On March 23, UnionDocs is showing the latest version of a still-in-progress documentary Martha Rosler filmed in South Africa in 1990.
South Africa
Posted inArt
Four Questions for the Demonstrators Outside Zwelethu Mthethwa’s Trial
One of the most prominent aspects of artist Zwelethu Mthethwa’s trial has been a group of (mostly) women who’ve demonstrated outside the courthouse for the last two years, dressed often in orange and holding handmade signs.
Posted inNews
Murder Trial of Artist Zwelethu Mthethwa Begins in South Africa
After two years of postponements, the trial of artist Zwelethu Mthethwa finally got underway last week in Cape Town. Mthethwa pleaded not guilty to the murder of a woman named Nokuphila Kumalo.
Posted inArt
The Cultural Boycott: Israel vs. South Africa
Editor’s note: The article was written by Omar Barghouti, who is a founding committee member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). PACBI is a member of The Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Campaign National Committee (BNC). This article is the fourth in a continuing series exploring BDS and its connection to the art world.
Posted inArt
Remains of 18th-Century Slave Ship Find Safe Harbor at Smithsonian
Long-lost between two reefs off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, are the fragmented remains of a Portuguese slave ship, now identified centuries later as the first known wreck of its kind.
Posted inBooks
A Personal Journey Through the Legacy of Apartheid
Catherine Taylor’s book centers on her search — what feels like an obsessive search — through veins of history buried in the time of apartheid in South Africa, where she and her family are from.
Posted inIn Brief
Artists Paint the Town of Johannesburg Pink
When is unauthorized street art actually art, and when is it vandalism? It’s a question the city of Johannesburg has wrestled with since last summer.
Posted inBooks
Photographing the Crossroads of Life and Death in South Africa
Beginning in the 1940s, South African photographer David Goldblatt documented the people and landscapes of his country in striking black and white. It was only after apartheid that he felt comfortable with color in his work.
Posted inBooks
The Dark, Deranged World of Roger Ballen and Die Antwoord
The dirty alchemy of photographer Roger Ballen in combination with frenetic rap-ravers Die Antwoord resulted in the video for “I Fink U Freeky” in 2012. Now a monograph distills the mix of the South African collaborators to its elements.
Posted inNews
Artist Zwelethu Mthethwa’s Murder Trial Postponed Amid Protests
Last spring South African artist Zwelethu Mthethwa was charged with the murder of a 23-year-old woman named Nokuphila Kumalo. Following Mthethwa’s May arrest and subsequent release on bail, the case was remanded twice. The artist is now scheduled to appear in court again at the end of this month.
Posted inOpinion
South Africa’s Mobile Churches
LOS ANGELES — On a recent long distance bus trip in Uganda, part of my sojourn was occupied by listening to a religious individual on a bus preach, pray, and collect donations from his captive audience. I didn’t understand the language but I understood the form, as he shuffled up and down the aisle with an undying voice.
Posted inNews
Art Thieves Rob South African Museum but Leave Behind the Real Prize [UPDATED]
The Pretoria Art Museum in South Africa was just the victim of a terrible robbery — but the thieves weren’t quite smart enough to take full advantage of their haul. They stole $2 million in art, but the most significant piece was left behind because it didn’t fit in their car.
