Willem Boshoff Marvellous Art Musings.pdf

Marvellous Art Musings
WILLEM BOSHOFF: THE WORD ACCORDING TO BIG DRUID
knowing through seeing…
Posted on June 3, 2010 by marvellousartmusings
‘It is only through seeing that one can know: Druids like artists must see in order to know.
It is through art that one learns first to look and then to see. It is important to recognise
that it is only once you can see that you can know. And it is by truly seeing that you can
think intuitively. I have found the words for this knowing, Gnosis or Gnostic.’ Willem
Boshoff, 9 July 2009
Willem Boshoff, Garden of Words III, 2006/9 (Source Goodman Gallery)
Occasionally one recognises the weight of a moment and you know that you are
experiencing something extraordinary. One such instance for me was when South African
artist Willem Boshoff addressed a handful of art enthusiasts as part of a corporations’ art
education programme.
Boshoff’s tangible presence seemed to dwarf the meeting room. He was clearly in the
moment yet it is unclear whether he is entirely of this realm or of another Zeitgeist. Does
the heavily bearded man[1], with the deep ‘knowing’ eyes encapsulate prehistoric man,
the Druids or the early Dutch settlers to South Africa, or something of all of these
personae, as he slumps his broad shoulders over his large frame? As a self-proclaimed
Druid, his path to self-realisation has been a long and arduous one.
In the calm and measured voice of an oracle he took his awestruck audience with him on
his journey of religion, an obsessive search to locate the quintessential meaning of his life,

of words, the human experience, his urge to collect things and his deep- seated interest in
and bond with the natural world. These obsessions have been translated into a
commendable body of artworks shown at home in South Africa and in major international
art centres, not to mention the series of extraordinary dictionaries he has published.
Boshoff has always been driven to work excessively hard. Fierce ambition and devout
religion characterised his early years. In his twenties he spread God’s word as a street
preacher, taught and practiced as an artist and wrote an anthology of poetry. He refused
to exhibit his artwork until he was 30, and then only when he was invited to show at the
Johannesburg Art Gallery as a guest artist. His decision to delay the public showing of his
work was partly based on religious grounds (Christ’s ministry began after he had turned
30) and partly on the belief that an artist needs to mature somewhat before exhibiting his
or her work.
The first exhibition of Boshoff’s work at the Johannesburg Art Gallery opened on 12
September 1981, the artist’s 30th birthday. He exhibited a number of major works,
including TAFELBOEK (1975-1979), KASBOEK (1981), KUBUS (1976 – 1982),
STOKKIESDRAAI (1980), VERSKEUR (1979), BANGBOEK (1978-1981), SKYNBORD (1977-
1980), BLOKKIESRAAILSEL (1974-1980) and SANDKOEVERT (undated).[2]
Boshoff admits to an inherent nervousness, a distrust of most things, especially electronic
equipment, and is consumed by compulsive attention to detail. He counters his
nervousness by always being exceedingly well prepared for anything and everything. He
relates how as a teacher and lecturer he was so ‘very nervous’ that he prepared his
lessons with fanatical attention to detail, so much so that he even anticipated questions
and prepared answers in advance.
His mistrust of technology was validated at our talk when the borrowed laptop intended
to project his carefully prepared presentation on a screen failed to work. His own more
trusted and reliable equipment had yet to arrive from
He inhabited, worked and slept (sporadically) in a specially constructed cubicle for seven
days and nights.
But back in the meeting room it would seem fortuitous that without the visual material to
accompany the discussion the focus centred on the man, his life, his words and worldview
– and made for a particularly interesting encounter with one of South Africa’s foremost
artists. Also there is the promise of another meeting at a later stage to take the discussion
further and to show projected visuals of some of his remarkable body of work.
Boshoff told us that at the age of 36 he was fanatically fit, to the extent that he
participated in numerous marathons. But then he was suddenly and inexplicably struck
down with a debilitating illness. For the next twenty years he endured unimaginable pain
and discomfort as the result of a condition for which there was no relief, no explanation
and therefore no cure. He sighed with resignation as he said, ‘It was miserable’. Four
years ago, in extreme pain, unable to walk and close to death, he was for the first time
correctly diagnosed and treated for lead poisoning. He contracted this affliction in the

