DAY 4: BLUE PRINTS: SNEAK PREVIEW!

On Day 4, Thursday 28th January, we focussed our attention on the structure of our Cardboard Monument. We also discussed the individual research trajectory of all involved in the project. Some very interesting research directions have been chosen. We look forward to sharing more next week. For now- a sneak preview of structural sketches.

DAY 3: A LECTURE BY OOM BOLO-KLIPTOWN PAST AND PRESENT

On Wednesday Bolo gave a very impressive lecture in his self made museum. He encouraged us to work together as artists within the community. He gave an overview of interesting insider events from the past 10 years in Kliptown, from before the monument square was built until today.

Bolo set up a presentation inside his museum

Old images from the early 90's in Kliptown. Left: the only white person living in Kliptown at the time when it was a black only area. Right: The main road to Johannesburg, which now runs exactly down the middle of the Walter Sisulu square monument.

The previous informal market, was a business hub of Soweto- renowned for offering the cheapest of wares since the 1950's. Anybody was allowed to trade. 

Children draw with chalk on the pavements of Kliptown. Right: you can see the mixed cultural groups living Kliptown- quite unique for Soweto area. Here you can see muslim, black and coloured children.

DAY 2: MAKING A MASTER PLAN!

On Tuesday 25th January we made a framework to structure our project- we divided our team into "Communicators", "Entertainers" and "Builders" according to the interests of the artists. We brainstormed all the functions each group is responsible for- lots of work ahead!

Thuli, Joseph, Victor, Mzi and Charles Nkosi

"Bank of ideas" for each group

DAY 1 WORKSHOP PROGRAMME: POLITICAL IMAGES AND INTERVENTIONS

Today we shared examples of political images related to South African history and it's influence on contemporary artists working today. We discussed different examples of public images found in SA, Senegal and N. Korea- and the unexpected connections which can be found between them. We also looked at examples of artistic interventions in public space, and finally we watched a video lecture by Thomas Hirschhorn about his Spinoza project in the Bijlmer in Amsterdam. We found his words related to the manner in which he asked the Bijlmer community for help for his project, useful for our approach in the days to come.

Left: Archival poster used to promote the 1955 Freedom Charter gathering Kliptown.Right: Brett Murray, South African artist's interpretation, as part of his show called: Hail to the thief, at Goodman Gallery in Cape Town.

The African Renaissance monument in Dakar, Senegal cost 27 million dollars to build in 2010, and was solely built with laborers from North Korea.

An example of a statue found in communist N. Korea- with a curious similarity to the Senegalese one above.

Left: Statue of Louis Botha in Cape Town. Right: Artist Beezy Bailey transformed the statue as part of the Public Eye festival, which took place in 1998. A proud statesman is transformed into a Xhosa boy on his way to an initiation ritual (Abakhwetha).

At Funda Community Arts College

Funda graduates in the Sowetan newspaper!

Since the graduation exhibition show at Funda Community College in December 2010, two students, Mzi Nyathi and Thomas Moremi from Funda have been featured in the Sowetan newspaper. Their works deal with social issues such as nepotism and abuse in schools. We are proud to have them on the Cardboard Monument team!


Click on articles below to enlarge

PROJECT KICK-OFF! Visit to Oom Bolo's jazz breakfast event and home-made museum

On the 20th of January, we kicked off our project in Kliptown, by attending Oom Bolo's jazz breakfast. Oom Bolo is a community leader in Kliptown, and has devoted his house to the creation of a DIY museum about the social/informal history of Kliptown. He is an expert on forgotten local history, and avidly collects stories from elderly Kliptown residents. The aim of his breakfast was to awaken lost memories by playing jazz records from the 40's and 50's, (the likes of Nat King Cole and Nina Simone) and recording stories which might be sparked by music. The students from Funda were eager to join in, this was their first visit to Bolo's museum. We look forward to working with Bolo for our upcoming project.

On the back wall are different Soweto kitchens, dating back to the 1950's and 60's.

Inside Oom Bolo's home museum, see Kliptown letters made from scrap.

Vintage record player

Soweto crockery and found objects- with many stories

Bolo conducting an interview with elderly Kliptown resident, and former actor- about various topics including "How to be a foreigner in Kliptown?" and "How to get rich?"

Funda art students listening in on Bolo's interview

STARTING NEXT WEEK! - CARDBOARD MONUMENT PROJECT

Click on image to see sketch animation!