212 <strong>SA</strong> JEWISH REPORTTapestry News 6 <strong>December</strong> <strong>2013</strong> –- 17 08 January June 2012 2014Finally, Ilan’s dreams are beginning to pay off!REVIEWED BY ROBYN <strong>SA</strong>SSENThirty-three-year-old Ilan Godfreyhas followed his dreams to whereverthey have led. And it’s beginningto pay off. This year’s recipientof the prestigious Ernest Coleawards, he currently shows partsof his finished project at Wits ArtMuseum.“This represents a year’s work,”he told the <strong>SA</strong> <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Report</strong>,shortly after the opening of theexhibition. “My work has until thistime been self-funded and thisaward which is valued at R150 000,helps significantly towards bringingit to completion.“From diamonds to coal, platinumto asbestos and gold, andfracking, my project’s been aboutinvestigating society on the peripheryof this type of mining.”Redolent of David Goldblatt inhis compositional decision-makingand of Pieter Hugo in his fearlessness,Godfrey’s photographic voiceis fresh and individual.The exhibition is elegantly curatedand hung with a poetic senseof symmetry. “I always knew thatI would do art. My dad was a keenamateur photographer and themagic of a dark room, which I firstexperienced while at school atKing David, got me hooked.“After matric I wanted to seethe world. I saved my pennies,<strong>Jewish</strong>south african<strong>Report</strong>Thokozani Sikhakhae, security guard. East Rand Proprietary Mine, Johannesburg, 2011, by Ilan Godfrey.put together a portfolio and tookthe plunge, travelling everywhere,eventually settling in WestminsterUniversity, London, to do aBA Honours degree in photography,”which he later followed withTo our valuableadvertisers, thanksfor your supportover the past year.We look forwardto asuccessfulpartnershipin 2014.The managementand staff ofthe <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Report</strong>.a masters degree after winning ascholarship.“It examines cleavages betweensociety and environment,” saysGodfrey of his work. “It’s not aboutthe processes of mining, nor, itsArts Briefsproducts. That has been done wellby others.“The more I investigated thisproject, the deeper I was taken.”He speaks literally as well as figuratively,citing instances where heLevine and Field on atTheatre on the SquareTwo of South Africa’s top female singer/songwriters,Laurie Levine and Josie Field, return to the stageon <strong>December</strong> 8 at Auto and General Theatre on theSquare in Sandton, to perform together with theirtandem show “Side by Side”. According to a mediastatement, “the blues infused vocal-rock of Fieldconnects with the intimate folk, country styles ofLevine, to create a unique and intimate musicalexperience featuring their hit singles as well asselect covers”. These performances are acoustic,using a variety of instruments, including guitar, banjo,ukulele and more. All seats R120: call the theatre on(011) 883-8606 or 083-377-4969.Young Misha runner-upin <strong>2013</strong> ArtscapeSeventeen-year-old cellist Misha Favis fromJohannesburg was a runner-up in the <strong>2013</strong> ArtscapeNational Music Competition, recently. He receivedR2 500 and a bronze medal. After a week ofelimination rounds where 23 contestants fromaround <strong>SA</strong> came together to compete, 15-year-oldviolinist Francis Whitehead from Johannesburgwas declared the overall winner, receiving R25 000was offered the opportunity toclimb into an illegal inlet to a maverickmining operation.“I had no idea where it was going.But the project was also aboutreturning to South Africa,” he added.Eleven years ago, he left Johannesburgof his birth to seek hisfortune. He speaks of Meyerton’sBlack Reef, the phenomenon ofdirty coal, that of acid drainingand the reality that living in theshadow of a mine dump stuntschildren’s growth.He tells how his work highlightedthe discrepancies betweenracial groups and classes; of sexworkers who are the byproducts ofthe industry, of the asbestosis andsilicosis affecting people who livenearby.“Ironically, it brings us all together,”said Godfrey, whose workhas been recognised locally and internationallyby the Open SocietyInitiative for Southern Africa, theInternational Photography Award,Magenta Flash Forward Award andNikon Endframe.Legacy of the Mine is Godfrey’sfirst major travelling solo exhibition.It has travelled nationallyand Godfrey is hopeful that itmight have international legs. Hiswork has been published by Jacanain a publication retailing at R300.www.jacana.co.zaand a Gold Medal. Favis is currently studying at theYehudi Menuhin School of Musical Excellence inSurrey, UK. The National Youth Music Competitionis presented by Artscape in association with theCape Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Cape Town,Rupert Music Foundation and Fine Music Radio.‘The artist is present’ inCape ArtWalkArtist Arlene Amaler-Raviv is one of the 80 artistsand 16 studios participating in this year’s CapeArtWalk, on <strong>December</strong> 6, an initiative spread acrossWoodstock, Observatory and Salt River. Accordingto their website, ArtWalk offers “a radical alternativeto the conventional model of viewing and buyingart; as open studios allow an immediate, intimateexperience of art-making” and the chance topurchase work without gallery or agent commission.Says Amaler-Raviv: “It is a unique way to experiencethe artist: The artist is present. The work spaceis active.” Visit www.artwalk.co.za for maps andfurther details.Cohen’s advocateappeals for ‘testimoniesof support’In an international appeal, Agnès Tricoire, theFrench advocate representing South African-bornartist Steven Cohen who was arrested during aperformance at the Trocadéro in Paris, in September,writes that while the trial, originally scheduledfor <strong>December</strong> 16, will be probably postponed,“in the meantime, it would be helpful to receivewritten testimonies of support of Cohen’s work.”She asks that interested parties e-mail her oncontact@agnestricoire-avocat.fr and she will sendthe attestation form to fill out by hand. “Thesetestimonies will be donated to the folder and do notimply a presence at the hearing.”
