Welgemeend August Art Month

Welgemeend Satire & Irony August Art Month 2019 Robert Hodgins, Stanley Pinker, Alexander Podlashuc Almost ForgoĴ en Exhibition Catalogue Peter Haden Satire & Irony Robert Hodgins, Stanley Pinker, Alexander Podlashuc, from the Kilbourn, Bloch, Wiese & Podlashuc Collections & Almost ForgoĴen: Peter Haden a selection of works from Private Collections Welgemeend, August 2019 Welgemeend, cnr Welgemeend and Lingen Street, Gardens, Cape Town 3 Contents Page Satire & Irony: an introduction by Frank Kilbourn 4 SATIRE AND IRONY were grist to the mill for this painter ... by Neil Dundas 8 Alexander Podlashuc (1930-2009) by Hayden Proud 10 Alexander and Marianne Podlashuc – “Satire” a personal portrait Satire is the use of humour, exaggeration or by Professor Leo Podlashuc 12 ridicule to expose people’s stupidity or vices. It is a form of social criticism that can disturb Stanley Pinker (1924-2012) and amuse the viewer at the same time. by Matthew Partridge 14 “Irony” In our time – Stanley Pinker in Irony is used to convey the opposite of what Graaff-Reinet (1980s) is said or depicted, without the intended by Deon Viljoen 22 purpose of hurting the other person. In artworks, the title often serves to highlight the Index 92 ironic qualities of the work. 4 Satire & Irony: an introduction Another year has passed and the 6th edition of near or underneath Eskom power lines, without As was often the case in our art education, Louis the annual Welgemeend Art Month is upon thinking too much about it. Once we noticed Schachat of Die Kunskamer, was the person that us, another treasured opportunity to share our the red, radiated eyes of the cattle in Alexander introduced me to the fascinating, subtle and multi- passion for South African art while contributing Podlashuc’s work, however, we started worrying faceted work of Stanley Pinker. There were two to the restoration of the beautiful Welgemeend about the effect of electricity on animals and the works in the gallery, In Search of a New Muse and Manor House. The past year in South Africa has meat we eat, while having a laugh at the clever Now and Then, both were unlike anything I had been a very typical one, full of high hopes and title and cynical composition of the work. ever seen before, really challenging my perception despair, progress and disillusionment, anger and I came upon an exhibition of Robert Hodgins at and understanding of painting, not to mention promise. the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg in 1998, the way a “painting” should look or be framed. A With that in mind, it is no wonder that Satire completely by chance, having gone to the gallery whole new journey of discovery started and due & Irony sprung to mind as a possible theme for to enquire about a work of Cecil Skotnes. The to Oom Louis’ persistence and generous payment the 2019 exhibition. Not only does the political, exhibition was still being set up and I sneaked in terms, Now and Then made its way to our home in economic and bureaucratic environment in to have a look. A Night at the Opera was the first Johannesburg, to our enduring delight. our country drive one to distraction, it also work of his that I ever saw, and I was immediately Our encounters with the works of these three serves to amuse … I have long believed that the smitten. The sensuous and abundant use of artists, caused us to start viewing, appreciating ability to laugh at oneself and one’s surrounding colour, red in this case, was so seductive and the and collecting art with a very different frame of circumstances, is vital in order to survive and figures, barely outlined but clearly demonstrating mind. The works contained so much to discover thrive in challenging times. the tension between the haughty husband and and digest, to marvel at and laugh about, so many The imaginative use of humour connects the wife at the opera, so subtle and subversive, that unanswered questions and unsolved mysteries works of all the artists in this year’s exhibition, I immediately wanted to buy the work. Sadly, it that aesthetics alone became a less and less albeit manifested in a multitude of ways – satirical was impossible, out of my price range and already important criteria for inclusion in our collection. and ironic, but also acerbic, laconic, sarcastic, reserved, I learned, but the desire to know more Daarom is dit so ’n groot lekkerte om vanjaar subversive, witty, dry, whimsical and outrageous. about the artist and to find ways to acquire his ’n uitstalling van die kunstenaars se werke by Collectively, an irresistible invitation to embark works, was born and still persists. Welgemeend te kan hou en hul verbeelding, upon a reflective journey of (self)discovery while We capitalized on Hodgins’ commitment to having a good laugh along the way. vaardigheid en vindingrykheid met bestaande en