CAPE TOWN ART FAIR QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Stevenson’s booth was split in half. They had a Penny Siopis work, similar to at the gallery. They did not have any labels of the works being exhibited. No names or titles. This was different. It felt more informal. The gallerists were unfamiliar.
Goodman Gallery had a square booth which felt like a closed room. It was quite formal and felt business-like. This was similar to their Gallery, which also had an air of formality about it. There were table and chairs in the centre. The works exhibited were different to the works at their gallery, in artist and style. The gallerist was familiar. They had their works titled on card.
Blanc had a large closed space, it felt like a spacious room. They had new works to the ones displayed at the gallery, but they still had a sort of minimal feeling, similar to the gallery show. The gallerist was familiar and she mentioned that they had planned their booth beforehand as a machete. I thought the space was the best executed. The works were titled on clear vinyl.
2. I liked:
Thierry Fontaine, The Long Crossing, 2005.
A photograph of two shoes with spikes added to them. I liked the composition of the image and the juxtaposition of formality with a sense of darkness and anger. The contrast was striking and dynamic.
Carolyn Parton, Notes on the Wind, 2018.
Reconstituted paint strata bent into flowing swirls in a fashion reminiscent to Van Gogh, yet an abstract ‘textural’ piece. I saw a lot of textural works this year and I enjoyed seeing mediums used in new ways like in this piece.
Vanessa Beecroft, vb.paulina. 005.fs.pol, 2014.
An image of a Mexican woman with her face painted gold. She was wearing white, in front of a white background. Her black hair contrasted with the white background. I liked the image firstly because the face paint and composition was eye catching and well composed. Her expression was captivating and she was not looking at the camera.
I disliked.
Ettore Spalletti, Azzuro quiete del pomeriggio, 2016.
The work was a solid pale blue square, painted onto wood. While I enjoy minimalism, the piece did not speak to me. It was too small for the colour to have a big impact like in other solid colour works such as by Mark Rothko. It also seemed like a bleak attempt at modern revival.
Donna Kukama, One day we will fall apart together again, 2018.
White cursive writing over a black background. The medium appeared to be chalk. I didn’t like the way that the text was written, it felt too frilly and didn’t balance well. I thought it lacked emotion, which didn’t align with the pieces emotional title.
Sitaara Stodel, Smith. A solo exhibition.
Collage created from images of Southern Suburbs houses. I wasn’t mad about the composition, I thought it was too reminiscent of other collage I’ve seen over the years. They looked quickly done. I’m generally not that fond of collage though, for me it needs to really stand out or try to use the medium exploratively to grasp me.
3. From what I saw, there was a lot of exploration of texture, and works that made unique use of mediums. A lot of works mimicked other textures, and many more simply used materials in new ways, drawing focus to the medium. There were also a lot of paintings and hanging pieces.
4. I preferred booths that created a closed squarish space, as I felt it contained the works. Some booths were very ‘airy’ and open, split up. This made the space confusing to me. The artworks were mostly hung in similar ways, though I tended not to enjoy it if they were hung above eye level. Most booths didn’t have furniture. When they did, I felt it made it seem commercial and corporate and detracted from the art. It made a space to either sit down, or to purchase, not to look,.
5. Works titles differed between stickers and card. They were all labeled at the top on the side, some had different colours according to their areas. Stevenson was the only booth without piece titles, and they had written with pencil on the walls. That made me feel like they didn’t take the fair seriously and it annoyed me.
6. They kept landmarks, like the VIP section, the bar and the bathroom in separate corners of the room. This made it easy to navigate as it divided the space into quadrants. The art booths were split in ways that made it easy to pass through, and there were passageways to walk. It was laid out well. The VIP section was badly placed as you could not walk around when at Bad Paper. It was a sort of bouncer barred dead end for anyone without a pass.
7. The white lighting was bright and white. It was quite clinical, but reminiscent of art gallery lighting. It was easy to see the works. I liked the lighting.
8. People at the fair tended to be dressed smart casual. There was a lot of light, thin fabrics and flowing, and loose fit clothing. And in contrast, a few wore well fitted, smart looks. There was general summer vibe. Gallerists tended to wear their own clothes and styles, but all looked very presentable. The whole fair was quite stylish fashionably
9. There was the bar that sold expensive salads, cakes, quiches and drinks. Wine and champaign was readily available. There were book markets too that stocked a nice collection of coffee-table-style creative publishes. The whole fair was expensive and definitely appealed to the upperclass to upper middle class.
