JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Jacob Zuma and his African National Congress sought a court order Tuesday to have a painting depicting the president’s genitals removed from an art gallery but two men took matters into their own hands by defacing the portrait with gobs of paint.
The case is spiced with freedom of expression on the one hand and the right to dignity on the other. It took center stage after the painting by Brett Murray went on display in a Johannesburg gallery this month and was reported on in local media. Zuma, who has a reputation for promiscuity, took the depiction of him with his private parts exposed very personally and compared himself somewhat ironically to a rape victim. Zuma himself was put on trial for rape, and acquitted, in 2006.
“The portrayal has ridiculed and caused me humiliation and indignity,” Zuma contended in an affidavit filed Tuesday with the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.
Presiding over the hearing in a courtroom a few kilometers (miles) from the gallery, Judge Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane said the full three-judge bench should hear the case because the national interest and constitutional issues are at stake. South Africa’s constitution protects the right to dignity as well as to freedom of expression. She said the hearing would recommence on Thursday.
Zuma and the ANC sought to have the painting, titled “The Spear,” removed from the Goodman Gallery and to stop the newspaper City Press from displaying a photo of it on its website.
Just before the hearing was scheduled to begin, two men wielding cans of red and black paint calmly walked up to the painting hanging on a gallery wall and took turns defacing it.
“Now it’s completely and utterly destroyed,” said Iman Rappetti, a reporter for a South African TV channel who happened to be on the scene at the time as her camera rolled.
Her channel showed a man in a tweed jacket painting a red X over the president’s genital area and then his face. Next, a man in a hoodie smeared black paint over the president’s face and down the painting with his hand. The men were finally detained by gallery staff — one was head-butted and thrown to the ground before he was handcuffed — and police took them away.
Rappetti said she initially thought the first man was part of a performance art piece, and said staff at the gallery was slow to react.
The Goodman had said in a statement a day earlier that it was stepping up security. After the vandalism the gallery was closed as a throng of reporters and onlookers gathered outside.
The gallery’s attorney, Greg Palmer, said its owners are filing a charge of malicious damage to property. He said they did not know the identities of the two men who defaced the painting and that the gallery would oppose efforts by police to confiscate the defaced painting as evidence.
After the painting was defaced, a third man spray-painted the first three letters of the word “respect” on a wall near the gallery’s front gate before he was taken away by police. He shouted that the gallery had shown the president disrespect.
Back at the courthouse, more than 100 pro-Zuma protesters gathered outside. Donavan Cloete held a black, green and gold ANC flag and wore a T-shirt with the slogan: “President Zuma has a right to human dignity and privacy.”
“The artist has got his own views on the political situation. He has a right to express himself,” Cloete said. “On the other hand, there’s got to be a line drawn as to what constitutes satire and what constitutes insult.”
But Sophia Morren, a ceramicist who was in the gallery with her daughter when the painting was defaced, said Zuma had shown little respect for himself. She referred to Zuma’s six marriages — he currently has four wives, his 21 children, and his acknowledgment in 2010 that he fathered a child that year with a woman who was not among his wives.
“He’s famous for all his women, all his children. I get exactly what the artist is saying,” Morren said. “Zuma shouldn’t be complaining. Really.”
She added she knew Murray had been celebrated for anti-apartheid art work in the past.
“Why is it good then and it is not good now?” she said of Murray’s work. “You start proscribing to artists what they can and cannot paint, and then we are lost.”
Zuma was acquitted of rape in May 2006 in the country’s most politically charged trial since the end of apartheid. Trial testimony had raised questions about Zuma’s attitude toward women and whether ultimately he had the judgment to govern. His testimony about having unprotected consensual sex with an HIV-positive AIDS activist demonstrated an amazing ignorance about HIV transmission by a man who once headed South Africa’s campaign against the virus.
In his affidavit filed Tuesday, Zuma said he rejected suggestions that speaking out about the painting would “exacerbate the pain I am feeling about the image being publicized widely.
“This argument is similar to suggesting that, inter alia, victims of rape should not complain about the violations they have suffered because doing so will lead to publication of their ordeal. It is suggested therefore that such victims should keep quiet in order to limit public knowledge of their rights.”
The painting is part of an exhibition of Murray’s sculptures and paintings called “Hail to the Thief II.” The ANC denounces the show as an “abuse of freedom of artistic expression.”
The defaced painting is a black, red and yellow acrylic on canvas priced at 120,000 rand (about $15,000). In a style reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s brightly colored Marilyn Monroe portraits, “The Spear” depicts Zuma in a suit, looking off into the distance.
The painting, priced at 120,000 rand (about $15,000), had been sold to an anonymous buyer before the defacement.
