Nicholas Hlobo: Tyaphaka and other artworks

by Sipho Masinga

When I was given this task to write on an art topic I thought to myself…”there is a topic I’ve been wanting to talk about, an inspirational story, the story of Nicholas Hlobo and his Tyaphaka…along with other works”. An art exhibition I wished every young person attended, which was hosted by Stevenson in Braamfontain.

Now being a young person on the hustle is a full time job, especially when you’re a college student focusing on your mid-year exams or knocking on doors for that once in a lifetime opportunity. However, in your busy schedule if you haven’t visited an art exhibition this month, make sure you reserve one of your evenings and check out Tyaphaka along with other canvas art by Nicholas Hlobo.

Hlobo has a unique touch when it comes to artwork. Every artist has their own distinctive mark but its rear to find someone using rubber and ribbons as a signature.

Tyaphaka is a whale-like sculpture made from rubber inner tubing commonly used for car tires, and multi-coloured ribbons. The main concept of crafting Tyaphaka is essentially a play on the idea that things can be submerged or brought up from below the surface.

Hlobo exercises epic artistry when working on canvas artwork. Part of the exhilaration is observing the moment when the artist dares to become entirely himself. The other part is sheer beauty. Hlobo creates a scene of anarchy when he cuts the untainted canvas creating a scenic design. He leaves a small foundational cut which he then substitutes with an aluminium piece of metal. Finally Hlobo stitches up both the canvas and the aluminium together using his signature multi-coloured ribbons creating an identity.

Unganya kum is just one of the three canvas work which is on display. When you gazing at Unganya kum you will realise that the lighting of the room is vital. The lighting makes the ribbons vivid and the colours brighten the canvas entirely. Hlobo contrasts and balances dark and light colours like the master maker of rainbows. Hlobo explains that the canvas artwork focuses on the stages where life is formed and that later what the being will turn out to look like when brought to light is actually close to the ones contemplating their identities.

 

Beefed up security? not for these thieves

by Sipho Masinga

Astonishing footage of a pharmacy robbery in Ottery shows just how brazen robbers in Cape Town have become, asking for medication used for heroin withdrawal before whipping out guns and terrorising staff.

The pharmacy owner suspects the same criminal crew are responsible for a hit caught on camera the following night at Busy Corner in Grassy Park. Meanwhile, another nearby shop was cleaned out in Wetton on Tuesday night.

Honestly I do not know what is happening with our country. According to Crime Stats, within a week criminals have been targeting malls, not only in Cape Town malls but also in Johannesburg.

I admire the fact that the owner of Jafmed Pharmacy stays open until 10pm, because he’s helping out the community, it’s even worse on the weekends because that’s their busiest time.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk confirmed the robbery, saying the robbers fled the scene in a white VW Golf with blue stripes on the side but with no registration plates.

Another worrying factor me is that, cant the police identify crime hotspots? Jaffar mentioned that there was a break-in previously in the same area, one would be sure that police would be patrolling the area…One: they need to be on the lookout for the criminals, two: they need to make sure residents and business operators are safe.

As a business owner, and as a resident of a particular area, you make sure that everything is safe and secure. This is why we install electric fences, CCTV cameras, build high walls, etc. Are people going through all these efforts in vain?

The Pharmacy owner says they have armed response company guarding the premises, and has beefed up security (as I mentioned before), but if criminals are determined, then not much can stop them.

Im really worried about the state our country is in, the owners of these businesses were in the shop when these crimes happened. What if they got seriously injured when dealing with these thugs?

Jaffar says it is by far the most serious attack they had experienced after eight years of doing business in the area.

Other businesses in the area had also been targeted, including a hit in Lansdowne and in nearby Wetton. Ironically the owner of the Wetton superette is a friend and customer of Jaffar’s.

So, the police say the four armed suspects entered the shop, threatened the cashier, and made off with cash in a white Ford Figo…(Im guessing its according to the CCTV)

They have an armed response company guarding the premises, and have beefed up security, but always leave early giving the criminals time to make their move.