6 <strong>December</strong> <strong>2013</strong> – 17 January 2014 Tapestry <strong>SA</strong> JEWISH REPORT 13Art which is temporary and leaves no traceROBYN <strong>SA</strong>SSENCapetonian artist Dan Popper,29, (inset) calls his work hismistress. In Johannesburg enroute to Amsterdam for a musicconference, he visited the exhibitionof kinetic artist JustinFiske, at the Standard BankGallery, where he also spoke tothe <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Report</strong>.Photo suppliedThrough Fiske, Popper became interestedin kinetic art and audienceparticipation, which led him to AfrikaBurn,a festival of impermanentart established in 2007 on a privatefarm at the Tankwa Karoo NationalPark, Northern Cape. As the nameimplies, central to AfrikaBurn’sphilosophy is the fact that the artleaves no trace. All the installationsare temporary and some of theworks are burned as part of the festival.It is about not being preciousabout beautiful things; allowingthem to be transient.Another principle to the thinkingbehind AfrikaBurn is that ofGifting. “We are devoted to acts ofgift giving,” the festival’s websiteexplains the cash-less way in whichthe festival works. “The value of agift is unconditional. Gifting doesnot contemplate a return or anexchange for something of equalvalue.”Schooled in Johannesburg, Poppergraduated in fine arts fromUCT in 2006. “Doing a course likethat, you learn about contemporaryartists,” he said. “But they don’tteach you how to be a career artist.Ninety eight per cent of my friendsfrom art school do not make artanymore.Dan Popper’s “Dragon” exhibited at AfrikaBurn 2012.“In 2007, I discovered Afrika-Burn. It changed everything. Muchof the art currently revered in SouthAfrica is premised in academicrhetoric; suddenly I was forging myown way without academia’s rules. Irealised there isn’t only one way ofmaking a life with art.”In the FIFA Soccer World Cup’sbuild-up in 2010, Popper pitchedthe giant puppets he was making atthe time, to MTN who was handlingthe marketing. MTN commissionedhim to produce 14 more for FanFests nationally, during the WorldCup. Popper employed over 70assistants. “This was the first experienceI had of marrying art witha commercial patron,” he said. “Itgave me an understanding of howto make a life from doing what I do.”The puppets have ricocheted himeverywhere. He’s taken them toPortugal for Boom, the electronicmusic festival and Berlin for theYoung Illustrators Award. “In thiswork, you see audiences smiling,not stroking their chins being intellectual.There is no lie here. It iswhat it is.”In developing repertoire, Popperapproached South African-bornmaster puppeteer Roger Tittley,who is based in Linz, Austria. “Hetrained me in new materials and hisworking methodology inspires a lotof what I do.“In fact, the Hand of G-d, atAfrikaBurn 2011 was conceptualisedon Roger’s farm and it was myfirst move into structural work.”Made of wood and steel, the workfeatured an Argon laser beam andcaught festivalgoers’ attention andthat of Siemens and Ogilvy whocommissioned Popper to create a15m baobab tree with 3 000 LEDlights, powered by solar panels andbicycles, for the COP17 climatechange conference in Durban thatyear.Last year Boom commissionedPopper to build two 25m Quetzalcoatlserpents. “People freakedout. It was amazing to be adding somuch to people’s experience of thefestival.”On January 16, Popper, supportedby Siemens, launches an11m metal acacia tree at the NelsonMandela School of Science andTechnology, at Mvezo, near Qunu,Nelson Mandela’s birthplace, inthe Eastern Cape. “It’s a symbol ofMandela’s wisdom,” he said.“This kind of work has taught methat my art can elevate the experiencefor thousands.”World BriefsHolocaustsurvivor, rescuerreunited after 69yearsJERU<strong>SA</strong>LEM - The <strong>Jewish</strong> Foundationfor the Righteous (JFR), onNovember 27 brought togetherHolocaust survivor Dr Leon Gerstenwith his Holocaust rescuer fromPoland, righteous gentile CzeslawPolziec, for the first time in 69 years.For more than two years, thePolziec family hid Gersten from theNazis, along with his mother Friedaand the Wiesenfelds, the family ofFrieda’s sister and brother-in-law.JFR has been arranging suchreunions for 20 years, usually onthe day before Thanksgiving. JFRExecutive Vice President StanleeStahl told JNS.org that this year’sreunion at JFK International Airportcarried extra significance due to thehistoric overlap of Thanksgiving andChanukah.