me to ask a couple of arty types what they thought of it. Only one criticism seemed to emerge: that the show is a bit too Carry On Up the Canvas – that sometimes the jokes come at the expense of a more serious approach to South African art. It’s this suggestion that gets Du Plessis going. He’s not having any of it. As far as he’s concerned the South African art world needs a good old populist shake up.
Du Plessis believes that in an ideal world there would be more than one art programme on television. Then everyone’s tastes would be adequately catered for. Those who enjoy classical music and ballet would have their piece of cake and so would the MTV and kwaito generation. As it is there is only one slot so there have to be priorities. For Du Plessis the main mission is to fill some of the gaps that have emerged over the past 40 odd years – to pollyfilla the cracks between the existing cultural ghettos.
“In South Africa we have a problem in that there’s a whole lost history,” he says. “There were many years in which African culture was not exposed to what was going on in this highfalutin white culture and vice versa. This is not Europe. So if I have a choice to cover some fancy conceptual art exhibition or to explain to people what the hell tsaba tsaba or marabi music is it’s a clear one. I’d rather explain what the indlamu dance is all about because people still don’t know today. Not just white people, but township youths of the kwaito generation. They don’t know the rich history of their own music and it’s an amazing history. I’m not discarding high art or even healthy debate, but it’s my second priority.”
As a journalist, his primary responsibility is a good story and at the end of the day artistic imperiousness should not be tolerated.
“There’s a whole bunch of excitable young intellectual twits running around town who are sort of self proclaimed custodians of the arts all of a sudden. I don’t know where they come from or what their qualifications are. They think things must be more serious or more analytical. What the fuck does it mean? Do they want more high art? Would they like to see more ballet? Is pulling your wire over the Penthouse magazine more serious? What statement is that making? Maybe it’s very deep, but I don’t understand it. To me that’s just wanking. That’s what I call it. Where I come from those people just used to get a hiding and get sent to bed. But now there’s a huge platform for them in public and in the press.
“It was the intellectuals in the centres like New York and Paris who spurred the reaction against 19th century realism and started abstract expressionism and since then it’s been a bit haywire – very esoteric and small and enclosed.
“I feel embarrassed if I think of the ou omie wat daar in Atteridgeville sit, of die tannie in Bloemfontien, and they put on the TV en hulle weet glad nie wat aangaan nie want dis ‘n klomp jong wise guys wat so aan en aan karring oor die konsep en die fokken whatever. And that embarrasses me. I think the whole purpose is to downgrade that snobbish element to an extent that people can enjoy the programme.”
So in the new series, which kicks off on SABC3 on Sunday May 30, the But Is It Art? team – Masebenza, Andrea Vinassa, Thomas Barry and Hein Lottering (to whom Du Plessis is giving a more prominent directorial role) -will be bringing us the same magnetic mix of art and culture beyond South Africa’s galleries and salons. In addition to the local jamboree every odd programme will feature an Africa special. Soon we’ll know all about kwasa kwasa and soukous and mbalax and magic realism in West African film and the fantastic mud architecture of the mosques in Mali. And then perhaps Chris Du Plessis will be satisfied. I hope not.