The infamous Jacob Zuma painting

[vieome]

The Artist should leave the defaced painting in the gallery as it is as a new peace of art, called politians hiding the truth.

[IanF]

No wonder I sucked at English in school, I struggle to read so much into so little. I couldn't get poetry and Shakespeare.
Anyway I will move on from this when there are so many other issues that need discussion.

[Mike C]

Received this email today which highlights some of the hypocrisy in our society:

The controversial painting has now been defaced.

2 guys (a white & a black) were arrested.

The ANC's court case is going ahead on Thursday 24 May to force the gallery to remove the artwork.

- A 17 year-old mentally challenged girl was gang raped & the video went viral. No one marched.

- An 8-year-old girl was raped by a 15 year-old boy & her eyes gouged out. No one marched.

- Entire provinces are without school text books - it's almost June. No one marched.

- Our imminent police chief is a gangster & has brought our police service to its knees. No one marched.

- Our country has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. No one marched.

- Our democracy is going down the toilet but no one marches.

But our country goes hysterical over a painting! We threaten lawsuits, protests & violent reprisals.

Where are our priorities???

What are we thinking??????!!!!

We have now proven beyond doubt that our collective mentality doesn't rise above the waist.

[vieome]

Artist use lies to hide the truth . Politicians use lies to cover the truth up. visit the portal of truth This website contains great works of art of a similar nature to the now famous Zuma picture. The Zimbabwean artist now lives in exile.

[vieome]

http://www.maviyane.com/

[Dave A]

Now Helen Zille is getting nuded too

[Blurock]

The difference is; Zille laughed it off and JZ made a fuss.

[murdock]

mike you forgot to mention the little old 78 years old lady who was axed to death in her garden a couple of days ago...she at least got a small block at the bottom of the newspaper.

[Dave S]

I've been following this story and the developments since it broke, and I've noticed that the majority of opinions are around this one painting.

Here's a link to the entire exhibition : http://www.goodman-gallery.com/exhibitions/265

Having a look at the other works, I think that the artist's work is excellent political satire with a deep and valid message. However, this one painting however is the least political and the most personal piece of work.
I don't disagree with the painting nor do i think the artist has taken things too far. Nudes have always been a popular style, and fused with political satire makes it all that much more powerful.

Someone on this thread posted about what an exposed penis means in black culture, which made me understand the outrage. But this is a painting, for which Jacob Zuma didn't pose for hence he is not really exposed. So by all means get upset or angry, like one would if you find something distasteful but to attempt to censor it is taking your gripes too far because the artist did not understand what it means in your culture but in his culture (satirical art) it makes perfect sense...reminds me of Christians getting all bothered about halal stickers on hot cross buns.
Pointless.

Point Taken... I am not an art critique by any stretch of imagination, and quite clearly, this piece has become a very contraversial painting. The point is it is art, and that by definition means that the interpretation is in the "eye of the beholder". JZ may find it to be an affront to his person, someone else may see it as humour, etc. Burn it, don't burn it, it's all the same to me, but don't go kicking up a massive outroar of violence and upheaveval over it. Hopefully, Brett will do better next time...

[adrianh]

The problem is that it is no longer merely art when the object of the art is of a recognizable still living human. Be that as it may, I agree that there are far more important things in life to worry about than

Tinkerbel & the toi toi'ing tiny troublesome totti

[IMHO]

Some, like 'The New Age', is just simply hell-bent in making it a racial issue and just do not get it that 'The Spear' is about a President's unacceptable behavior and image he portrays. Look at this comeback. A painting of five white people that has nothing in common with JZ's lifestyle. All they have in common, is that they are white.

Disgruntled artists of the painting 'The Shield' which depicts DA leader Helen Zille; the late AWB leader Eugene Terre'Blanche; Koos de la Rey and cartoonist Jonathan Zapiro naked with their arms in the air will be displaying the artwork outside the Goodman Gallery on Thursday.

The painting which was created four days ago is a direct response to the much hated and controversial 'The Spear' painting by Brett Murray which shows President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed.

Nqobile Ndlovu one of the artists of 'The Shield' said they were insulted by Murrays painting which has no regard for African culture.

