One painting so many issues...

Wow, twice in 1 month, but can you blame me? Greetings dear friends trust this life is treating you as well as you treat it!

Ahh never a dull week in these parts I tell you. I, like most of you, am frankly most bored with the amount of airtime that this Brett Murray painting, The Spear, has been getting, but I can’t help but write about it.

I write this because it follows nicely onto my last blog and also touches on a few new ones. The saddest thing about this painting is that I am not sure anyone who is vehemently opposed to this depiction of JZ has actually seen any of Brett Murray’s work. There is a piece he did in 2002 called ‘White like me’ which takes a stab at whites calling themselves Africans. In 2000 he did some work called ‘I love Africa’ which has Bart Simpson with his privates showing, should Bart take him to court? In 2010 he did a series called “Hail to the Thief”, there is one piece which has the ANC flag and a For Sale sign across it, one that shows the outline of a struggle comrade with a fake quote from Solomon Mahlangu…have a look…http://www.brettmurray.co.za/work-on-paper/hail-to-the-thief/. So anyway I was saying it’s sad, it’s sad firstly because the people that protest the most couldn’t really give a rats bottom about art, lets be honest, and secondly as usual in this country every ‘disagreement’ degenerates into an issue about race.

Ok, back to the matter at hand. I was raised to respect my elders, I was raised where someone elses pops/moms could discipline me if I was out of line. I was brought up to inherently respect my elders and women, we stand up and call my elders sir/madam, give up my seat for the elderly or ladies. When we were younger and Kitt was about to turbo boost or Macgyver was about to sort out the biggest puzzle and an adult came to visit the folk, no argument, we got up a stepped the fork away. It is who I am. Would I paint the spear, not too likely. How I choose to be prohibits me from doing this. Perhaps Mr. Murray wasn’t raised the same way, perhaps he was raised to express himself and question the status quo in whatever manner he deemed acceptable/appropriate. Now right here we have a case of contrasting beliefs and the beauty of this land is both beliefs are protected by our wonderful constitution.

People are throwing around this respect word left right and centre, some say it should be earned, I don’t think that’s a valid argument. We are raised to respect authority, women, men, elders. Without you earning it you generally have peoples respect and its up to you to lose it not so? Are you respecting me by trying to muzzle the media, not giving me basic services that were promised me, but by instead spending millions on luxury cars and parties? Is respect not a 2 way street?

Dignity, the president’s dignity has been compromised. Seriously. The only people that would actually look at this painting are the same people who have already formed an opinion of the president. And its not a result of any painting it might have something to do with reports of: the amount of wives, children, children out of wedlock, acquitted rape trial with an HIV positive family friend, sleeping with the Iron Dukes daughter, insisting on hiring Richard Mdluli as the chief of police, a man who reportedly has had a questionable record… These people will not think any more or less of the president because of this painting. On the flipside all those people who were outside the court today…do they in any way think any more or less of JZ as a result of this painting. To the core of my being I strongly doubt that, but what do I know.

Another thing that this highlighted for me is the tolerance or seemingly acceptability of lawlessness in this country. The painting was someone’s work, it’s how he earns his living. He sold it to someone. It’s displayed in someone else’s ‘house’. 2 buffoons take it upon themselves to go and deface the work. because why? They don’t like it. It’s the exact same as someone coming to my house to relieve me of my Range Rover or my TV, because well because he can and its acceptable. I haven’t seen/heard anyone raise an eyebrow over that whole incident and say it was wrong or speak up against it in anyway. That to me is a far worse crime that someone drawing a picture. Because its exactly that…A CRIME, but I don’t see Gwede or Jackson shouting from the mountain tops  about how we must stamp out crime, the message it sends, destroy peoples property if you don’t like it, its fine, but hey, woe betide if you must go and paint ne!!

Then there was the heavy handedness of the security guard against the African vandal. That fool’s actions were properly over the top. With the white guy who drew the red x’s it was a simple eish baas why, you just stand there nice nice ne, then the brother with the black paint bra, head butts, WWE suflex to the ground cable ties…why, because security guard you are yet to emancipate yourself from mental slavery!

