Happy Holidays!

Well, you may still be on holiday :-). Some lucky sausages still are. I hope you had a good opportunity to change channels in your mind and refresh the parts you otherwise forget.

I enjoyed deep relaxation at a little village on a river by the sea in the Eastern Cape. Our family has gone there for decades and though some parts have changed, others haven't. One side of the river ~ from the rivermouth upstream into the distance as far as you can see ~ has remained covered by indigenous bush for the last 40 years that we've known the place. Just 3 houses dot one hillside. Its so beautiful and peaceful as a result. You don't feel crowded. You don't feel the pressure of relentless development. Instead you can appreciate the value of something that endures and which is therefore, in a sense, timeless.

Above: Tidal marsh, Kariega River, Eastern Cape - South Africa

While on holiday, I found loads of cool bits 'n bobs (vintage circus posters, postcards, 50's novels etc) that make me bollemakiesie, so lots to share over the next few weeks.

To start, enjoy these hip and happening vacation destinations.

Above: 70's postcard for the Ermelo Holiday Inn
(click image to enlarge)

This is a quirky little artifact.
Remember when everything was in two languages? Check out the pool scene. Patterned mens swimsuits. Diving board. Flared jeans. Upper right, relaxing at the bar, she's in a full length floral chiffon ensemble. Neck scarves knotted to the side. Shirts open halfway down the chest. And you just know its polyester.
Upper left, the dining room, its all about hair... and lapels.
Bottom right, notice her red 'n white little striped dress, probably terry cloth. The chunky lamp base. And of course the patterned maxi spread out on the teal and gold bedspread (take a closer look). He wears a slimfit T. Looks like a radio is built into the nightstand. Ermelo really had it all.
Anything else? Maybe just... everybody's white.

Above: 70's postcard ~ Stokkiesdraai-Spa-Motel, Nylstroom

This pool scene kicks Ermelo's butt. Aah, the sexy 70's... sipping Fanta as you relax by the pool in your yellow bikini under sunny skies. A beefy guy in tight white cozzie perusing the tanned bodies and bums laid out in front of him. Kids in the background locked up in some kind of pen.
And at lower left, white-painted rocks, genius.

Voortrekker Kitsch

Found in my archives, I originally spotted this item at a local market. The border, main lettering and outlines are a glittery silver - like crushed tinfoil just below the glass. It may well be a glass painting actually, created by painting in reverse directly on the back of the glass.

The building featured is the Voortrekker Monument, a solid (and stolid) symbol of the Great Trek undertaken by early white 'Afrikaner' settlers. The flags are those of the early Afrikaner republics. The wording "Op die pad van SA ~ die bou van 'n nasie" means "On the road of South Africa ~ the building of a nation".

For non-South Africans, this is culturally like Confederate imagery. I have a few pieces of Trek kitsch in my home and was tempted to buy this one because its so distinct, exemplary in a way. Laden with nationalist symbols, its cultural and visual weight seemed just too heavy though. I guess that's cultural baggage.

Even without any explanation of language, culture, origins, I believe you would have a clear sense of the kind of message this imagery conveys. Flags, a monument, flaming torches. This is what nationalism thrives on, be it Soviet, American, Chinese or South African.

Toyota MasterAce Surf

Ah, what a vehicle! The Toyota MasterAce Surf in its natural habitat - on the road.

This 1987 four wheel drive (yes, you heard right, 4WD) was first driven in Nagano, Japan before making its way to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania by way of Dubai. From Tanzania it drove through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia to reach its possibly final home, South Africa. When it arrived, it was still wearing snow-tyres from Nagano.

Affectionately known as Deepak, in honour of its previous Tanzanian owner, this vehicle features 6 skylights (4 that open) and revolving, foldable interior seats for multiple configurations of lounging, chilling, chatting, touring or sleeping under the stars. What a gem!

The orange and brown side decals are classic and interestingly, the letters 4WD have been designed to mimic the silhouette of the vehicle itself ~ class.
(This is clearer from the opposite side of the vehicle but if you look closer you'll get the idea :-)

South African Art - recycled materials

South African artist, Simon Max Bannister has created a series of striking artworks from plastic waste, drawing attention to plastic in the oceans . The moody beasts below are two of my favorites. Explore here for more.




