“Socially engaged” art is an old topic, one especially debated to death in South Africa, but one that still seems to have mileage in certain circles. The Very Real Time II event seeks to address this and inspire a more playful and introspective approach by local artists.
The event takes the form of a discussion with accomplished panellists, including political scientist Achille Mbembe, Lisa Vetten of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, art historian Rory Bester, HIV/Aids artist-activist Zanele Mashinini and media analyst Jyoti Mistry. The discussions are aimed at helping artists depart from the topic of “socially engaged” art and are titled Personal Rituals of Self-Preservation and Love, Sex and Intimate Relationships.
“In South Africa, we have so many paranoias and layers of self-protection. It has become integrated in such a way that we have become blind to our own mechanism. It’s not that we’re playing at social therapy, but that we’re bringing attention to these invisible entities and possibly researching other ways of working in a socially engaged way,” says Gregg Smith, a South African video and performance artist residing and working in France. Smith and artist Dorothee Kreutzfeldt are organising the event.
These urban dynamics will be explored by fashion designers Strangelove — Carlo Gibson and Ziemek Pater — in collaboration with artist Jose Ferreira (with technical assistance from Tegan Bristow and Don Wood). They have designed a garment that “finds ways to read the city that are beyond the behaviour we are used to. We are used to engaging each other in a certain way — we’re sceptical of people who approach us in town because the area is supposedly dangerous, for instance — but I want to find ways around that,” says Ferreira.
The garment is designed to be inconspicuous when not in operation, but it has the ability to come apart, unfold and transform into something else. Hidden by zips and pockets are various utilitarian functions: a hood, traffic diverter and shade cloth. Various bits of tech-nology, such as a proximity sensor, electronic compass and infrared sensor, are also attached. The garment is wireless and the data from these gadgets is transmitted to a laptop. Someone will also be recording people’s interactions with the garment on a video camera. This data will be presented at the discussion.
An online forum extending the discussion and introducing the broader topic, The Value of Socially Engaged Art, will run from February 15 to March 2. Panellists and participants include Jill Magid (artist, New York/Amsterdam), Shep Steiner (writer, Canada), Gerald Raunig (art theoretician, Vienna), Charles Esche (curator, Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven), Galit Eilat (Digital Artlab, Israel), Steven Hobbs (arts consultant, Johannesburg), Zayd Minti (arts consultant, Cape Town) and Colin Richards (art historian, Johannesburg).
The discussions are designed to serve as a preamble and lead-in that lays the groundwork for the residencies in Cape Town later this year.
The first discussion takes place at the Point Blank Gallery, Drill Hall, on February 4 from 6pm. Website: www.veryrealtime.co.za