The David Krut Bookstore at 151 Jan Smuts Avenue hosted another successful book launch last night (25 November) with Listening to Distant Thunder: The Art of Peter Clarke. Written by art historians Philippa Hobbs and Elizabeth Rankin, Listening to Distant Thunder chronicles the life and work of artist Peter Clarke, with whom the authors collaborated closely prior to his death earlier this year. The book was initially published in 2011 as a limited edition to accompany Clarke’s retrospective exhibition at the Standard Bank Gallery, and has now been officially launched by Fernwood Press (Random House Struik). Hobbs was in attendance last night and engaged the audience recounting tales of Clarke and the process of putting this great publication together along with Elizabeth Rankin.
“Listening to Distant Thunder: The Art of Peter Clarke recounts an artist’s life in the context of the social history of South Africa from the 1940s onwards. His images reflect the social disruption of the Cape Flats, and the trauma of his community’s forced removal from Simons Town to the bleak apartheid township of Ocean View. Yet Clarke’s images have avoided bitterness, and his work is a perceptive scrutiny and celebration of life in all its aspects.”
See the Business Day review for Listening to Distant Thunder: The Art of Peter Clarke.
