Route 67 - New Artwork

This weekend Suzie and I went to the Donkin to check out the latest artwork, which turned out to be a very cheerful piece of work. I still need to find out the name of the artist and the name of the work.

Close-up of some of the panels, which I believe are made from the caps of medicine bottles.

Route 67, is an amazing project displaying street art from the Campanile near the harbour, to the Nelson Mandela Bay Art Museum at St Georges Park. It was named in honour of the 67 years that Nelson Mandela contributed to South African politics and the struggle to eradicate apartheid.

Playing in the rain - or should that be painting

One of favourite photographic pastimes is jumping in the car on a stormy night and seeing what  pictures I can create through the windscreen. I was very tradition in my approach to photography but now I don't mind the blurry and indistinct, in its place. If that's what I see through the windscreen, then why not capture it - I am often surprised by the results.

This one was taken in Suffolk Street in Richmond Hill.

Taxi art #2 - Route 67

Last night I went on a photographic jaunt to look for some material for the Pentax World Day. My natural inclination was to head for Central and imagine my delight when I saw the "taxis" on Route 67 were lit up. For once there were no cars illegally parked, which meant that I could use the no parking area at the Opera House and and get some shots.

Then as I was leaving I saw an opportunity that was too good to miss and lady luck provided me with an open parking spot further down the hill. And then with a chatty car guard in tow, I captured the taxi "parked" on the Land Rover.

He added a new meaning to the term "chimping" as he wanted to see all the shots and then called over the security guard, from the Opera House, to have a look as well. They were intrigued that I had conceived of the idea to park the "taxi" on the roof of the Land Rover.

"Are you a designer," I was asked.

"No," I replied, "just an enthusiastic amateur photographer."

With that we said our farewells and I continued on my quest.

Taxi art - Route 67

I have decided to keep with the Route 67 theme, with this fleet of mini bus taxis coming up Whites Road opposite the opera house.

In keeping with reality these taxis come complete with scratches and dents.

Skywatch Friday - Route 67

This is one of the new sculptures along Route 67 in Port Elizabeth, but I am not sure what it is called or what it represents. If I have to venture a guess, the loops represent the voting line and propellers the crosses on ballot papers from the 1994 elections. I'll have to check this out.

Anyway it is one of 67 Public Art Works commissioned to symbolise Nelson Mandela’s 67 years of work dedicated to the Freedom of South Africa. 

This is what it looks like when you lie on your back on the sidewalk

I was on my feet when I took this shot, trying to get a good angle.

Skywatch provides links to many great pictures from around the world. Pop in you won't be disappointed.

Skywatch Friday - A bright day in Nelson Mandela Bay

The new look ArtEC building has become a symbol of urban renewal in Central, where many of the old buildings have been allowed to fall into decay. The mural was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency as part of the Route 67 - the art route that starts at the Campanile and ends at the Nelson Mandela Bay Art Museum. This route will put Port Elizabeth firmly on the map as far as street art goes, but that will be a subject for another day.

I just love the way the colours of the building are enhanced by the blue of the early morning sky.

Visit Skywatch for many more great pictures from around the world.

Night shoot

Last night I wandered around Central after the opening of an art exhibition at arTEC taking a few pictures on the way. It was what I call a "hit and run" photography session. With no one to watch my back I set my camera on ISO 1600 and proceeded to shoot away and then move on.

The arTEC building mural has become a must see feature in Central. One day I will photograph it in the day light.

The Donkin, with Anton Momberg's Conversation Piece in the foreground.

The Feather Market Hall was built in the days when ostrich feathers were used in high fashion, rather than as feather dusters.

artEC Mural

The artEC (formerly the Eastern Province Society for Arts and Crafts) building, in Bird Street has recently undergone a major facelift, with a mural done by Gabriel Chipondo and Bongani Njalo. The pictures are all of people who line and work in the area.

The building is already becoming a a popular backdrop for photographic shoots.

More black and white - Sculpture

A different look at the at the sculpture, by Anton Momberg, at the Donkin, where public art has taken on a new meaning.

The power of the pen and the brush

"We lose them they expand" is one of the latest paintings completed by Sue. This is one of a series of paintings in a collaborative project of art and poetry, between her and Nox Mafu, who is currently resident in New York.

The painting is a graphic representation of one of Nox's poems about a traumatic incident that happened during the apartheid years in South Africa, when a number of demonstrators were killed in the former Ciskei. This is one of my favourite paintings in the series.

What is so amazing about this project is that is has been put together by two south African women from totally different backgrounds who met on Face Book.

