N. C Manganyi

This is a biography of the South African artist Gerard Sekoto (1913- 1993) who lived , worked and died in Paris. The biography was published in 1996 by Wits University Press . It is a paperback and with its ratherly poorly produced grainy black and white family photographs , the focus falls on the artist and the man, through his South African youth and maturity and through his struggles in Paris and new life in France. The insights of the author Chabani Manganyi as an academic psychologist underpins his perspective. It is all the more interesting for that very reason, as there is no attempt to evaluate the work of Sekoto as an artist. Manganyi knew Sekoto in the 1980's and reading between the lines he too was one of the people who for a variety of reasons, sought to rediscover Sekoto and re-establish the exiled artist as a great son of South Africa, the country of his birth. The various projects to rediscover Sekoto and his works, despite the difficulties of distance , politics and some ambivalence on the part of Sekoto in his declining years , met with success in as much as Sekoto's works were (and still are) now keenly sought after and prices rose wherever they came onto the market. Fame and recognition came almost too late for Sekoto, who died in a home for elderly artists in Paris in 1993. His life had been traumatic , bordering on the tragic but nonetheless a trumph over adversity and the survival of the human spirit . He was a warm, unique , loved and loving person, despite the querulous final years.

The role of Barbara Lindop , a Johannesburg art critic and extraordinary promoter of artists is explored but Manganyi's adjective "housewife" is insulting and unfair. Lindop raised funds tirelessly to promote the work of Sekoto. Lindop herself published the first important serious study of Sekoto's work and the fact that she did so in Sekoto's lifetime was no small accomplishment , whereas the Manganyi biography only appeared 3 years after his death. Not to be side tracked , this is a book about an extraordinary S African who left South Africa in 1947 but remained engaged with the turmoils of the 1960s and 1970s drawing his inspiration from his African roots and the political events of the day. A year spent in Senegal broadened his African outlook and resulted in some fine works.

This year, 2013 , is the centenary of Sekoto's brith into a Christian mission community in the old Transvaal. An important retrospective exhibition ( drawn from 16 collections) of Sekoto's work and papers is on display at the Wits Art Museum in Johannesburg in May. The heartbreak, the love and the poignancy of Sekoto's life and work storyis now accessible and both art works and display cabinets of letters and writing demand close study. It is a magnificent and rewarding exhibition. The arrangement is strongly biographical with works from his early 1930's years as a mission school teacher , to life in Sophiatown District 6 , and Eastwood , to mature works completed in Paris and Senegal all shown. Barbara Lindop is still campaigning for Sekoto as the motivator and driver of the Gerard Sekoto foundation and at the opening of the new exhibition she spoke with warmth and passion about her lifelong commitment to ensuring that the importance of Sekoto the artist is recognized. A breautiful catalogue documents the exhibition, The Manganyi biography is one important voice in the Sekoto story. If you are interested in South African art history and the twists and turns of apartheid politics and wish to know more about Sekoto himself this book is an essential read.… (plus d'informations)