Auntie Virus, 460 x 310 mm ink, pastel, board, cotton thread, rubber 2019 Hannalie Taute

Greetings from this ‘stranger in a strange land’ and it seems to just get stranger by the minute!

As you’ve probably heard, a lot of events have been cancelled due to the pandemic we face. I am in the process of producing work for upcoming exhibitions in April, May, July and August, but with uncertainty breathing down our necks we don’t know if these exhibitions will be cancelled or not.

She always wanted to be a bad girl 92 x 64 cm cotton thread and rubber 2018

With that said, Karen Zoid (South African rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, talk show host and patron of the arts) launched an online “Art Auction” on her Facebook page yesterday.

Some of my works (featured here- are included in this ‘online – experiment.)

While I’m not an active Facebook user myself, I am able to send you a link:

You can check out the auction here:

https://www.facebook.com/karenzoidofficial/

The bidding closes today 18 March 2020 at 20h00 – South African time)

The bids started at ZAR19 only! Yes, serious.! Now a lot of people might frown upon this because “what about ‘market price’ and unrealistic bids on the stature of the artist” but this train of thought reminded me about the ‘outsider’ artist Scottie Wilson who

  After receiving recognition for his work in Toronto, he abruptly went to London in 1945 and continued to exhibit his drawings for modest fees  Wilson’s rejection of commercialism was unabated, however, and he continued to sell his work on the street for a minute fraction of the prices the gallery owners were asking. He said of the working-class customers he attracted, “They’re the intellect, you know”

and

“Though conventional art galleries were taking interest in selling Wilson’s work, he wasn’t always fond of parting with his drawings. He would at times rent out vacant store fronts to display his pictures, or hang them in a bus, but not necessarily to sell. Instead, Wilson would charge admission for looking at his work, challenging anyone to find anything else like it in the world.”

Is it a good idea? Who knows. Nothing seems certain anymore.

In the meantime I baked my first bread from scratch yesterday, and that made me feel very happy. Also I will continue to create embroideries and I plan to spend more time in the garden to grow our own food. Should I be teaching my sons the art of survival instead of worrying about the schools that are closing for a longer period?  If push come to shove…should we be prepared to survive like Bear Grylls?

Just asking.

But there are still bills to be paid for now, so the show must go on somehow!

Remember to sleep with your eyes open 2016 (photographer Kleinjan Groenewald)

You snooze you loose, but lets hope its not a sneeze 😉 because this might just be a favorable time to start your art collection. ❤

“Support for the arts — merde! A government-supported artist is an incompetent whore!”
― Robert A. Heinlein, from the book “Stranger in a strange land”

Here is some advice to the art sector from an art website (*):

To help you continue to sell art during this time, here is a list of things you can do to serve collectors as best you can:

• • If you cannot accept shipped artworks at this time, please let us know
• manage collector expectations about shipping times.

Many artists, patrons and art institutions are personally affected by this crisis.

The world needs art more than ever, so in the meantime, collectors are encouraged to continue supporting the art sector.  It will keep artists going during these challenging times. We’re so grateful for each of you.

Stay safe and well!

*P.S one gallery that is still up and running is .MContemporary in Australia and they are open for viewing….see previous posts or contact them for a full catalogue!