mid 1980s after resorting to collecting and restoring old fireplaces for sale, working on an
old farm in Doornfontein, south of Johannesburg. He was 33, had just divorced his first
wife and had bills to pay. Working without a mask, he inadvertently inhaled dangerously
high levels of lead present in the paint he used.
Willem Boshoff, Big Druid in his Cubicle, 2009, Art Basel, Switzerland (Goodman Gallery)
Today one discerns in Boshoff a deep-rooted realisation of the enormity of having been
given a second lease of life. There is something about the expression in his eyes and his
demeanour that hint at the incredulity of having survived a life threatening ordeal. And
then, of course, there was his immense relief of having been freed from constant physical
and mental anguish, even though his health remains comprised as some damage is
irreversible.
Before being correctly diagnosed, Boshoff was unable to sleep, forcing him into a
‘particularly strange and unusual lifestyle’, ‘not unlike that of a reclusive monk’, he says.
Constant toil was one of the only ways of coping with his severe pain and discomfort. He
found some measure of respite in an unremitting working regimen. This, he says, also
accounts for his exceptionally prolific body of work. He still leads the life of a loner, ‘a
strange and meditative life’ in spite of having remarried in 1987 and being the father of
four children.
His persistent compulsion to drill down into the core of all things takes on many forms of

expression – including music. Boshoff told us that he has even written allegorical music
scores. His interest in music spans medieval and early music, as well as avant garde
music.[3] Yet one of his primary obsessions remains a fascination with words, their origins
and meaning. He is inordinately drawn to uncovering the essence of arcane and difficult
words. He grapples with individual words until he can define their quintessential
meaning, until ‘I can give obscure words a face’, he says.
Boshoff discovered the true value and power of language and words and how they can
include, exclude or alienate others. He became aware of how a good command of
language can bestow dominion over others less fluent. This was particularly evident when
he, as an Afrikaans speaker, began teaching at English language schools in the 1970s.[4] ‘I
became aware of the power relationship of words and how words can either franchise or
disenfranchise people’, he explained. He also came to understand that ‘there is no
monopoly on knowledge and that knowledge is not exclusively the domain of the
intelligencia.’
Boshoff acquired a set of word-building tape recordings which he played continuously in
his car – and he learnt the most difficult words by heart. He kept up this pursuit all the
while keeping it a secret until he had a very real and deep-seated understanding of
particularly obscure words. He spent relentless hours uncovering 10,000 obscure words
which he defined in his own words and then memorised. At a particularly painful period
during his illness he spend vast amounts of time going through the over 200 dictionaries
he collected over time. He has over the years compiled and published a number of
dictionaries.[5]
While teaching, he carefully chose the moment to reveal his incredible knowledge of the
English language and the origins of words, often Greek. He would then write difficult
words on the blackboard and challenge his fellow teachers or students to come up with
the meaning of the word. One day the word ‘elements’ came up in class. He put up the
word ‘Maetic’ and no-one knew what it meant. Boshoff could not only explain the full
meaning of the word and elaborate on its origins, the root of the word – and apply the
word. He spoke of how the Maetic method was used by Socrates to bring out the truth.
Boshoff felt empowered by this experience giving credence to the notion that individuals
are empowered and emboldened by language.
Much of Boshoff’s art gives visual expression to concepts- as-words. Words exist because
they describe something of the human condition, human thought and activity. With his
dictionaries and with his art he sets about interpreting and giving weight and meaning to
these concepts.
The power of words and the powerlessness of those who do not have easy access to
words is the idea behind Boshoff’s BLIND ALPHABET (1991 – 2000), a highlight at
Johannesburg’s first biennale in 1995. At first he wanted to build 10 walls, each with 1000
bricks with a plaque with a different word of the English language on each brick – and
perhaps each of the other 10 official languages in South Africa. The flummoxed viewer
would be at a loss to understand the words, would feel disempowered and
disenfranchised. This ambitious work has yet to be realised, but Boshoff maintains he

