Source work:
0930/88
J H Pierneef (1886-1957)
Untitled (Landscape)
1951
Oil on canvas
Gesetzmaessigkeit (after Pierneef) (diptych) - Jordan Tryon
Jordan Tryon (b.1982)
Gesetzmaessigkeit (after Pierneef) (diptych)
Building sand, ash, lime & GP resin
R6 500
Esme Berman has observed that Pierneef's work makes conspicuous "the formal architecture of the Highveld… [presenting] a rational and perceptive interpretation of its distinctive spatial and structural character" (Berman, 1983:330).
Of interest to me is the sort of worldview that might inform an individual's 'rationality' and 'perception', neither of which are by any means objective. Pierneef, as has been established by several biographers and critics, believed strongly in the cause of Afrikaner art and culture, and it seems fair to argue that the "cause of Afrikaner... culture" may well be seen championed within his landscapes. Pierneef's "architectural" interpretation of the Highveld is visually evidenced through the ordered geometry of his compositions. This almost systematic delegation of elements to their "rightful positions" can, and has been, read as indicative of an idealised interpretation of the way things ought to be, both in terms of the demarcation of the land and the people that might inhabit it.
Speaking generally, nomothetism is a term that literally translates from the Greek to mean a "proposition of the law". Jameson's Latinate translation of the term as adapted by Theodore Adorno (gesetzmaessigkeit), however presents a more socially specific application. It refers to the inherently juridical nature of Western societies, which are based on notions of exchange. The word in this context 1 implies that all such societies are permeated from top to bottom by concepts of ownership, legal possession, title claims and counter-claims.
This work is comprised of lime, building sand and ash. Each panel references the dimensions of Pierneef's untitled landscape. Lime is often used to treat soils with a low PH (a high acid level), which can prevent the effective growth of certain vegetation. Building sand seemed an appropriate medium in this context as it can allude to both raw earth and the sort of architectural construction associated with Pierneef's landscapes. Ash can obviously be read as the trace of residue of a converse deconstruction - the effective obliteration of a grand and carefully structured ideal.
The font within this work is Arial Bold, selected in this instance as it appears in the South African Government Gazette. The Government Gazette communicates to the public those decisions taken by the various departments of state. These include "regulations and notices in terms of acts, changes of name...[and] land restitution notices..."
1. Additionally, and of some potential interest here, is the term "nomothetic fallacy" as utilized in the context of applied psychology. "Nomothetic fallacy" describes the incorrect assumption that by diagnosing a condition one is effectively cured of it. The relief of having a problem named often results in a temporary relief of symptoms on the part of the patient, which soon afterwards recur.