10. Tabita Rezaire, Inner Fire: BBHMM, 2016.
This piece deliberately exhibits the spectacle of wealth with images of money and gold slabs. The artist is in the centre and there are words that read, ‘BITCHES BETTER HAVE MY MONEY,
FUCK YOU BUT PAY ME, ANTI CAPITALIST BAE CHASING THE MONEY, DESCENDANT OF A COMMODITY, #REPARATIONS’
The work is done in the style of millennial internet art culture. It draws attention to the embracing of exuberant displays of wealth within millennial society. A society very influenced by rap culture and conspicuous consumption.
11. Tabita Rezaire’s whole show feels like it ‘doesn’t it’. It is the only proper example of internet art and of millennial culture that I could find in the whole fair. She uses photoshop to create digital collages that ironically embrace commodification, exuberant spending and advertising through intertextual images copied and pasted in, as well as clear text. It was unique as it made no attempt to hide its role in the commodity market. The financial world and the art world have a tense relationship, and there is a lot of facade and trend. It was interesting to see that capitalist culture not hidden and concealed, but overtly praised and embraced in a ‘joking not joking’ sort of way.
12. It wasn’t hard at all. Gallerists were very friendly in getting the prices. I feel it is just something that gets asked a lot, so they don’t mind too much. It would have been interesting to ask the same gallerist a couple of times though.
“Um excuse me. Sorry to bother you again, but how much is this, this and this?”
13. The fair was sponsored by Investec, and the bar was sponsored by Boschendal wine estate.
14. The CTICC is a very large space and it is known for hosting high calibre events, such as the design indaba. It is well lit, well kept and has good parking and security. It is also situated in central Cape Town, close to the waterfront and the highway.
15. The oldest works I could find were photographs by Jesse A. Fernandez. The works were not titled, but the gallerist said they were taken in the 1950’s.
16. The youngest artist I found was Talia Ramkilawen, who was 23 years old.
17. The solo booths were mostly semi squares. They were the same size as many gallery booths. I enjoyed them because I could get more of a rounded view of the artist. I don’t just enjoy a work for the piece itself but also how it fits in contextually with the rest of the artists work, so in this way they were nice to see.
18. William Kentridge is always popping up. I have become very aware of Penny Siopis this year too, thanks to Stevenson.
As I learn more and can identify more artists without seeing their titles, I will become more alert and astute to this.
19. I couldn’t notice any trends in subject matter, as there was such a diverse variety of works. I would say there were more abstract works, and a lot more textural works than portraits. There were not a lot of landscapes at all. There was a lot of painting, as expected. But also a lot of photography and a lot of textural works that used mediums uniquely, or mimicked other textures.
20. I would be represented by Blanc as the is friendly. I like how much effort they put into their booth and they looked pleased to be at the fair. It wasn’t too formal, but it was still very well planned out. I also like the work on display, and the galleries was friendly.
21. I would also work for Blanc, for the same reasons. I am just generally fond of the gallery and I like that they made a machete of their space before hand. I would like to work with a team that is that committed.
22. I wondered how beneficial the fair was for ‘art’ itself. I feel a lot of people, myself included, (so maybe I am biased) left making more criticisms and observations about the art scene and the fair itself than the actual art. I think you could spend a day really diving into just twenty works in great deal and learn more than you could trying to take in everything at the fair. Once overwhelmed, one gravitates to the bar. I questioned the availability of free sparkling wine, as I always do. It is enticement. The same as the VIP section, satisfying status.
23. I would like to show at the fair. I enjoyed it and I thought it was a fun space. There was also a lot of interesting artworks and it was nice to see that. People there were cheerful, and I was too. So it was a mindful space, and a good environment to feel appreciative of what I saw. That is a good reason to want to show. My space would be a square room like space, because I noted that they were the most memorable. It gives you a chance to step out of the stream like flow of the fair and into a space that seems still. The artwork sits well like that. The four corners of a square space hold a stable energy to them. I would remember to title my works! I would not have furniture as it is corporate and distracting (to me). And I would make sure to have at least one sculpture in the centre of my space, as it creates a circular flow to walk in, around the piece.