So what now?

Well the police say all the footage from the CCTV has been handed over to the Crime Intelligence Unit. No arrests have been made.

Hopefully arrests will be made soon because justice needs to be served. The SAPS needs to make sure these kind of incidents are prevented, as a citizen im looking up to them to make sure we are safe and secure.

Cosatu expelling Numsa could leave a huge gap in the future

by Sipho Masinga

The ANC says Cosatu and Numsa’s leaders must be vigilant against those trying to drive a wedge between alliance partners.

ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa says they must be cautious of misinformation peddlers who will spread lies, rumours and gossip about one another.

Kodwa is actually referring to an allegation by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA that a document is being circulated which formed part of a plan to destroy the union.

A few weeks ago was shocking for me, when I saw the headlines “Numsa expelled from Cosatu” got me thinking…what was so bad that the union had to be expelled. Now recently this document that is alleged to be circulating has also got me intrigued, what is this document all about…The document’s title is interesting, its titles “Exposed: Secret Regime Change Plot to Destabilise [sic] South Africa”.

Numsa deputy general secretary Karl Cloete told reporters they have no doubt that the circulation of this document and its nefarious accusations is part of a well-orchestrated plan to destroy the union and to derail Numsa from its chosen path.

Hours after being expelled, I looked into Numsa’s press release on their website and this is what they had to say:

“What we have warned the South African workers and broader public about has come to pass. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa  with its 350 000 members was expelled as an affiliate by the federation COSATU in the early hours of 8th November 2014 at a Special Central Executive Committee meeting (SCEC). This expulsion took place through a vote which was 33 for our expulsion and 24 against.”

What amazes me is that after being given the boot, the union still remains strong and urges all metalworkers to remain vigilant in their testing time as the wedge-drivers move out of the COSATU boardroom and attempt to move into their workplaces.

There are seven unions supporting Numsa after its expulsion from Cosatu, who vowed to fight for its ousting to be reversed.

The unions are the Democratic Nurses’ Organisation of SA (Denosa), SA Commercial Clothing and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccawu), the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), the SA State and Allied Workers’ Union (Sasawu), the Public and Allied Workers Union of SA (Pawusa), the SA Football Players’ Union (Safpu), and the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu).

These unions believe that Numsa has been victimised and treated unfairly by the Cosatu leadership. We have all seen companies and businesses fall about because of a split within, im more concerned of the workers who are affiliated with these unions.

Numsa says they will consolidate their work on the Movement for Socialism in the March 2015 Central Committee of Numsa, one can only imagine what will happen on that day.

 

Look’n Phly

Head Honcho Clothing is a burgeoning Cape Town-based clothing company founded in November 2008 by Nick Kaoma and Mzoxolo Gcwabe. Head Honcho designs, manufactures and markets streetwear clothing that appeals to an urban market that comprises of trend-loving and boundary-pushing young South Africans.

Thanks to clever collaborations with brands such as Miller and Play, as well as a symbiotic relationship with brand ambassadors AKA and Lulo Café, Head Honcho became the first local brand to be stocked in Shesha and Sportscene outlets all over the country and has become the voice of ambitious South African youths who aim to “live progressively”.

To find out more about Head Honcho you can follow them on twitter @HeadHonchoSA or like their facebook page Head Honcho Clothing

Vintage Tuesday

This week I’d like us to look into maps and compasses. The first Western civilization known to have developed the art of navigation at sea were the Phoenicians. Phoenician sailors accomplished navigation by using primitive charts and observations of the Sun and stars to determine directions.

Maps, compasses, astrolabes, and calipers are among the early tools used by ocean navigators. In the modern era, these tools have been largely replaced by electronic and technological equivalents.

Despite these early beginnings, it would
take many centuries before global navigation at sea became possible. Until the fifteenth century, mariners were essentially coastal navigators.

Sailing on the open sea was limited to regions of predictable winds and currents, or where there was a wide continental shelf to follow. Farther ventures were enabled by the development of scientifically and mathematically based methods and tools.