I read an article about how in the old days the black males member was used to divide and create fear amongst people and as such would used by the slave masters to rule over the slaves, it was a long and very interesting piece that made sense, but to be honest I don’t believe it was relevant in that this self same painter was around when uTata Madiba ran the ship and uTata Tboz ran the ship and Tboz made a few blunders, one being the HIV…AIDS thing, but no such depiction of him was made and they were both African males not so?

Say I am a president of a country as racially divided as this, yet I preach unity. One day one of my citizens depicts me as per the spear. I take offence to it, what would I do? I would pick up the phone and say to him, young man, I know you have your freedom of expression, but I have kids etc. this what you did ne, where I come from it is unacceptable. Now Mr. Murray would have the choice of either removing it or explaining his point of view, we agree or agree to disagree, case closed…

But nooo. This painting is by far the biggest crisis to befall this country in the last 18 years. Not the fact that daily, there are a vast number of able bodied men aimlessly loitering on Katherine street in the hope that someone with a bakkie may come by and give them a ride so they can earn some sort of a wage for the day. Not the fact that our former homelands (Transkei for example) have degenerated to run down villages (no disrespect), where the education system is so poor that people are escaping to ZilleVille. Not the fact that with this cold that is upon us, many sleep under bridges, in shacks that could burn down effortlessly. Not the fact that we have such a lovely land with such potential yet we choose to continue dividing ourselves, why because of a painting…one persons opinion or interpretation, its an interpretation because this man has not seen your weapon, he was merely putting something out there to spark debate and debate he has gotten. Then we have Gwede calling for people to ban the purchase of City Press, does he know who he was addressing? I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of those people read Sunday World…come now get serious.

The whole issue of taking this thing to court, in my mind is a waste of time and money. Firstly what were you going to achieve? How are you going to achieve this. There are so many ways to look at this as I mentioned above, wear a colonial hat, wear a hat of the current situation of nepotism, corruption, look at it through religious or cultural, look at it as art, freedom of expression, all of these ways of looking at it will yield vastly different results not so? I am no lawyer, but from what I read about this interdict story, in order for the court to grant it against the City Press and the Goodman gallery, JZ should have a clear right that has been infringed, now as a layman I cant see any such right of his that has been clearly infringed. The word dignity in common law refers to persons feeling of self worth. To have this defamed though it should be in the eyes of a reasonable person, with no JUSTIFIABLE REASON. For the defamation to stick im sure JZ’s peops will have to prove that the art doesn’t provide fair commentary and based on the articles available in the public domain even I would find it hard to prove it not to be fair commentary, but then again I am no lawyer. But they aren’t even suing for defamation but rather an interdict, now I don’t know law so well but wouldn’t there be clear rights infringed or defamation proved before such interdict can be granted?? Then say City Pres takes down the picture what of all the facebook twitter and international sites that have the pic, courts cant enforce their judgment can they?Anyway interesting times…

People you are a politician in a very democratic country, you think you are beyond ridicule, then I think you have something coming. I clearly remember a few cartoon pictures of George W Bush looking like a monkey with big ears. Not a peep was said.

Bottom line from me and judging by the goings on in court today taking this to court and trying to get an interdict is a futile and yet another wasteful exercise. I am absolutely indifferent about the painting, it in no way enhances or reduces my image of JZ, Goodman Gallery or Brett Murray. Tomorrow I am going to wake up, have to pay R12 for petrol, drive past guys on the side of the road, dodge a pothole here and there, try and figure out how to earn a living so I can pay electricity, water, taxes so the powers that be can find another futile case to take to court, because there is nothing better to worry about…

Birthdays

Mel, Gillie, Lazendorf, June, Ham, Lance, Sivan, ChaCha, Amrain, Inge

As usual massive respect and oneness people, because what the world needs now is Love sweet love man!! So what if you are different from me?

Y