Woordfees began in 2000 with a focus on celebrating Afrikaans literature and has now become one of the largest arts festivals in South Africa. Woordfees has created a space in which collaboration amongst different creative spheres is encouraged whilst celebrating a multitude of art forms. Throughout their 24 years, they have advocated and fostered innovation, creativity and artistic expression.
This year David Krut Projects in collaboration with Boschendal x Brundyn featured a group exhibition titled “Beyond the Page” at the Manor House. This exhibition focused on the connection and symbiotic relationship between the written word and visual arts. Artists who embodied and explored this relationship within their work were selected to demonstrate the interconnectivity of these two creative mediums. Works by Adrian Fortuin, Wilma Cruise, Faith47, Jared Aufrichtig, Stephen Hobbs, William Kentridge, Simon Attwood, Peter Cohen, Maja Maljević, Mothloki Nono, and Willem Boshoff were all featured.
Several of these artists, through their bodies of work, perpetuate the seamless nature between the written word and visual art. For example, Willem Boshoff was selected for this exhibition because his work conveys this fusion. Conceptually, his art is an ongoing dialogue that explores language, books and verbal and non-verbal communication. In his work titled Highveld, which was showcased at Woordfees, Boshoff creates a tangible connection between his love for nature and Johannesburg through the use of language as an artistic medium.
Maya Maljević was a particularly interesting highlight among exhibition goers. Her body of work displayed at “Beyond the Page” explored the thematical motifs of the exhibition through an abstract exploration of expression – creating her own visual language. The combination of Maljević’s abstract and geometrical aesthetics creates a fine line between chaos and harmony. The very nature of her works ties into the idea of breaking down binary understandings of mediums such as art and literature and it further portrays the reciprocity that exists between these elements.
The exploration between text and visual arts can be traced back through the centuries, the intertwined nature of these mediums and their ability to lend inspiration to each other was a fundamental concept within this group exhibition. Visuals can be used as a narrative device and literature is capable of summoning visuals. The complexity of this interchangeability is something which Peter Cohen’s work encapsulates as he uses his three-dimensional sculptures as a narrative device to speak to the larger concept of his work. As an artist, he often tackles notions such as the complexity of the human consciousness – a sentiment which is difficult to convey in both words and visuals. Yet Cohen creates a connection from what he deems as his blueprints to his sculptural work aiming to create pieces that fit together in multiple ways – similar to how the consciousness connects visuals and literature.
The careful selection of these artists by David Krut Projects and the curation by Brundyn Art highlights the ongoing dialogue between art and literature. For many years artists and writers alike have borrowed inspiration from each art form and the importance of this relationship between the two mediums is conveyed throughout “Beyond the Page”. Each artist selected drives home a fundamental connection between books and art while exploring each mediums conceptual expandability.