Simon's work will be exhibited at the Two Oceans Aquarium Cape Town from October 2010 to January 2011. Also on the Plastic Max Artworks site are examples of Simon's lightworks, evocative of swirling kelp and underwater depths. Paradoxically, made of a substance foreign to the nature of the sea.

Julia Anastasopoulos - Cape Town Mural

(above) Detail: Cape Town Civic Centre IRT Station Mural by Julia Anastasopoulos, 2010 (click to enlarge)

Cape Town artist, Julia Anastasopoulos recently completed installation of a massive, finely detailed mural at the Civic Centre Station of the new IRT (Integrated Rapid Transit). If you're near, have a good look. Meanwhile, these images will give you an idea. Its packed with Cape Town character and landmarks, with a sense of innocence, warmth and wonder. Explore and enjoy.

Currently, there are few images of this piece online so I've erred towards more here, including some of my snaps in situ for a sense of scale. The huge whimsical cityscapes extend for many metres inside and outside the station.

I took the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her art.

Bollemakiesie: What’s an artist?

Julia: Someone who gets to use their imagination for a living. Someone inspired and who inspires.

What are you?

I’m a bit of a creative balancing act, but I guess an artist would cover it. I’m very lucky.

What do you tell people you do?

I dread the question and generally mumble something about being either an artist or a designer, in fear of being perceived as pretentious. Isn’t it funny how we do that? Then I kick myself and wish I had said, “I’m an artist!” with a flourish and a twirl, without thinking twice.

How did/do you develop your skills/style?

I’ve been drawing these funny little characters for as long as I can remember. I found some drawings that I drew when I was about 8 and you would recognize them as mine. From there it has just developed in time on its own, I draw on everything, all the time. Hand me that fine liner.

What inspires you?

Beautiful children’s books, people, architecture, Raymond Peynet and Saul Steinberg.

How would you describe your work to someone who’s blind?

Fantastical, intricate, playful line drawings that you can get lost in.

What do you do a lot that you don’t normally mention to people?

I secretly eat those really processed white cheesy bread rolls from Woolies.

What do you recommend as creative juice?

A day at a bookshop or the Milnerton market.

How long did the mural at the station take you?

It took approximately three months from inception to completion. The illustrations took a few weeks, even though they were made on a smaller scale.

How did you approach it?

With much anxiety! But I had a really amazing team who I wouldn’t have managed without. There was a lot of photographic research, mapping and brainstorming. And google earthing, believe it or not. It’s a brilliant reference tool.

(above) Section of Interior Panel

(above) Exterior Panel: Future. (Click to enlarge)

(above) Detail: Bo-Kaap

What was the brief?

To create an artwork for the large double-sided walls under the Civic Centre bridge. The nature of the wall surfaces needed to be taken into consideration as well as the location’s particular history and context. I made four representations of a Cape Town cityscape; “looking forward and looking back in space and time” was my concept.

What ways do you express your creativity

In whatever ways I can, I’m constantly re-arranging furniture, making things out of found objects. I draw little comics and make stop frame flash animations. I am also a performer.

How do people find out about you?

You can contact me at Julia.knolc@gmail.com, or visit www.knolc.withtank.com

Where are you going?

To Paris! At the end of the month. I can’t wait.

What do you want to be doing next year?

I want to develop a range of mural wallpaper, and open up a shop. I also want to complete the children’s story I’ve started. I don’t think it will have any words, only pictures.

What would you love to do that you’ve never done yet?

Ride in a hot air balloon.

Have you got a dream?

I would love to design and build a house.

(For more of Julia's art, see knolc link at right or here.)

Media & the frontiers of Evil

You gotta laugh. Well, I did.

A change of flight today saw me hangin' out in Cape Town Airport for a while when this electronic rallying cry popped up on large screens, among fashion ads of footballers in their underwear and robots chasing cars (unrelated I assume).


"The frontiers of Evil"?
Evil with a capital letter, no less.
What are the frontiers of evil? (Sorry, just can't have a sensible conversation with that capital letter in there) ...and what lies beyond them?
Would that be worse than evil? Or more like the land of Evil?
And what do they do there? Would we like it? It almost makes me curious to visit or explore. Become King of the Wild Frontier.

Street Art - Faith47 - bread & land

Just saw this new artwork on Albert Rd today and synchronously see it on Faith's great art blog.
Since the City of Cape Town passed a bylaw making graffiti illegal (and making building owners liable), there seems to be more street art then ever. With beautiful and powerful pieces like this punctuating the city, bring it on.