Zimbabwe

_{Posted: Monday 28-05-2007}

A gathered radiance

Reviewed by Martin Chemhere, Harare mchemhere@yahoo.com 

_{New book titled “A GATHERED RADIANCE” – Letters, Paintings and Drawings - drawn from the life of Martin Van Der Spuy of Zimbabwe. Compiled by: Penelope Kirkman. Launched on Saturday 12 May 2007 at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, this valuable publication carries 58 pages in colour and black white, summing up the life and times of a great contributor to the contemporary art of Zimbabwe.} 

_{A Gathered Radiance is a well come addition to the short list of art books in Zimbabwe at the moment. It should be commended that it once again immortalizes the life of an influential painter in local and regional art history.}

_{Many of Zimbabwe’s influential artists are passing on without those left behind collecting their knowledge in the form of recorded audio or visual material. It is in this regard that this book which is in the form of a mix of photographic pictures, drawings and letters becomes an important medium in the history of the visual arts in the country and too the Southern African region as a whole.}

_{As its title implies, the book radiates with creative ingenuity while it is also providing a lighter side of life as seen through the artist’s letters written over a period of 30 years as correspondence between him and the art world. The “letters” are also very interesting not only adding some great impact to the paintings and drawings but also that in Penelope’s own words: “Their idiosyncratic, conversational tone will hopefully convey his life, passions and philosophies better than anything we would be able to do”. A Gathered Radiance gives us another view of Van Der Spuy as an artist who wrote (letters) as he painted with posterity in mind. It also carries famous quotes by the world’s principal players in the contemporary art field. The book is compiled by Penelope Kirkman who knew Martin Van Der Spuy for more than three decades making it an authoritative and undoubted effort to read.}

_{The introduction to the book is written by Cliff Bestall, the photography is by Trish Broderick and editorials have been provided by Barbara Keene and David Richardson. Well known artists such as Daryl Nero and Kate Raath have also weighed in with their contributions to make the entire effort a noble collaboration. There are several chapters that make reading the book interesting like in the one titled “ A short walk in the Sahara I” which was a result of an itinerary between Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Khartoum and Diling (both cities in Sudan). Here the artist describes the highlights and low points of his East African sojourns. Other letters like “A short walk in the Sahara II” took the form of a diary and deals entirely on Van Der Spuy’s stint in the Sudan.}

_{In the chapter under “45 Years Old”, the letter carries vital information as a warning to other established artists as it sheds some light into dealing with international art promoters and the resultant frustration often experienced from having to work hard on a show, ship it and getting nothing from the sweat. The letters part adds a strong element to the array of photographic paintings in the book as they are enlightening and inspiring to especially emerging painters who have yet to learn about the sometimes frustrating world of art. This is captured in the “Vemeers Letters” – a draft of the artist’s first letters to the Washington Gallery (USA).}

_{Through the letters we also learn what type of character Van Der Spuy was. Like in the chapter “The Vemeer Letters Continued”, he questions a presentation by an art history lecturer thus portraying himself as a critical student and observer of international artistic trends and styles. The book sheds light into Van Der Spuy’s life, how he liked to discuss the work of the masters and of his contemporaries both in Zimbabwe and internationally. It will be a good resource for art schools, colleges as provides good reading for any art student seeking to make a big name in the at world. Students who go through it will never be the same again as they will read about an artist who was “insistent that the best work could come from a thorough knowledge of the subject”. We learn that wherever Martin Van Der Spuy lived, “he made hilarious attempts to organize art lessons”.}

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