Pity Andries Botha www.andriesbotha.net as ‘they’ are unhappy with his sculptures and have prevented the commissioned works from being delivered into the public arena. And not just one or two but, when I last spoke to him, three of his commissions were in limbo. I know he is frustrated and I wonder after this experience if he will be, like me, another artist who simply does not do commissions.

Andries is among the most respected sculptors and, more than that, the sculptures would have been subjected to a process designed to control the quality, deal with objections and enable them to stand up to criticism. Usually, the artist submits a drawing or a maquette for approval to a committee. They select the best proposal and may make suggestions or request changes. Later, the full size plaster or clay or original work would be sanctioned. This is before the artwork is cast into bronze when changes are more easily done and before it is placed in the public domain.

My resolve to steer clear is currently being tested by the recession. The large price tags attached to and the accompanying prestige makes them just too juicy to ignore. However, I am aware that things are not always as they appear and I am all too familiar with the trauma of commissions. The subject is imposed and is never a subject an artist would naturally do. Then you work for weeks to submit a maquette which is, more often than not, rejected and not paid for. On a few occasions the assured commission just shrivelled up and vanished. Then if you are unlucky enough to get the commission you find your have to deal with a lot of expensive materials, labour and services. I have always underestimated the amounts and ended up with the short end of the stick. Finally when you have done all the hard work and paid all the bills there is that infuriating unhappiness that seems inevitable with commissions. It is an unhappy occupation.

It seems people like the idea of artistic freedom but not the artist’s ideas. Perhaps Andries should have been given carte blanche, then we may have seen one of this artists’ large, reclining, tyre ladies or a herd of Leadwood elephants gracing our airport. It could have been done on a grand scale and apart from being a uniquely African work I think it would have been more beautiful, more lyrical and more sculptural. It would differ from the usual politically charged, morally dubious and dull bronze monuments. It could have made our new, big, and rather boring airport, exceptional and vital.

Monuments are usually imbued with the mythology of the ruling elite and contain the symbols and values of that society. So who is Shaka Zulu, what does he symbolise and what values does he underwrite? Shaka is most often remembered for defeating Lord Chelmsford and the British army but as I understand it, he slaughtered a lot more Zulus than British soldiers. On one occasion 7000 Zulus, who on the death of his mother were deemed to be insufficiently grief stricken, were killed. This behaviour is more like a Stalin than a Gandhi or a Mandela. I understand the defeat of the British to be a powerful symbol but I do not think we should forget the Zulu people murdered. If we do then I think it will be safe to presume that it is also okay to erect a Verwoerd in Soweto, a Hitler in Auschwitz and an Osama Bin Laden in Ground Zero, New York. I am not sure that Shaka was a good choice but I am sure Andries was trying to show his merits. So I am amazed to hear that one of the objections to his work was that Shaka should have been made to look more aggressive.

There is a recession, money is tight and things are tough but unless I am starving I simply will not do a commission. I have burnt my fingers and I find it easier, less stressful, more honest, more satisfying, more interesting and exciting to simply do my own thing. The system has failed Andries all because of the shameful meddling of a powerful few. I hope Andries is not as easily put off as I was. If good artists no longer want to participate in public works we will be poorer for it. Apart from the financial multiplier effects, the social benefits and art as a civilising force our airports and cities could be very tedious places. Perhaps it is not so much as pity Andries as pity us.

Regards
Carl

New work

  2010  |  Unsettled Sea  | 300mm x 1410mm x 170mm  |  Strydom gallery, George, South Africa

 2010  |  What are you Looking at?  | 580mm x 340mm x 210mm  |  Sold

  2010  | Lion |  320mm x 460mm x 165mm | Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, London