Africa: Post #8...Cape Town... Art & Architecture After Apartied...

 

Cape Town is Serious...  Cape Town is Fun... 

 

I could not resist noting this vehicle as Shakier was driving us to the airport. It's colorful bit of sass, even in a working rig (a painter?), seems to describe the mood we were holding in appreciation for this renewing country.

 

We were carrying back a piece of art to remind us during the winter into which we are returning . We are continuing the celebration of color to what might be considered a symbolic mutual wedding gift to ourselves! Yes, it is odd & quirky, so we are mounting & framing it accordingly, with more color... so, of course there is a story...

 

As we were walking back to our hotel along the waterfront after dinner  we were arrested in the dim lighting by curiously fantastic line drawings drawings, not unlike cartoons... piquing my imagination from a number of my interests. Also displayed was a bar code inviting a site revealing tastes of the evolving into animation of them evolving into bit of a larger story line, indeed part of a much larger work... & the gallery just above would tell & show us more. We came back to visit the next day, which was our last! 

The artist's name is David Griessle & he is working to create a major composition of which the two pieces we bought are the original drawings which are now incorporated digitally into the animations of the story... roughly like the "cels" of past animation techniques. 

 Fantasy, animation, draftsmanship, story... then there is a musical composition as soundtrack! We are pleased to be enjoying & following this artist & his project!

See more here: artatafrica.art

    

 

An overview to help understand the unique geography of the place... more than a city... developed around tall, flat Table Mountain from which one looks south at the tip of the continent with the Atlantic Ocean on the right side & the Indian Ocean on the left. To the south  lies Antarctica...

We stayed at the Victoria & Alfred Hotel on the waterfront... I'm still learning about Alfred, The Queen's second son, who has an interesting history getting him to South Africa... the waterfront is the original harbor where the Dutch East Indies trade was centered, & has been recently renewed into new life... a happening spot. We especially enjoyed having fine breakfasts on the sunny front walk of the hotel.

The  SILO is the new art museum... Zeitz MOCAA (Museum of Contemporary Art Africa) is seen in the center of this image. totally intrigued me, being an abandoned concrete grain elevator, like the ones I grew up with in Kansas... having been re-imagined with a huge saw, biting & cutting into the tall cylinders to gracefully re-sculpt them into open into new spaces, as shown in this model... brilliant! [I was heartened to re-imagine Kansas as a future art mecca!

 

 

 

 

Of course, there are transparent elevators as well as a dramatically huge spiral staircase!

 

The floors of the elevators are also frosted glass... 

 

 

 The splayed-open base becomes it's own dramatic

floor 

 

 This shot of Stephen exploring its terrain shows the large scale of  the pace.

 

 

 At the top there has been built a new multi-story event space with a coffee-shop & hotel.

 

The cylinders are capped with heavy glass with curious iconography resembling some re-invention on Chinese/Japanese characters.

 

I won't resist further celebration of the color-scheme in the men's room, as an example of the consideration given to seemingly every  detail of design!  

  

Down further in the bowels of the structure, more exhibit spaces have been created with the mechanique of chutes once opening to move the grain exposed. We enjoyed seeing student work from the educ atonal department of the museum.

 

 

 

ART AFTER APARTHEID...

That statement makes is bit of invention on my part, noting my actual ignorance about that historic social situation, even as I was rather frequently reminded that I need to keep trying to learn for myself. 

The SILO was exhibiting various such lessons...

 

I read the persistant red color on the walls speaking to the deadly regime now past... 

Some images are nearly universal... Others are more abstract propositions & explorations. This is the museum at work in a new era...

 

A carefully invented display about a group of authors exhibited books & papers in a blossom of plexiglass cases.

 

 

This statement about time can sumerize much about this extraordinary country... about any country. All are constantly in states of flux & change... going forward or stumbling attempting to resist inevetable change...

Exiting through the good gift shop, there were more of such parts of equipment becoming a casual display of such stuff as I might dud "art of actuality".

 More of the gears of this large size which are such a turn-on for me!

 While Stephen enjoyed playful rock'n'roll seating!