(Source: http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Mi-Oc/Navigation-at-Sea-History-of.html )

Arts n’ Craft

On Arts n’ Craft we pay tribute to a fellow art lover. Yes friends another artist has fallen, he lays down his pastels and pencils. He’s loved by many but known by few, the guy I’m writing about is Thulane Terrence also known as “Juba” from Standerton, South-West of Mpumalanga.

Juba studied at Khunjuliwe High School, moved on to Gert Sibande College and after that went on to study at Vaal University of Technology. His passion for drawing started at a very young age when he was in pre-school.

Thulane leaves behind his three siblings; Dumisani “Ray” Sehlako , Lungile Sehlako, Sibusiso Sehlako. He sun raised on the 10th of April 1991 and his sunset on the 7th of August 2014. Below are some of his drawings and I hope you will appreciate them as much as I do, yes he might be gone but his artworks will live forever…

Vintage Tuesday

Let’s look at the brief history of radio. The radio has been the first device to allow for mass communication. It has enabled information to be transferred far and wide, not only nationally wide but internationally as well. The development of the radio began in 1893 with Nikolai Tesla’s demonstration of wireless radio communication in St. Louis, Missouri.

His work laid the foundation for those later scientists who worked to perfect the radio we now use. The man most associated with the advent of the radio is Guglielmo Marconi, who in 1986 was awarded the official patent for the radio by the British
Government.

The early uses of the radio were mainly for maintaining contact between ships out a sea. However, this initial radio was unable to transmit speech, and instead sent Morse code messages back and forth between ships and stations on the land. During time of distress, a sinking ship would use a radio messaged nearby vessels and stations on the land to ask for aid. The radio saw a surge of use during the First World War.

Both sides used the radio to relay messages to troops and top officials as well as people not on the battle front. At the end of the war, President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points was sent to Germany via use of the radio. After the war’s end, with the growth of radio receivers, broadcasting began in Europe and The United States.

(source: Logan Wyman)

http://www.personal.psu.edu/jtk187/art2/radio.htm

Vintage Tuesday

This week on Vintage Tuesday we take a look at vintage/antique furniture. What I love about vintage furniture is that it never ages nor gets out of fashion but contrary it matures with time.

There are a lot of reasons why you should get yourself antique furniture; if you a young couple this might be a less expensive way to fully furnish your house, if you feel like creating that vintage mood in a certain room this is another reason to get yourself vintage furniture…but whatever reason your might have this post will be an eye opener on what to get so take a look at a few vintage samples that will look great for your home…

Check out these places for vintage furniture in johannesburg:

The French Attic
124 Side Rd, Johannesburg 2135
083 267 0041

G2 Furniture
14 3rd St, Johannesburg 2120
011 447 7196

The Collectors Place
Fairview, 2 College St, Johannesburg 2094
083 659 0189

Check List

Its a monday people, this is what happened last week…

Vintage Tuesday was all about your favorite classic car. From Jaguar, Bentley, Benz, Ferrari, the list goes on and on…

Look’n Phly took a look at an urban brand called BUTAN which is simply a re-arrangement of letters in the word BANTU. The brand name pays tribute to their roots and heritage while the re-arrangement of the letters signifies a changed, entirely new mindset and outlook on life in contemporary South Africa.

This week we going buck and we’ll cover new and interesting stuff so do watch out for that…

Look’n Phly

This week we take a look at another urban brand called BUTAN. BUTAN is simply a re-arrangement of letters in the word BANTU. The brand name pays tribute to their roots and heritage while the re-arrangement of the letters signifies a changed, entirely new mindset and outlook on life in contemporary South Africa. It is that fusion between cultural heritage and the present day experience that creates the unique look and feel of the brand.

Butan has been commercially available since early 2006 but has its humble beginnings in 2001 when Julian, the founder of the brand, printed 20 tees for his school mates with a simple design he had sketched in his black book.

For more info follow them on twitter @ButanWear
You can also visit their website at http://www.butanwear.com