_Copyright 2012 The Associated Press._
Source: thegrio.com
South Africa court to hear Zuma 'obscene' painting case - BBC News
South Africa's ruling party is going to court to have a controversial painting of the president with his genitals exposed removed from public view.
The actual painting that was on show at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg was vandalised by protesters on Tuesday.
The African National Congress said it was "rude, crude and disrespectful" and wanted all images of the painting online and elsewhere taken down.
Its challenge is expected to be heard by judges on Thursday.
The South Gauteng High Court is due to deal with the case against the gallery and the City Press website.
The Spear, a $14,000 (£9,000) acrylic painting by Brett Murray,- an artist known for his political and provocative work, has already been sold.
The case is seen as a choice between freedom of expression and the right to dignity, both of which are protected in South Africa's constitution.
'Millions are offended'The ANC is supporting President Zuma's bid to have the painting removed from public view, whether in real or virtual form.
It called on people backing the president to go to the court and show their support.
Party spokesman Jackson Mthembu told the Sapa news agency: "A lot of people are coming to defend the image of the ANC and Msholozi [Zuma].
"Millions and millions are offended, and those millions are not necessarily black people only. They find it insulting."
On Tuesday, two men went into the gallery and defaced the painting, daubing a red cross on it and smearing it with black paint.
Barend la Grange and Louis Mabokela appeared in court briefly on Wednesday, along with George Moyo who is accused of trying to spray paint the word "respect" on a gallery wall.
In an affidavit served on the City Press newspaper paper, Mr Zuma said he was shocked by the work saying: "The portrait depicts me in a manner that suggests I am a philanderer, a womaniser and one with no respect. It is an undignified depiction of my personality and seeks to create doubt about my personality in the eyes of fellow citizens, family and children."
President Zuma, who has four wives, has sued local media companies 11 times for defamation. Some cases have been settled, others dropped, but most are outstanding.
The best-known case is a 2008 suit against one of the country's most high-profile artists, Zapiro, after he depicted Mr Zuma about to rape a female figure representing justice - this is due to be heard in October.
Mr Zuma was cleared of raping a family friend in 2006.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Zuma painting defaced to 'prevent civil war' - Mail & Guardian Online
Barend la Grange. (Nickolaus Bauer, M&G)
One of the men accused of defacing the contentious spear painting at the Goodman Gallery said he did so to prevent a civil war split along racial lines.
“It took me 15 seconds to destroy this insensitive artwork. We have a lot more to worry about in South Africa than a painting.
There are people’s lives in danger, the racial tension is there and people don’t realise what this can lead to”, a resolute Barend la Grange told the Mail & Guardian outside the Hillbrow magistrate’s court.The Spear depicts President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed and forms part of artist Brett Murray’s Hail to the Thief II exhibition.
The artwork caused a national outcry and has been labelled racist by the ANC, who are seeking an urgent court interdict to prevent the painting from being exhibited or published.
Spoilt ballot paper
La Grange admitted to painting a large red X over the genital and facial area of the art piece, before his co-accused Louis Mabokela smeared black paint all over the surface of the image – all the while eNews television cameras filmed the incident on Tuesday.
La Grange also claimed he had never met Mabokela prior to the incident and that both acts of defacing were carried out independently.
He said his act of defacing the artwork symbolised a spoilt ballot paper.
“The first X was against ANC led government, who I believe are going the wrong direction and the second X was against people making a mockery of our president,” he said.
La Grange said that while he didn’t like Zuma, he was still his president and had respect for the office of the presidency.
“I saw the people at the gallery were not there for art, they were there to make a joke of the president.
La Grange also accused the Goodman Gallery of perpetuating the racial prejudices of South Africa’s past by allowing the painting to be exhibited.
“I lived through apartheid, I didn’t govern the system but I benefitted from it. I thought it only right as a white person to destroy this insensitive thing that was also created by a white person,” he said.
Change the Constitution
La Grange then echoed the ANC’s assertion that the constitutional right to freedom of expression cannot be used as an excuse to violate the dignity of others.
“If the Constitution protects people who do thing like this, then the Constitution must be changed. I didn’t diffuse the situation, but the fact that this painting is no longer there makes me feel far better,” he said.
The duo’s case was postponed until June 28 to gather more evidence.
Mabokela refused to comment after the case was postponed but his lawyer Krish Naidoo confirmed he had laid a charge of assault against security at the gallery.
Footage showed Mabokela being roughed up by gallery security immediately after defacing the painting.
“We intend to seek justice in the matter of my client being assaulted at the gallery,” Naidoo told the M&G
The police confirmed security guard Paul Molesiwa had been arrested and briefly appeared in the Hillbrow magistrate’s court on Wednesday, where he was granted R1 000 bail.
