Archived

The Arch Flies Again

6 Mar 2015

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, the first black Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, well known for his steadfast and unapologetic public voice, is also celebrated for his good humour. Upon seeing Ed Young’s super-realist sculpture depicting a likeness of him swinging from a chandelier, Tutu laughed and pulled a fist at the work’s creator. “I’ll send you bad dreams,” he told Young. Arch was one of three works acquired by the Institute for Democracy in Africa (IDASA) following an open competition. It was unveiled in August 2010, a month after Tutu officially retired from public life, in IDASA’s Democracy Centre on Spin Street, Cape Town.

The work is without equal locally for its freewheeling interpretation of a prominent public figure.

Young contracted film producer Clare van Zyl to coordinate the production of the work. CFX Productions, a Cape Town company specialising in props, animatronics and puppetry for the film industry, produced the sculptural likeness of Tutu. Young’s celebratory Tutu work eschews strategies of hero worship, solemnity and kitsch, all commonplace in sculptures of public figures. Young’s Arch is a mischievous anti-hero, an endearing Peter Pan of politics.

Also currently on view in the foyer of the Vineyard Hotel is an extraordinary sculpture by Berlinde De Bruyckere, who was the solo artist in the Belgian Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013, curated by J M Coetzee. Schmerzensmann III (R2 500 000 – 3 500 000) consists of a pale, attenuated figure made from epoxy and wax and hung from the apex of an iron column sourced from a decommissioned nineteenth-century station. Conceived as a powerful reflection on humanity, it evokes images of war – particularly of World War I fought largely on Belgian soil – as much as of recent atrocities.

Several key contemporary works by globally recognised artists such as Nam June Paik, Huang Gang, William Kentridge and Penny Siopis will also be on offer at Strauss & Co’s auction on 16 March 2014 at the Vineyard Hotel, Newlands in Cape Town.

Important South African & International Art, Decorative Arts & Jewellery
Monday 16 March 2015
Venue: The Vineyard Hotel, Newlands, Cape Town
Preview: Friday 13 to Sunday 15 March 10am to 5pm
Walkabouts conducted by Stephan Welz and Emma Bedford: Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March at 11:00

For press enquiries please contact Bina Genovese bina@straussart.co.za / 021 683 6560 / 083 680 9944