Life is art!

I had fun today!  Prince Albert is buzzing.  Visitors have arrived in droves for the Prince Albert Art Festival.  Some of them friends and acquaintances I have met along the way.

I spent most of my time today at the Jans Rautenbach Schouwburg, which is just down the road from where I am renting in De Beer Street.  It is a wonderful little theatre complex furnished with beautiful antiques, lovely artwork and memorabilia from the South African film industry.  I watched a number of films by and about artists. My favourite was an interview with Martha Rosler entitled:” An encounter with a Performance artist”.

I must admit I had not heard of Martha before and was delighted to hear her describe some of her more provocative performances. These performances of the 1970s are still considered milestones (according to the programme of the PArt Festival.) I just loved her authenticity and sense of humour.  A committed and outspoken feminist and a political activist to boot she called herself a child of the 60’s.  When asked what this meant to her, she said she was of a political generation – one that believed that they were able to change the world …and did just that. I love it…

I managed to slip away to check out the Saturday market at Die Dam were I bought lovely fresh vegetables. I enjoyed the vibe of some of the youngsters wearing anti-fracking t-shirts.  I devoured quite a few pancakes and missed my partner in crime immensely in the process.

Prince Albert Art Festival Emblem

The rest of the day was spent at all the exhibitions around town.  I even went into the Omkom Stoor – a name Jan and I find most intriguing. I am definitely going to ask someone why it is called that.  Besides some wonderful artwork by Diane McLean and Estelle Marais I was captivated by an amazing feature in the space. A Victorian bath/shower combination, which according to the lady on duty, belonged to Cecil John Rhodes, has pride of place. Lucky man I say!! A very nifty contraption it is. Although I must say my cottage has a delightful Victoria & Albert slipper bath too. I just can’t seem to bring myself to use it except as an absolute treat, because I am so aware of not wanting to waste water unnecessarily.

 Another visit to the Schouwburg was most informative and entertaining. William Kentridge introduced some of his fascinating short films this afternoon – awe-inspiring stuff!

I rounded off today’s arty adventures by attending JP Meyer’s brilliant lecture called “Preserved sharks and unmade beds”.  It was patently clear that this local artist is most popular and very modest. He was adamant about not being an academic or an intellectual, but he wowed the full audience with a well-researched and visually appealing talk on art.  It is from him I loaned the title of this blog :Life is art.  according to JP, our greatest creation is our life.  How true is that?