In 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.
South Africa
Books
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.
Books
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.
News
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.
Opinion
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
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News
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.
Art
Without Mercy: The Bitter Comix of Anton Kannemeyer
In 1986, South Africa was still eight years away from the end of apartheid, and though opposition to the racist ruling system had been mounting for decades, the government continued to suppress rebels and dissidents. Yet that same year, the exiled Afrikaner writer and artist Breyten Breytenbach, a v
Opinion
Why Grammar Matters in Street Art
Street artist Above intended to make a strong anti-blood diamond statement with a mural on the facade of Johannesburg's largest diamond exporter but it just sounds sexist.
Art
District 9 Movie Prop As African Fetish Object
MIAMI — With all the visual overload and glimpses between suited shoulders it’s hard to find something that resonates amongst the Lego blocks of art fair booths at the main fair of Art Basel Miami Beach. With over 260 galleries and over 2,000 artists of which I probably saw half and absorbed a twent
News
World's Oldest "Artist Studio" Discovered in South Africa
An exciting find in Blombos Cave east of Cape Town, South Africa, is believed to be the world's oldest art studio.
Art
White Male Artists Get Introspective in South Africa
When Apartheid was abolished in 1991, probably the worst thing to be symbolically in South Africa at the time was a white male, as it embodied everything associated with being the oppressor. With the abolishment of Apartheid came a number of important more subtle shifts.
Art
Art From The Developing World: A Bargain Basement?
Artists who live and make work in regions that have little to no art infrastructure often have the freedom to be creative, experimental and reactive without the boundaries that accompany exhibiting work in formal spaces. But there's also a significant divide between achieving a sustainable art caree