intends to bring this daunting project to fulfilment – and it remains a work in progress.[6]
But BLIND ALPHABET was completed and exhibited at the Johannesburg Art Gallery,
drawing in the crowds and receiving critical acclaim. Boshoff explained how he wanted to
make sighted people experience blindness by not being able to access the blind alphabet.
This work forces sighted individuals – who take their sight for granted – to call on the
blind to read and explain the words. It is a reversal of roles, a reversal of experience. Blind
people are typically excluded from experiencing art unless they request permission to
‘see’ and touch works of art. Gallery staff may feel put upon, make their feelings known
and leave the blind feeling disenfranchised. Sighted visitors were visibly moved by
Boshofff’s work, when they had some inkling of what it meant to be blind and
disempowered and when they could eventually ‘see’ and experience what the artist had
set out to achieve.
One of Boshoff’s most enlightening moments of self-realisation was discovering his
affiliation with Druids and similar creatures, although he was initially reluctant to go
public with this discovery. He has always been profoundly drawn to trees and plants,
leading to exhaustive botanical research. His fascination with wood and natural flora also
evolved into an intensive study of Druids, Sangoma, Seers and ‘Sieners’ leading him to the
Inyanga. There is an uncanny similarity between the European Druid, the South African
Sangoma and the Inyanga, the ‘man of trees’ – and Boshoff himself.
One of Boshoff’s most profound discoveries was that all true Druids have experienced
near death – one more thing he has in common with these ‘cultural repositories of
knowledge’. Boshoff’s study of Greek further elucidated the origins and practices of the
Druid and their extraordinary close association with trees (particularly the oak) and their
ability to heal using plants. Druids also have ‘accomplices’ or ‘side kicks’ (wood or tree
nymphs) to assist them with their tasks. The sheer scale and weight of Boshoff’s work
requires him to employ assistants to help him with his immense sculptures.
The artist was born into world imbued with wood, his father was a carpenter and the
artist often assisted the older Boshoff in his workshop. Boshoff has never veered too far
from his close relationship with wood fashioning many a complex and multilayered
sculpture out of this material. He has carved, crafted and coaxed out of wood many
extraordinary works, often making reference to books and words, such as the remarkable
TAFELBOOK (1975-1979). Yet, he says, he could never find exactly what he was striving for
until he located his close affiliation to the Druids.
In Boshoff’s view, the artist like the Druid must be exposed to nature. ‘Just like the fine
artist the Druid must train him or herself to look. Both must be visually aware to be able
to make social deductions’, Boshoff explained. Like the artists, the Druid has to establish
where the individual fits into a social context, and how power relationships play out. How
power relationships play out fascinates Boshoff and he is acutely aware of how social
deductions can be made by closely observing the relationship between, for example, a
man and his horse and how a man treats his horse – or how ‘a man treats his woman’, he
added.

Like the Druid, Boshoff incessantly walks and he sees things, he is ‘omnivagrant’. He, like a
Druid, walks where others do not venture and he walks endlessly. This, Boshoff said, is
one of the ways in which he sees the things that he applies to his art. Boshoff also
habitually meditates. He describes it as sliding across a beautiful pool of water, of being in
a space where he need only focus on his breathing, as if he no longer feels the need to be
anywhere at all. It is also a place where he no longer feels tired. ‘It is like floating or
walking on clouds – or on water’, he added wryly.
In view of Boshoff’s previous extreme immersion in religion one may well wonder how his
illness and journey of self-discovery has influenced his attitude towards God. He
explained that he responds to the question ‘Do you believe in God?’ with two answers:
‘Yes I do’ and “No I don’t.’ It all depends, he says, on what is meant by the question. He
raised his hands and moved them from side to side as he asked: ‘Does it mean this, or
does it mean that?’ The point is what exactly is meant by the question?
For Boshoff it is very important to show his work outside in the open air, and for art not
always only to be exhibited in what he refers to ‘refrigerated air conditioned spaces
encircled by walls’. ‘I love to have art where the wind blows, where you can feel the wind
on your skin,’ he says. He spoke with great passion of his outdoor sculptures, like Garden
of Words III (2006) comprising 15 000 ‘flowers’ inspired by a visit to a World War I
cemetery in Flanders. The Latin name of each flower is printed on a white ‘handkerchief’,
held in a red cup and planted in the ground in blocks of immaculately straight rows.
Boshoff’s massive ‘words on polished (once) molten black rock’ form a large and
important component of his work. Circle of Knowledge (2001) installed at the University
of Johannesburg comprises eleven granite rocks, carved to resemble large black pebbles.
Pebbles, psephos in Greek, were used in ancient times to cast a vote. The Romans used
stones to do maths and arithmetic. This theme recurs in a commission done for the
Johannesburg head office of BHP-Billiton. This work called Psephos (1994-1995) is made
up of nine panels with 18 pebble types collected from the nine provinces of South Africa.
The pebbles are positioned to form nine crosses, the mark conventionally made to cast a
vote and refers to the first democratic election in South Africa.
At a 2009 exhibition called ‘Sources – Contemporary Sculpture in the Landscape’ shown in
the sculpture garden of the Nirox Foundation appropriately situated in the Cradle of
Humankind, west of Johannesburg, Boshoff exhibited Children of the Stars: Big B (2009)
and Children of the Stars: little B (2009). These huge stone sculptures are created from
the most impenetrable black granite in South Africa. With these works Boshoff pays
homage to Archimedes. On the two halves he has ‘sandblasted concentric snippets of
unresolved mathematical philosophy – ripples when a pebble falls in a pool’.[7] Boshoff
writes,
‘My favourite moment in this work occurs when it rains – Archimedes taking a bath. The
raindrops soak up the grey texts so that they vanish into the black of the overall granite,
their life taken. Yet, when the sun shines on the piece, the words dry out and “Eureka!”
the texts resurface miraculously – nothing skills them. The sword sadly intrudes, but
somehow the chalk remains indelible.’[8]