“Chanukah is the festival oflight, and in many ways [CzeslawPolziec’s] Polish Catholic familybrought light into the lives of theGersten and Wiesenfeld families,”Stahl said. (JNS.org)<strong>Jewish</strong> groupsraise concerns onIran nuclear dealin calls with WhiteHouseWASHINGTON - White House nationalsecurity officials have tried to assuageleaders of American-<strong>Jewish</strong> organisationsabout the newly reached nuclear dealbetween the P5-1 powers and Iran duringseveral recent conference calls.Officials spoke to groups such as theAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee,the Conference of Presidents of MajorAmerican <strong>Jewish</strong> Organisations, theAmerican <strong>Jewish</strong> Committee, and the<strong>Jewish</strong> Federations of North America. MalcolmHoenlein, executive vice chairman ofthe Conference of Presidents, said <strong>Jewish</strong>leaders “raised the concerns that are quiteobvious to the community and the issuesthat have come up regarding the processof the accord [and its] implementation”.“We raised the questions about whatthe accord says about the [Iranian] weaponisationprogramme, the development oftheir ballistic missile system, what it saysabout the development and production…of centrifuges, what happened to the Arak[heavy water] facility… what happened tothe uranium, why it was not removed, whythey’re allowed to keep it, why the processdoes not call for dismantling the existinginfrastructure as the [UN] Security Councilresolutions call for,” Hoenlein told JNS.org.(JNS.org)Israel asked to joinUN Human RightsCouncil groupJERU<strong>SA</strong>LEM - Israel has been formallyinvited to join a regional group within theUnited Nations Human Rights Council.An invitation was sent on Monday toIsrael to join the Western European countriesgroup, the French news agency AFPreported, citing an unnamed diplomaticsource.The West European and Others Group isa 28-nation bloc made up of European nations,the United States, Canada, Australiaand New Zealand.The European states had agreed towelcome Israel into the group in exchangefor the <strong>Jewish</strong> state’s return to the HumanRights Council and its participation in itsUniversal Periodic Human Rights Reviewprocess.Israel had left the council a year-and-ahalfago to protest its alleged bias againstthe <strong>Jewish</strong> state.Samantha Power, the US ambassadorto the United Nations, applauded theinvitation.“As President Obama has made clear,the United States opposes the effort toundermine Israel’s legitimacy as a full andequal member of the community of nations,and will continue to work vigorouslyto end structural discrimination againstIsrael throughout the UN system,” she said.Since 2006, the council has passed 27resolutions criticising Israel and convened19 special sessions, six of which wereabout Israel. Regular sessions feature apermanent agenda item 7, “the humanrights situation in Palestine and other occupiedArab territories”.In January, Israel became the first countryto refuse to attend the Universal PeriodicReview, a review of a country’s rightsrecord. All UN member nations are meantto submit regularly to the evaluation.On October 29, Israel participated in thereview, during which it was criticised foralleged human rights abuses (JTA)Poll: Palestinianspessimistic onnegotiations withIsraelJERU<strong>SA</strong>LEM - A Jerusalem Media andCommunications Centre poll showed thathalf of Palestinians believe the PalestinianAuthority should not have resumed Israeli-Palestinian conflict talks. Seventy per centof Palestinians said they didn’t believe thenegotiations would result in an agreement.The poll surveyed 1 200 Palestiniansabove age 18 from the West Bank andGaza. About one-third of respondents saidthey preferred armed resistance to peacefulnegotiations. Thirty per cent blamedHamas for the division between the WestBank and Gaza. (JNS.org)Iran ‘far too close’to nuclear weaponafter deal - formerCIA chiefWASHINGTON - Gen Michael Hayden,former head of the Central IntelligenceAgency and the National Security Agency,said Iran was “far too close to a nuclearweapon” following its interim agreementwith world powers. The deal allowed Iranto continue enriching uranium to five percent.“At the end of the day, Iran is going tobe a nuclear threshold state,” Hayden toldFox News.“We have accepted Iranian nuclearenrichment,” he said. “What we have to dois push that threshold back as far as possible,and that will define whether this is agood idea or a bad idea.” (JNS.org)
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