Contemporary Reflections: New Art from Old

Marriage Apron (Ijogolo) - Ndebele (Unknown Artist)

1276/89
Ndebele (Unknown Artist)
Marriage Apron (Ijogolo)
Hide, beads, string

Main Gallery
Opens: Thursday 14 May 2009 at 18h00
Closes Sunday 28 June 2009 at 17h00

Art and image-making have always had the function of shaping the way we see the world and our places in it. In addition to aesthetic satisfaction, the signs and symbols of an image speak with the voices of those committed to retaining a particular social and economic order. Artists have often been at the forefront of challenging the status of these images and in this way have functioned as important facilitators of ideological transformation.

Still Life with Omega Flowers - Roger Fry

0806/85
Roger Fry (1866-1934)
Still Life with Omega Flowers
1919
Oil on canvas

When art is more than decorative, it can be a powerful documentary and agent of social change, transforming the maker and the viewer in an ongoing dialogue of possibilities. In South Africa, art has come to reflect the challenges of a young democracy with a rich and diversified capacity for debate.

The Tatham Art Gallery, which has been part of the dynamic of South African history, has invited artists to respond to and reinterpret artworks chosen from its collection. Selection was based on proven, ongoing art making by artists of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands region.

A number of works were chosen and selected artists working in various media were invited to respond to a particular work or works in a way that reinterpreted those works from their own context. To facilitate this process a number of workshops were held. The programme offered artists direction and support in an atmosphere of dialogue with other artists.

The result is this exhibition, Contemporary Reflections: New Art from Old. We invite you to engage with the works by reflecting on how each artist has chosen to interpret his or her selected work/s. In this way you will contribute to an ongoing discussion about the interpretive function of art in our society.