Dear Msholozi, As a nationalist and long-time supporter of the African National Congress, I am disturbed by reports that the SA Communist Party regards you as their useful idiot to help them get – and keep – their hands on the levers of state power. Are these reports...
murray
The Emperor is naked | by Njabulo S Ndebele
A reincarnated Hans Christian Andersen may have painted The Spear for those denying the testimony of their eyes ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes” is one of the most enduring tales by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of a fashion-obsessed Emperor who has no time...
The Royal Society’s tunnel vision on population and poverty | reviewed by Ian Angus
People and the Planet. Royal Society Science Policy Centre Report. The radical ecologist Murray Bookchin once compared populationism to a phoenix, the mythical bird that periodically burns up and is reborn from its own ashes. No matter how often the “too many people”...
Dignity of the black man must be restored – ANCWL | by Troy Martens
NEC expresses sentiment of deep pain and betrayal at Brett Murray portrait RE: ANCWL POST POLICY WORKSHOP MEDIA BRIEFING* NEC MEETING OUTCOMES The ANCWL has had an extremely busy weekend, starting on Friday with a very productive NEC meeting at the Airport Grand Hotel...
Freedom vs dignity in art debate | by Nickolaus Bauer
How far can artists go in satirising or sending up the powerful? That is the essence of the brouhaha over Brett Murray’s contentious The Spear painting depicting President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed in a pose reminiscent of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin....
Mike van Graan on The Spear | by Mike Van Graan
Brett Murray's The Spear, a picture of President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed, mimics the pose of the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin in a Soviet-era propaganda poster. Politicians, whenever they are exposed for having said something offensive, often...
Murray Explains Why He Painted “The Spear” | by Brett Murray
“At the outset, I would like to say that I am a proud South African and a former supporter of the ANC. I am not a racist. I do not produce art with an intention to hurt, humiliate or insult, and that includes the painting that has caused this controversy. I...
The Spear | by Steven Robbins
BRETT Murray’s The Spear has generated an extraordinary amount of media and political commentary, social media twittering, marches and protests, including the defacing of the painting itself. The rage expressed by many in response to the depiction of the private parts...
