"Pulp Fiction" a group show 12 - 31 October 2015

"Pulp Fiction"

The genre of pulp fiction was most popular in the first half of the 20^th century and still going strong. Cover art played a major role in the marketing of pulp magazines.

image by swany

For the first half of the 20th century, pulp fiction was one of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment. The typical pulp magazine consisted of a slick, glossy, vibrantly coloured cover and within, pages of fiction and advertising printed on poor quality “pulp” paper. Crime, romance, westerns, horror and fantasy were all staples for the pulps. Illustrators, painters and artists created original works to adorn the covers and attract the readers. They were usually sensational and lurid depictions of the short stories and articles inside.

In South Africa we had our own version of pulp fiction, the photo magazine story. They were extremely popular in South Africa in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Various titles such as Tessa, Grensvegter and
Kid Colt were produced by Republican Press.

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The participating artists are: swany, Corne Eksteen, Andrew Verster, Angie Arbothnot,

Shauna Southam, Jane Alexander, Mandy Kok, Sam Boock, Michael Croeser, Karen Bradtke,

Marianne Meijer, Sandra Hogg, Mikhail Peppas, and Sanabelle Ebrahim

The artists pay homage to, or critique this art form or the Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction. 

 

This exhibition closes on Saturday, 31 October at 2p.m.

Pulp Fiction prizes

First Prize  R1,000.00   Corne Eksteen

Second Prize  R500   Michael Croeser

Merit Prize  R250  swany

Merit Prize  R250  Karen Bradtke

Works by Andrew Verster

Works by Andrew Verster

Charming small works (12 x 12cm) by Andrew Verster 

of objects he has collected over the years. All works are signed.

“Striking back: Gandhi and the Rebellions of 1913”

Opening talk by Dr. Ashwin Desai

Underhanded politics are not a recent development. Investigating the build-up to the strikes of 1913 involved all South Africans. From white railway workers striking in 1912, white mineworkers withdrawing their labour in 1913, 9,000 black workers striking for 3 days in 1913, and women marching from Johannesburg crossing over the border into Newcastle.

As a lead up to this exhibition the invited artists were involved in a visual presentation about the subject of the 1913 Strike with well-known authors and lecturers Dr. Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed.  The artists were also given a synopsis document, by Dr. Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed, expounding on the history of these strikes and Gandhi’s role.

This exhibition is intended to commemorate the 100 years since the 1913 strike in South Africa and also to highlight the history of this country and its relevance with politics today. The project will culminate in the publication of a book on the strikes in late 2013.

Some of the participating artists are: Nanda Soobben, Andrew Verster, Grace Kotze, Mhlonishwa Chiliza, Amy-Jean Muller, Nivesh Rawatlal, Rob Domijan, Julie Mayo, Hannah Lurie, Pamela Benporath, Skullboy, Dane Knudsen, Glynn Erasmus, George Holloway, Bongumenzi Ngobese, Karen Bradtke,  Camilla Kinnear, and Modise Tim Motsomi.

Closing 13 April 2013

Nanda Soobben

George Holloway

Mhlo Chiliza

Skullboy

Rob Domijan

11x11: Inanimate Objects 5 - 17 November 2012

Dee Donaldson, "Yoke I, II, III"

artSPACE durban  invites artists - from hobbyist to professional - to participate in their new exhibition, 11x11: Inanimate Objects. The exhibition will take place as a lead up to “16 days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children” which takes place from 25 November until 10 December.

By participating in the exhibition, artists will be supporting Diakonia Council of Church’s “Thursdays in Black: towards a world without rape and violence” campaign. All commission proceeds of artSPACE durban from this exhibition will be donated to Diakonia for them to fund campaign buttons.

Thursdays in Black is a programme run by Diakonia Council of Churches to encourage men and women to wear black every Thursday to raise awareness around issues of gender justice, violence against women and corrective rape.

The theme of the exhibition is “an inanimate object, a modern twist on the still life”. The exhibition explores what is an inanimate object. It considers that it is “an object that has no life-bearing parts - like a teddy bear, a snow globe or a lamp for example. The exception being plants for although plants are living organisms, they are considered inanimate objects.

  The connection with this exhibition and the beneficiary is that often women are still considered inanimate objects – with no rights and no voice. The horrendous shooting in Pakistan of teenage gender and peace activist, Malala Yousafzai, by the Pakistani Taliban reminds us of how crucial and topical this campaign is globally. 

Text and photo by Illa Thompson of Publicity Matters

"Inspiration 2" 26 March - 14 April 2012

The first Inspiration exhibition held at artSPACE durban found a group of KwaZulu-Natal-based artists meeting at the Durban Art Gallery Archives with the formidable task to find the one artwork that was most inspirational to each of them.  For “Inspiration 2” we invited artists to find inspiration from their surrounding environment, i.e. Durban and it’s surrounds.

A group of KwaZulu-Natal-based artists met on a bus tour with Street Scene Tours to take the group around to Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, Chatsworth to look at the Silverglen Nursery, and Temple of Understanding with lunch at the well known vegetarian restaurant on Wednesday, 23 November from 0930 until 1430 / 1500. 

There were no restrictions as to the interpretations.  A text by the artist will be accompanying the artworks in the gallery space.

Participating artists:

Roz Cryer, Caroline Birch, Jane Oliver, Di van Wyk, Grace Kotze, Coral Spencer, Nomsa Ngidi, Amanda Kok, 

Mbhekeni Derek Mbili, Nicole Pletts, Trui Roozenveld van der Ven, Scott Bredin, Jeannie Kinsler, Pascale Chandler, 

Floris van Zyl, Jackie Freer, Julie Mayo, John Roome, Nirmi Ziegler, Louise Jennings, Celeste Bredin, Marianne Meijer and Andrew Verster.