BOOKS
by Michael Smith
ArtThrob hasn't run book reviews for a while: this month we seek to change this, and will in the future aim to reflect the increasingly healthy state of art-related publishing in SA.
I received three great catalogues this month, two from Warren Siebrits in Johannesburg and the third from Michael Stevenson in Cape Town.
Wilhelm Saayman '98 Drawings'
Published by Warren Siebrits
Photography by Bob Cnoops
Design and Layout by Carmen Jerrard and Lunetta Bartz
A simple tome, '98 Drawings' collects key Saayman images from 2005 till 2008, spanning his two shows (see SHORT CUTS). This book resists the wordiness and layout trickery of usual catalogues, opting for an absence of theorizing and the stretching the of works to the edges of the pages.
Siebrits, burdened with the twin afflictions of bibliophilia and audiophilia, accompanied a limited edition of this book with an audio interview he conducted with Saayman on the occasion of the latter's June 2008 show. The artist's laconic, disaffected tone belies the vivid incisiveness of his social critique. In his answers, as in his works, few escape Saayman's sharp eye: the 'pissy-faced neighbour', corporations, even 'people with the following names I want to do with'. A quiet, sarcastic riot.
Jonah Sack 'The Evening of the Second Day
Published by Warren Siebrits
Photography by Bob Cnoops
Concept, layout and design by Lunetta Bartz
Opting for matt, off-white paper and gatefold pages, this catalogue captures the physical feel of Sack's works as much as it accurately captures the sensitivity of the images. Short and concise (clocking in at just 10 pages), this mini-book nonetheless manages to present Sack as the thoughtful, considered image maker he is. Like the Saayman catalog, limited numbers of this book are accompanied by mini-discs with an audio interview between curator and artist.
'Disguise: The Art of Attracting and Deflecting Attention', from Michael Stevenson
Catalogue for the exhibition curated by Joost Bosland
Published by Michael Stevenson
Editor: Sophie Perryer
Design: Gabrielle Guy
Photography: Mario Todeschini
Image repro: Ray du Toit
Printing: Hansa Print, Cape Town
As expansive as the masterstroke exhibition it documents, 'Disguise…' is a beautifully-produced catalogue, and quite possibly sets a new standard for publishing from commercial galleries in SA. The conceptual terrain of each artist's works is generally introduced by page-long statements by curator Joost Bosland, Michael Stevenson, Sophie Perryer or by the artist themselves. As in all decent art books, high quality repro ensures that the experience of viewing the printed images approximates as near as possible the experience of seeing the actual works.
Yet, even though most of the book is as quietly-spoken, earnest and systematic as Stevenson himself, the matter of the printing process, i.e. typography, is not above strategic interruption. The text accompanying Wim Botha's section is overprinted in reverse, a rumination on the profusion of language very apt for the work it faces off, Botha's Generic Self-portrait as an Exile, carved from Learner's Dictionaries in Afrikaans, English, isiZulu and seSotho.
