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(Jackson Hlungwane, Hand of God, 1989. Wood. 88.5 x 55 cm. )
(Gerard Bhengu, A Goal, 1926. Pencil and watercolour on paper. 21.3 x 33.2 cm.)
(William Kentridge, Bicycle Kick, 2009. Official FIFA art poster. 100 x 70 cm.)
These marvellous pictures of soccer-related artworks were in my inbox today. I am not sure where you can see them, or if they are on exhibit. I will find out tomorrow hopefully, and let you know.
Just found the information further down my inbox from the Standard Bank Gallery:
This (football) flagship exhibition, will showcase a range of artworks that respond to the global phenomenon of soccer and the passion it evokes. The exhibition, which runs from 1 June to 17 July 2010, focuses on the African continent, with a significant South African component and, of course, the enthusiastic support for the South African national team is featured prominently. Read More…
On page 24 of today’s The Times, Art South Africa and Gun Free South Africa have paid for a full page to publish their open letter to President Zuma. They ask for him to “stop singing Umshini Wami (‘Bring Me My Machinegun’) and sing Umshini Wakho (‘Bring Us Your Machineguns’) instead”.
Here is the letter:
Dear Mr President
DEAR PRESIDENT ZUMA,
PLEASE CONSIDER THIS REQUEST FROM YOUR PEOPLE:
OUR EXCITEMENT AS A COUNTRY IS SHARED AS WE WAIT TO WELCOME THE WORLD TO SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE FIFA WORLD CUP. WE’RE REBUILDING ROADS, CREATING NEW TRANSPORT SYSTEMS, ERECTING HOTELS AND REORGANIZING OUR CITIES TO GIVE OUR GUESTS THE VERY BEST OUR LAND HAS TO OFFER. WITH YOU, WE WANT THIS TO BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL WORLD CUP EVER HOSTED.
But the high rate of violent crime continues to cast a shadow over these happy preparations.
Aggravated by the shocking number of guns on the streets of South Africa, violence is a daily threat to each of us and to the people we love.
So, to match all our other efforts in readying our beautiful nation, we plead for equal energy to be poured into preventing crime-related tragedies. By initiating positive action, we can start purging the streets of guns before the first plane lands.
And what better way than for our Head of State to lead by example?
Mr President, one of the things you’re famous for is your use of the old struggle song Umshini Wami. We’d like nothing more than to hear you sing that famous refrain again… but this time, for a different cause and with slightly different lyrics. We’d like to ask you to please stop singing Umshini Wami (‘Bring Me My Machinegun’) and sing Umshini Wakho (‘Bring Us Your Machineguns’) instead.
That small change would transform a call-to-arms into an anthem of community safety, responsibility and peacemaking.
The message of peace and hope this would spread not only across our own country, but to the world, would be immeasurable. By singing Umshini Wakho (‘Bring Us Your Machine Guns’ ) you can guide us into this new era and set the example by urging citizens to hand in their guns to the South African Police Service.
By approaching crime and violence in a determined and positive manner, and by ridding our society of guns, we can make a significant advance in creating a safer South Africa.
Sincerely,
The People of South Africa
Emily Veitch
Antjie Krog and Victor Dlamini
Those writers of ours who were going to the London Book Fair missed the fair, and are still her. On Monday evening they held an event in Cape Town, where they read out messages at the “packed function” on : “Not the London Book Fair”, at the Book Lounge.
Here are two of the messages, but go to http://www.youtube.com/user/LondonbookfairSA#p/u for all the messages: Read More…
This Reuters image captures a woman walking on top of approximately 219,000 imitation cigarettes in April 21, 2010. The installation is an an attempt to highlight the need for smokers to seek professional help.
Human Rights Watch with Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas produced this multimedia piece which has been nominated for a prestigious Webby award. This piece tells the story of an Indian woman, Kiran Yadav, who died in childbirth last year. She had delivered her third child, a boy, before she began to hemorrhage, and then bled to death.
To help Human Rights Watch win the award, go to http://www.hrw.org/en/video/2009/10/06/silence-maternal-mortality-india to cast a vote. They could become the “people’s choice” through voting.
Hell?
It annoys me that while Malema has been let off the hook, and while our country’s leaders backtrack and contradict each other, people are living in these “homes”. Shouldn’t really be calling them homes should I? One resident told the British tabloid The Sun that “It’s like living in a concentration camp – and we’ve been dumped here because of the World Cup.”
The ANC has dropped all disciplinary charges against Malema “following a sudden change of heart by President Jacob Zuma”, says The Times.
A cup of coffee?
How often do you think about patching something, making something else, or trying a new pattern? Not often. But sometimes, like me, you might really need to quickly fix a child’s dress, or think it might be fun to play around with an old dress. But you don’t have a sewing machine, and the thought of buying and maintaining one just doesn’t suit you. How useful would a sewing cafe be? You can patch a thing or two, meet a friend or two and have a cup of coffee. I like the idea. Not enough to leave my job and start a sewing cafe though.
In Paris, three weeks ago, Martena Duss and Sissi Holleis, the Guardian reports opened Sweat Shop, “a friendly workshop where budding seamstresses and enthusiastic amateurs could practise their art while sipping an espresso or munching on Martena’s herb-laden Finnish cake. Along the lines of a typical internet cafe, users can purchase access to a Singer sewing machine – six euros an hour – and come to classes in the evening if they want to improve, for example, their knitting or customising skills. The idea, say the owners, is to reconnect people with the joys of sartorial DIY.”
We’ve been told that marriage is good for your health. It’s always been hard to believe. Marriage is a complex thing. And often a miserable institution. How can it be good for you if you’re living with a psychopath, a philanderer, an abuser.
New research is now presenting a far more nuanced view of the “marriage advantage”:
“Several new studies, for instance, show that the marriage advantage doesn’t extend to those in troubled relationships, which can leave a person far less healthy than if he or she had never married at all. One recent study suggests that a stressful marriage can be as bad for the heart as a regular smoking habit. And despite years of research suggesting that single people have poorer health than those who marry, a major study released last year concluded that single people who have never married have better health than those who married and then divorced.”
Today’s paper published this interesting brief. Two men beat up a security guard (hopefully not too badly) and stabbed another (hopefully he’s ok) at a clinic when they couldn’t get condoms.
They had arrived at Phakamile Clinic at 1am in the Eastern Cape looking for condoms. What did they expect – the clinic to be open at 1am waiting for men wanting sex in the wee hours of the morning? Were their wives or girlfriends waiting anxiously at home for them? Had they used up all their condoms?
Two people were hurt in the process, but this desperate attempt at 1am to get condoms shows great responsibility towards protecting their health. Or were they simply hoping to burgle the clinic?