"Everyone is focusing too much on President Jacob Zuma's private parts being exposed and not the bigger insult," Ndlovu said.

"It goes further; the painter will tell me about rights and freedom of expression but without regard of cultural value," he said

Ndlovu said The Spear is a mockery of the progress that has been made by Africans.

"Our biggest concern is that the painting by Brett Murray is a mockery of what we feel we have achieved in terms of the revolution," Ndlovu said.

The ANC has taken the Gallery and the City Press demanding the painting be taken down and removed from the website.

The ruling party said Murray's painting disrespects human dignity and culture.

http://www.thenewage.co.za/51596-1007-53-The_Shield_to_be_displayed_outside_Goodman_Gallery

[Citizen X]

Statesmanship
1. The painting is one thing, how our leaders reacted to it is quite another! It seems that our President believes that history will someday judge him by the mere fact that he made it to the Presidency. The act of becoming President is meaningless. It’s not an achievement, accomplishment or something that future generations will be proud of you. A President is judged by his administration. I’m not a fan of the City Press, I never buy it anyway. I buy the Citizen, in particular The Daily Sun and the Sunday Times(being getting this on e free lately). Senior ANC members are calling for a boycott on the basis that the City Press published something that is not to their liking, so the inference is , if you publish something in our favour that’s fine, if you don’t we have a problem!
2. In decades to come, history will judge the statesmanship of our leaders on this painting matter harshly. A statesman is a respected leader who promotes the best interests of his/her people. Statesmen are notable for their wisdom, integrity the sincere respect that they win from the vast majority of their people. A statesman by definition always has his wits about him and even in the face of insurmountable obstacles with far reaching implications for people. He maintains his wits and is very cognizant of how he/she reacts to a certain issue. He’s able to win respect even at times when a crisis is of such a proportion that such crisis is likely cause the destruction of his people.
3. The Cuban missile crisis 1962: Now this was a real crisis! Cuba under guidance from the former Soviet Union was secretly building bases in Cuba for nuclear missiles which could have reached any American State. Kennedy decided to put a naval blockage around Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from delivering more missiles and structures to Cuba. This was at the height of the Cold War. The World was suddenly at the brink of nuclear war. This was a crisis. There were two personalities. John F Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev. It’s noteworthy that even though the USA and the Soviet Union were enemies, they always maintained open chanels of communication with each other and communicated on a regular basis regardless of what was happening behind the scenes and there was always something happening behind the scenes. One must bear in mind that if either party had lost his cool and taken things personally the entire world would have suffered the consequence of nuclear warfare. Even if attacks were confined to each other it would have affected the entire world economically. We would not have been where we are today had either party lost their cool and ordered the launch of a nuclear missile.
4. Khruschev send Kennedy a letter which states “your navigation in international waters and air space" constituted "an act of aggression propelling humankind into the abyss of a world nuclear-missile war".
5. History informed us that Khruschev backed down
6. My point:“President Kennedy urged Americans to reexamine Cold War stereotypes and myths and called for a strategy of peace that would make the world safe for diversity. Two actions also signaled a warming in relations between the superpowers: the establishment of a teletype "Hotline" between the Kremlin and the White House and the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on July 25, 1963.
In language very different from his inaugural address, President Kennedy told Americans in June 1963, "For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."
7. JFK was a textbook example of a good statesman!
8. “Almost all of us can become a politician but only an intellectual with a vision can become a statesman.Its a rare happening.! Statespersonship also conveys a quality of leadership that organically brings people together and of eldership, a spirit of caring for others and for the whole.”
9. Nelson Mandela is a living example of a statesman

[adrianh]

@Vanash - well put.

[IanF]

Vanash great post thanks.
What gets me is the way each side digs in. Just think if one side in this was gracious and listened this would be so different. This could be the artist or the President. Just say I did not mean to demean the Office of the President.
But this may be too late.

[Dave A]

If the ANC holds that the good reputation of the Office of President is to be protected at all costs, it's reasonable to conclude the ANC is also responsible for ensuring the person they appoint to that Office is of suitable reputation.