If you want to see more, Sue has posted pictures of the paintings and accompanying poems on her blog site Arty Farty Musings.

Public Art

Public art is coming to the Donkin in a big way, but at this stage only one piece has been completed. How would you rate this sculpture by Anton Momberg?

Serious art?

or fun art?

Dentin' our heritage

On Tuesday night the exhibition on Historic Port Elizabeth opened at EPSAC. My favourite artist, Suzi-k, together with artist Velia Offerman and photographer Bob Binnell put together an execellent collection of oil paintings, water colours and photographs of historical Port Elizabeth.



The exhibition generated a lot of interest and I have seldom seen the gallery filled with so many people. Quite obviously the preservation of our historical heritage is close to the hearts of many Port Elizabethans. Click here to see more of Suzie-k's paintings.

Houses in Central


Historical Port Elizabeth refers to Central, which has a wealth of the old houses and buildings, but has unfortunately it has also seen the influx of unscrupulous landlords, criminals and anti-social elements. And this is where the story shifts gear, because this is not an art review, but rather a commentary on the fight between the preservation and degradation of our heritage.

Aftermath of the Great Storm of 1902


There were a lot of Central campaigners at the exhibition, but I want to single out two stalwarts.

At the forefront of the rejuvenation and preservation drive is Pierre Voges, the CEO of the Mandela Bay Development Agency which has been mandated to upgrade the Central area. Pierre is doing a great job of upgrading the inner city. The first major project was the upgrade of Govan Mbeki Avenue we took a walk down there recently and it is really a pleasure going into the od CBD again.

Then there was the “protector”. Jeremy Davis, the Democratic Alliance, City Councilor, who works tirelessly to protect the interests of Central. He has a no nonsense approach to dealing with any issue that negatively impacts the area and is loved by those who are passionate about Central and hated by those who are out to “destroy” it.

Amidst this august group, imagine our surprise when slum lord Ken Denton arrived – he is not at the forefront of the popularity stakes. When the Irish billionaire started buying up property in Central some years back, we saw this as a vote of confidence in the city and expected to see the area being upgraded. How wrong we were. The exact opposite has occurred – many of the buildings have fallen into a shocking state of disrepair, some have been burnt out and many bricked up to keep out vagrants. Despite his promises to repair the buildings I have seen no evidence of this – one can only speculate as to his motives.

A prime example is the row of historical houses on the Donkin Terrace. These houses have been declared national monuments and were lovingly restored by the late Dr Nick Woolf some years back.



Once one on the show pieces of Port Elizabeth, sadly this is what the Donkin Terrace has been reduced to.



A few close ups



Of course we were unaware of the drama playing out behind the scenes between Jeremy Davis and Ken Denton at the exhibition. Headlines in today’s Herald thanks to the efforts of Jeremy Davis.



If we had known that Denton was going to be there Suzi-k could have done a special painting of one of his buildings - just for him. Who knows, maybe he will catch some of the passion we have for Central after coming to the exhibition.
Hats off to those who fight so tirelessly for the preservation of Central - we take pride in our city and will not tolerate those intent on bringing it down.

Fine Art

Life is not all about adventures in the wild and fishing trips. I also indulge in the more cultural aspects of life as well, like going to the opening of this art exhibition with Sue on Friday night at EPSAC.

The Eastern Province Society of Arts and Crafts is situated in a historical building in Central, Port Elizabeth. Its 90th Anniversary will be celebrated next year with some exciting and relevant exhibitions already planned.



The artist whose exhibition was due to open on Friday evening flew in from an overseas trip and decided she was too tired and jet lagged to hang the exhibition. A call went out to some of the local artists to step in at the last minute and I think the result turned out to be a very succesful joint exhibition.

This abstract, "Wise men came from the East" was painted by my favourite artist. My home is full of her work, in different stages of completion. Sue gave up her interior design business earlier this year after much soul searching, to be a full time artist and has been doing some fantastic work.



The painting below called, "In war no one wins", is part of a series on the futility of war.

As explaned by Sue " This is a theme I have been exploring for a while, basically on the surface they are black and white abstracts, with red poppies. But if one cares to look deeper, there is a statement there about good versus evil and the chaos and futility of war, leading to such pointless loss of lives, symbolised by the poppies used to commemorate Flanders".
(My Wednesday ABC theme this week will also cover this subject)

See more of her work at arty-farty-musings



These paintings were done by Esme Goosen. Until recently she was an art teacher and has also become a full time artist. She has a distinctive style and a brilliant use of colour.



This is a striking work in mixed media by Bev de Lange. I cannot remember the title, but it struck me as being a statement on global warming.