make his art available to a wider audience by aspirant kunsliefhebbers in Kaapstad te deel. Dit Life is full of ironies, some delightful, others not. working in smaller scale, doing monotypes, water is ook ‘n tuiskoms van ’n aard vir Pinker en die colours and silkscreens and acquired the ironic It is ironic, perhaps, that Lizelle and I became Podlashucs wat op ’n stadium in Tamboerskloof watercolour Little Man in His Office in 1998, aware of the work of Alexander and Marianne gewoon het, nie ver van ons huis nie. Podlashuc before we encountered the more followed by the delightful Performance, Artist known artists, Stanley Pinker and Robert Hodgins. & Audience in 2002. The latter work strongly Daar is duidelike ooreenkomste en groot verskille We purchased Cattle in the Forest in 1998 from reminds me of Chris De Burgh’s song “Patricia the waarneembaar in hul werke. Al vier, (Hodgins, the Strydom Gallery in George and marveled stripper” and I have not stopped marvelling at the Pinker, Alexander en Marianne Podlashuc), at the cynical wit underlying the compelling riotous colours in the background and the comic lewer kommentaar op die sosio-ekonomiese composition of the work. Growing up in rural tension created by the apparent disinterest in the omstandighede van hul tyd en die gebruik van kleur areas, we often encountered cattle grazing performance of two members of the audience. en humor is baie belangrik vir almal van hulle. 5 Frank and Lizelle Kilbourn 6 Hodgins gebruik kleur op ’n ongewone en Haar empatie met haar medemens, veral die wat a pleasure to work with Jonathan and Marion dramatiese manier, beide wat skakering en onder apartheid gely het, is deurgans merkbaar. Bloch who share our passion for the works of aanwending aanbetref. Daar is vir my ’n vryheid Die twee werke van haar wat by die uitstalling Robert Hodgins and also believe in making art fun en uitbundigheid in sy kleurgebruik wat spreek oor ingesluit is, het beide ’n satiriese aanslag. and accessible to others. It was great to meet Leo sy liefde vir verf en kleur opsigself, ’n interessant Something that all these artists have in common, and Erin Podlashuc, who shared wonderful stories samemenging van spontaniteit en struktuur. other than that the titles of their works are key about Pod and Marianne and generously gave Figure word dikwels nie in groot besonderhede to the understanding thereof, is that market us access to a treasure trove of their works. The afgebeeld nie, maar tog, uit hul houding, tipering, recognition came to them relatively late in life. commentary provided by Leo on Pods’ key works plasing en kleredrag word die rol wat die persoon Although they enjoyed the respect of their peers will undoubtedly decode the works to everyone’s in die skildery vertolk, duidelik. in their lifetimes and held several critically delight. Pinker se werke is vir my baie akademies en acclaimed exhibitions amongst them, only Much thanks goes to Caro Wiese for parting gesofistikeerd van aard met ’n meer subtiele Hodgins enjoyed significant financial success and temporarily with her beloved Pinkers, as well as maar baie harmonieuse gebruik van kleur en only in the last quarter of his life. In the case of to the other Pinker and Hodgins collectors who komposisie. Elke werk vertel ’n storie, dikwels Pinker and Hodgins, that situation has changed lent us their works. I have come to realise that ’n baie komplekse een wat meer vrae vra as immensely in recent years with works becoming Pinker’s works are not only scarce, but deeply antwoord. Die herhalende gebruik van sekere highly collectible and prices achieved on auction treasured by the people fortunate enough to own simbole (soos die vorige landsvlag en die protea) often exceeding the R1 million mark. Hopefully, them. Thank you to our contributors for sharing en motiewe gee ’n aanduiding van sy spottende this exhibition will lead to a re-valuation of the their insight so generously, Deon Viljoen wrote kommentaar op die sosiale en politieke orde works of the Podlashucs. an elucidating piece on Pinker’s magnificently in Suid Afrika. Die werke is altyd weldeurdag, It is interesting to note that Pinker, Hodgins and complex Marinetti’, Neil Dundas shared his beredeneerd en tegnies fyn uitgewerk, anders as Podlashuc were all involved in art education and deep understanding and admiration for Hodgins die meer spontane aanslag wat ek by Hodgins studied in London in the early 1950s. Presenting in a thought-provoking essay and Hayden Proud ondervind. their works together might enable us to recognize shared with us key recollections and insights, some common trends and subject matter and having been a close friend and admirer of the Die werke van Alexander Podlashuc, kom minder Podlashucs for many years. subtiel as die van Pinker en Hodgins voor.

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