Willem Boshoff, Morabaraba Stone (detail), 2009, Belfast black granite with sandblasted text (Source
Goodman Gallery)
Boshoff’s Morabaraba Stone (2009) exhibited at the same outdoor venue has cast in
‘stone for eternity, probably the oldest game in the world and played throughout
Africa.’[9]

Willem Boshoff, Morabaraba Stone, 2009 (Source Goodman Gallery)
At the time of the talk, Boshoff was working on Penelope’s Distaff (2009), shaped from
hard black rock in the form of a four and half meter spindle ‘or rod for the winding of yarn
to be spun’. Lines from Penelope’s story taken from the ancient Greek and Latin text are
wound around the spindle. This work formed an integral part of Penelope and the
Cosmos, the inaugural exhibition – with fellow artist, Karel Nel – in the newly created
contemporary art space, Circa, in Johannesburg, November 2009.
Boshoff based this work on the legend of Penelope who, following the untimely death of
her father-in-law, was left at home by Odysseus, her newly-wed husband, who went off
to war. During his time away the exceptionally beautiful Penelope began to weave a
funeral shroud, a task traditionally associated almost entirely with women. It is recorded
that during her husband’s absence she had no less that 108 suitors trying to win her
affection. But she proclaimed that she would not entertain their overtures until the
shroud was complete. As time passed and her husband had still not returned she would
unravel the cloth so as to postpone its completion and in so doing keep her many ardent
admirers at bay. Boshoff’s multilayered tribute to Penelope revolves not so much around

what she was doing, says Boshoff, but what Penelope and other women are thinking
when they are alone, their sadness and their longing.
Willem Boshoff’s deep rooted search to uncover the meaning of words and things, and to
translate them into multilayered conceptually works, fastidiously executed has given rise
to a body of profound and challenging works – and earned him local and international
recognition.
For those of us who gathered around the meeting table to hear the word according to Big
Druid, this was no ordinary Thursday – and Boshoff certainly is no ordinary man.
Willem Boshoff’s was invited to speak at Sasol Limited’s head office in Rosebank,
Johannesburg as part of an art education programme.
[1] Boshoff points to this word: pogonotrophy Greek: to not cut one’s beard
[2] Siebrits, W (2007), p. 17 Willem Boshoff: word forms and language shapes 1975 –
2007
[3]Siebrits, W (2007), p. 116. Willem Boshoff: word forms and language shapes 1975 –
2007
[4] 1973-1976 part time teacher, Jeppe Boys’ High and Johannesburg College for
Advanced Technical Education – Languages and Fine art. 1975-77 teacher, Parktown Boys’
High School – Afrikaans, Religious Instruction and Fine Art. Source: Siebrits, W (2007), p.
116.
[5] 1977 Dictionary of Colour; others include Dictionary of Manias and Phobias; Dictionary
of Morphology; Dictionary of –ologies and –isms; Dictionary of Beasts and Demons;
Dictionary of Winds, Dictionary of Obscure Financial Terms; Places Mother Might not
Approve of; Unmentionabilia; Red Names; 2004 completes the Oh No! Dictionary;
completes in 1999 Dictionary of perplexing English – a ten year project, using research
from 200 dictionaries including the 25 volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary; 2000
compiles Beyond the Epiglottis, a dictionary of extraordinary terms in rhetoric. Source:
Siebrits, W (2007), p. 116. Willem Boshoff: word forms and language shapes 1975 – 2007
[6] Blind Walls (1988 – 97), a post modern dictionary for the 11 official languages of South
Africa, consisting of 10 000 arcane worlds on 10 obstacle walls – work in progress. Source
Siebrits, W (2007), p. 116. Willem Boshoff: word forms and language shapes 1975 – 2007.
[7] Boshoff, W. (2009), pg. 22 Sources – Contemporary Sculpture in the Landscape. Nirox
Foundation and Goodman Gallery. Johannesburg
[8] As above
[9] As above

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