Artwork in the Constitutional Court

Stamp issue date: 5 June 2009
Artwork: Albert Adams, Penny Siopis, Andrew Verster, Dumile Feni, Robert Hodgins, Gerard Sekoto, William Kentridge, Judith Mason, Marlene Dumas and Willie Bester
Perforation grid size: 26mm x 35.74mm
Stamp sizes: 37.5mm x 26mm, 35.74mm x 52mm, 71.48mm x 26mm
Stamp sheet size: 160mm x 138mm
Paper: 104gsm Tullis Russell Yellow/Green phosphor coated gum stamp paper
Gum: PVA tasteless tropical water soluble gum
Quantity printed: 50,000
Colour: CMYK
Phosphor: 4 mm in L shape, on right and top of stamp.
Printing process: Offset Lithography
Printed by: Southern Colour Print, New Zealand

South Africa’s Constitutional Court is more than just a place where justice is done. It also serves as a modern space to showcase the work of some of South Africa’s leading artists. In celebration of this partnership between justice and art, the South African Post Office will issue a set of ten standard postage stamps and two commemorative covers depicting some of the works in the collection.

To Pablo Picasso “Art is a lie that makes us realise truth”, while according to British statesman Benjamin Disreali, “Justice is truth in action.” If these viewpoints are true, the Constitutional Court is an ideal venue for art and justice to join hands.

The Constitutional Court art collection consists of about 200 works reflecting a variety of topics and mediums. The works depicted on our stamps are briefly discussed below.

Marlene Dumas – ‘The Benefit of the Doubt 2’
A detail showing a single, sad-looking face from Marlene Dumas’ impressive tapestry ‘The benefit of the doubt’ is depicted on the first stamp. This huge tapestry in three parts shows three figures against an ochre-yellow background.
Born in Kuilsriver in the Western Cape in 1953, Dumas left South Africa in 1976 on a scholarship to study at the Atelier ‘63 in Haarlem, Holland. This acclaimed artist now lives and works in the country’s capital, Amsterdam. Her work has been exhibited extensively locally, as well as internationally.

Penny Siopis – ‘Forgotten Family’
This large work in mixed media is a family portrait in shades of grey and pink. It shows a father and mother with their small daughter.
Penny Siopis was born in 1953 in Vryburg in the Northern Cape. Since 1975, she has exhibited extensively, both locally and internationally and has won several awards. These include the Volkskas Atelier Award and the Vita Art Now award. She is currently professor in Fine Art at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Dumile Feni – ‘Bass Player’ and ‘Homage to Soweto’
‘Bass Player’, Feni’s delicate work in pen and ink on paper, represents and abstract figure with a man playing a double bass.
Another of Feni’s works, ‘Homage to Soweto’ is depicted on one of the two commemorative covers.
Dumile Feni was born in Worcester near Cape Town. He started his career as an artist by drawing on and decorating walls in hospitals. His work has been exhibited at the Sao Paolo Biennale in Brazil, as well as in London and as part of group exhibitions in South Africa. In 1968 he went into exile in the USA from where he never returned. Sadly, he died relatively unappreciated in New York in 1991.

William Kentridge – ‘Head’
William Kentridge’s drypoint print depicts a tilted head.
This acclaimed artist is internationally known for his films, drawings and theatre productions. He was born in Johannesburg in April 1955 where he still lives. He studied at the University of the Witwatersrand, as well as the Johannesburg Art Foundation, where he also taught etching for two years. His passion for the theatre prompted him to study mime at the École Jacques Lecoq in Paris. He has subsequently worked extensively in theatre as an actor, designer, and director and was a founding member of the Junction Avenue Theatre Company.

Robert Hodgins – ‘Hotel with Landscape’
This large oil on canvas painting shows a skyscraper with human elements suspended above it.
Robert Hodgins was born in 1920 in Dulwich, England. In 1938 he emigrated to South Africa where he joined the Union Defence Force. He returned to England in 1944, was discharged from the service and completed a teachers training course at London University. He subsequently obtained an Arts and Crafts Certificate from London University, as well as a National Diploma of Design. He later returned to South Africa.

Andrew Verster – ‘Hotlands’
‘Hotlands 3’ by Andrew Verster is the third painting in a vibrant and colourful triptych. This long, vertical painting in oil on canvas depicts abstract plant forms.
Andrew Verster was born in Johannesburg in 1937. He trained at the Camberwell School of Art and Reading University in the United Kingdom. He subsequently lectured at the University of Durban Westville (then University College, Durban), as well as the Natal Technikon until 1976. Verster, who gave up teaching to become a full-time painter, also writes short stories, articles and radio plays.

Willie Bester – ‘Discussion’
‘Discussion’ is a large tapestry depicting two women talking. They are set against a background representing a township scene.
Born in Montagu in the Western Cape on 29 February 1956, Bester is regarded as one of South Africa’s foremost contemporary sculptors. He is also recognized as having played an important role in bringing about change in the struggle during the apartheid years. Bester spent one year studying with the Community Arts Project in Cape Town, but is mainly a self-taught artist. The remainder of his “art” education has come through his life experience.

Gerard Sekoto – ‘The Smoker’
‘The Smoker’ is an atmospheric oil-on-canvas painting in shades of blue and purple.
Gerard Sekoto was born on 9 December 1913 at Botshabelo mission near Middelburg, Mpumulanga. He studied teaching in Pietersburg (now Polokwane), but moved to Johannesburg in 1938 to become an artist. He held his first solo exhibition in 1939. In 1940, the Johannesburg Art Gallery purchased one of his works. This was the first painting by a black artist to enter a museum collection. Sekoto left South Africa in 1947 for France, never to return to South Africa. He died in Paris in 1993.

Albert Adams – ‘Thethered Monkey’
‘Tethered monkey’ is an undated painting in acrylic on canvas depicting a silhouetted monkey in red.
Albert Adams was born in Johannesburg on 23 June 1929. After the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, Adams and many other South Africans left the country to settle in London. In the UK, he taught at a number of high schools. In 1979, he started teaching Art History at City College in London. He held this post for the next 18 years. During 1990, Adams made regular trips to South Africa to visit his family, and to participate in artists’ workshops. He died on 31 December 2006.

Judith Mason – ‘Blue dress 3’
‘Blue dress 3’, which is depicted on the stamp, is the third painting of a triptych. It shows a suspended blue dress with an animal facing the viewer.
Born in 1938 in Pretoria, Judith Mason studied at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1960. She subsequently taught drawing and history of art at the University of the Witwatersrand and as a guest lecturer at other institutions. She has exhibited extensively in South Africa and abroad and has works in all major South African art collections, as well as in private and public collections in Europe and the USA.

Cecil Skotnes – ‘Freedom’
‘Freedom’ is a composite work by Skotnes and Hamilton Budaza consisting of seven carved and coloured wood panels. Only the central panel by Skotnes, is depicted on the commemorative envelope.
Cecil Skotnes is an internationally renowned artist who has exhibited extensively both locally and internationally. He was born in 1926 in East London. After studying at the University of the Witwatersrand, he was appointed cultural officer at the Polly Street Art Centre in Johannesburg in 1952. Skotnes received several awards, as well as three honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of his contribution to South African art.

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Sources:
http://www.southafrica.info/news/arts/intimate-relations.htm
http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/artcollection/
http://www.artprintsa.com/penny-siopis.html
http://www.andrewverster.co.za/profile.html
http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/
http://www.goodmangallerycape.com/hodgins.html
http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/bios/adams_aah.htm
http://www.lesliesacks.com/gallery/artistPages/exhibitbios/besterbio.htm
http://www.afh.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=159&Itemid=75