Interdict continues
Meanwhile the ANC has vowed to continue its court challenge against the artwork – despite it having been defaced.
“We still believe this painting continues to tarnish the image of Zuma. That’s why we are still going to court to find out if his rights have been violated. This is no longer just about him in any case, this matter needs to be resolved as it is polarising South African society,” ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu told the M&G.
Source: mg.co.za
Catholic community adds voice over Zuma painting - Xinhua News Agency
by Ntandoyenkosi Ncube
JOHANNESBURG, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) on Wednesday voiced its concern over a controversial painting depicting President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed and called on the presidency to lead a dialogue on reconciliation in South Africa.
Archbishop Wilfrid Napier said the painting is a clear indication that South Africa is still divided and is dominated by social faults.
The SACBC said it's a clear indication that South Africa has failed to address national reconciliation.
"Simply reducing this incident to the level of race is a sad indicator that we have once again allowed the easy card to be played because it serves to deflect us from the real issues of national reconciliation," Napier said.
"I call on the President to lead the nation to a new dialogue on reconciliation and dignity – let us all make every effort to be the South Africa we want to be and want to become," he said.
The painting by artist Brett Murray stirred outrage from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and a national debate on freedom of speech and the right to dignity after it went on display at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg and published by the City Press newspaper on its website.
"These are two separate matters that I think must be dealt with individually," political commentator Munjodzi Mutandiri told Xinhua. "The ANC government has done enough to push reconciliation, " he said.
Rather Mutandiri urged South Africa to take the situation as a platform to start constructive debates on various social ill affecting social, economic and political development in the country.
The ANC and its supporters are fuming over the painting, calling it racist in disrespect of the president and the black majority. One white political analyst told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that it is hard to single out the motive of the painting.
"But what we can all agree is that it was aimed at humiliating Zuma and undermining black leadership in all sectors," she said.
SACBC views the action as highlighting the true South Africa society.
"The furore over the painting 'The Spear' by Brett Murray has exposed a number of fault lines in our South African civic discourse. I wish to express my horror at the tone and temperament of the language around this painting," Napier said.
"We need honest, respectful and clear dialogue in South Africa – We have lived with enough violence in word and deed," the clergyman added.
Fruitless efforts to convince the gallery and the City Press to remove the painting prompted the ANC to take the case to the High Court in Johannesburg. The court on Tuesday postponed the hearing to Thursday.
ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu called on all South Africans to join Zuma, his family, the ANC and its alliance partners to support the party's court application.
"We call upon all South Africans to support this noble course and to demonstrate rejection to this act of indecency, vulgar and disrespect of the Constitution of our country and the values it stands for," he said.
The Goodman Gallery lawyers argue that the painting cannot be banned because the Constitution protects the right to artistic expression.
"Let the courts decide – this is why we have an independent Judiciary and laws that are not arbitrary," Napier said.
"Let me be clear. I don't like the painting -- its graphic subject matter or the slur on the character of the President," he said.
On Wednesday, the Goodman Gallery removed the painting from display after it was defaced. "We have removed the painting from the premises to a safe location pending the court case," the gallery said in a statement.
On Tuesday, just before the court began its first hearing, one man smeared the painting with black ink, while another man painted a red cross across Zuma's face and genitals. Later a third man damaged the gallery's walls to show his outrage. The three men were arrested and appeared in court on Wednesday.
The gallery said it has laid charges of malicious damages to property against the suspects who defaced the painting and damaged the walls.
Source: news.xinhuanet.com
Win chance to hang your art with the pros - Bristol Evening Post
A BRISTOL youth group has launched a new art competition in a multi-million-pound youth centre.
The Station Artwork Competition offers young people the chance to see their artwork hung alongside a collection of more than 30 works by professional artists.
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Volunteers at The Station Jaydence Pater, left, and Ryan Lewis with fine artist Rose Sanderson and graffiti artist Nick Walker at the launch of the art competition being staged by The Creative Youth Network Picture: Dan Regan BRDR20120523F001
The Creative Youth Network launched the competition at The Station, Bristol's £5.75 million youth hub being developed in the city centre.
Bristol graffiti artist Nick Walker and illustrator Rose Sanderson, accompanied by some of The Station's young people, gathered at the centre yesterday to declare the competition open for entries.
The competition collection will eventually be auctioned off on October 18 as part of the corporate launch celebrations at The Station.
All funds will be donated to future creative projects being run at the youth hub.
To enter, young people have to take a photo of their artwork and upload it to the "Art Auction & Competition" event on The Station's Facebook page.
Artwork must be 2D but can be in any medium including painting, graffiti, digital, illustration, textile, print and photography.
Source: www.thisisbristol.co.uk
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