Dirt is Good at THAT ART FAIR

Dirt is Good Process-based, time-based soil installation 27 February – 1 March 2015 Created on the first day of THAT ART FAIR, in Salt River, I created this drawing/design by pouring soil from my garden into lines and neatening each line with a paint brush.

I invited Fair goers to add drawings and thoughts onto paper, which I then integrated into the drawing. Over the next two days of the Fair the installation changed as people walked over and through it. Passers-by thus collaborated by giving their thoughts as well as changing the soil drawing with their feet.

Passers-by collaborated by giving their thoughts as well as changing the soil drawing

So often we only value art that would last, and even outlast us. But how much more valuable is art and expression that captures our own fleeting nature and the impermanence of everything we experience. It is in the fleeing and present moment that we find real value – not in dwelling in the past, not in worrying about the future.

We have been conditioned to believe that dust and dirt is ‘bad’, and kids are now kept from playing the mud in the way that I used to play in the mud. We forget that the most nutritious and healthy foods come from the soil, and not a fridge, lab or factory.

I think it’s time to rethink and relook how we feel about the world around us.

Sand Circles and Mud Patterns - collaboration

(Photograph by Darren Bruce Lyon)

Circles in the sand by Darren Bruce Lyon, also known as Das. He created these circles in the sand in front of the rocks I painted with mud, while participating in Andrew van der Merwe's Beach Calligraphy course during the Site_Specific Land Art bienalle. Resulting in an incidental creative collaboration! I love the way his geometric interlinking circles contrasts with the organic pattern I created on the rocks.

(eco)nversations GREEN ART 2012

After weeks and months of hard work, the exhibition was a great success! The exhibition, (eco)nversations GREEN ART 2012 was partnered with and hosted by the Green Expo in assocation with National Geographic Channel 281, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 23 to 25 November 2012. The exhibition showcased selected contemporary art by eight artists including installation art, sculpture, found object art and drawing. 

www.greenart.artlovenature.co.za

www.thegreenexpo.co.za

More photographs:

(eco)nversations in my website gallery

(eco)nversations Album on my Facebook page

A WORD FROM THE CURATOR
Janet Botes

This exhibition was conceptualized and organized as an integrated part of the 2012 Green Expo, one of  its main aims being to offer Expo visitors the opportunity to view and engage with art that is dedicated to raising awareness, changing perceptions or inspiring appreciation for our environment . The artists exhibited were chosen for their personal and individual philosophies, convictions and the way that they express these in their creative work. 

Most of the artworks on the exhibition are quite conceptual and they vary in the use of material and different art forms. They are inspired by the underlying themes, solutions and causes of the environmental crisis and global warming, and they seek to involve, invite and inspire people rather than berate, depress and belittle the viewer. 

I hope that you find the works as inspiring and thought-provoking as I do, and that their image(s) live in your mind or heart in a way that may change or enrich your way of life and your interaction with and within nature. 

As artist and curator, as a woman and as a human, I believe that we are nature, as much part of it as each tree, praying mantis and raindrop. By not respecting and embracing all living things and the landscape, soil and earth that sustains us, we are destroying and discarding ourselves. When  you reconnect with nature within and of yourself, you reconnect with everything around you.  And when you rethink, recycle, respect, reuse and rehabilitate things, your life and the spaces around you will be enriched and these practices will become second nature. 

This exhibition was made possible through the collaboration, cooperation and generous support as well as help of some amazing individuals. I would like to thank each of the artists: Kai, Nicolle, Danelle, Stefanie, Janet, Simon and Claire: thank you all for your participation, hard work and effort with your own art and also as part of the group. Thank you Kai, for writing the manifesto which brings everyone’s voices together so eloquently. 

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Chris Naude, Robyn Carstens, Radi van Zyl, Thea Butler and Eljanne Lochner for their support, effort and encouragement, as well as everyone involved with the Collage Mural Project. And last, but not least, thank you to the family members of the artists, and anyone else who helps us to be the artists who we are, fighting for the things we love. 

Pasella skietdag vir GYA

GYA (Green Your Art) verskyn 23 November 2011 op Pasella, waarin ons vir die kyker wys hoe om papier, rysmeelgom en kleursel vanaf plantmateriaal te maak... Hier is 'n paar foto's van die skietdag wat by Doodle Creative Space in Vredehoek plaasgevind het.

Pasella-aanbieder Crystal-Donna het hierdie kunswerkie gemaak na my en Nicolle se demonstrasies

 

Mede-kunstenaar Nicolle Marais, Kunstenaar en eienaar van Doodle Creative Space, Elzette, en ekke

Nog foto's

Meer oor GYA

En kom ons slaan oor na Engels vir...

More about the space:

Last week I dragged hubby to the Space for a session of working with clay. Pierre made a small bust, and I made a very organic-looking flowering container. They're still on the drying rack at the space, which explains the lack of photographs of these pieces. Doodle Creative Space is very well equipped for painting, ceramics, pottery, mosaics, and almost any other arty thing that you could think of save for metalwork. The prices for sessions, classes, space and materials are incredibly reasonable, and the atmosphere is comfortable, creative and wonderful. Bring a bottle of wine and snacks to enjoy while you create, and make use of the balcony to take a break and take in some fresh air. Here's the contact information for the space:

A workshop and an exhibition in April!

What's been happening?

Janet Botes (yes, me), Elsa Lourens and Philippe Kayumba performing Philippe's 'Newspaper Persona' at the opening of Spier Contemporary 2010 at Cape Town City Hall.



The above works form part of my 'Flotsam' series - inspired by our throwaway culture and disregard for nature, but also the way that nature persists and that there's still natural places of peace and beauty, regardless of human's pollution and disrespect for nature. These works were created by combining images drawn into scraperboard and pieces of driftwood and found wood.



People drawing at the informal and fun art class on Tuesday mornings at White Rabbit Studio in Gardens. There's also an evening class on a Thursday at 18h30, and this class is more focused on formal elements of drawing - such as composition, proportion, tonality and texture. Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting workshops to start at the studio soon. You could also join the Facebook group to keep track of updates for events.

And last, but not least - I now have a studio that I will work from and sell my work from! Situated in Woodstock, I am currently moving all my work, work table, materials and display items to the space. Keep your eyes on this blog for photographs and the address!

The City my Canvas

Let's paint, sculpt and artify Cape Town!!!
Artists collaborating for a creative Cape Town.

I'm looking for artists, interested in collaborating with me on a project where we would each create our own public sculptures/artwork in and around Cape Town. We need to meet, plan, talk, share ideas, and eventually create individual-, as well as a collective proposal to be presented to the appropriate authorities for approval.

The project is inspired by the District Six Public Sculpture Project that was endeavored and proved highly successful in 1997. The City my Canvas Project, aims to create high quality permanent artwork that will:

• communicate a positive message to the community,
• encourage participation by the public and thus make the arts more accessible to them
• add to the aesthetic quality of the urban environment,
• make the city even more enticing to tourists.

Please contact me with your name, contact details, some examples of your work, and your initial idea at art@janetbotes.co.za. Go for it!!