Kendell Geers - Katalog

Edited byClive Kellner

with essays byNicolas BourriaudLaurent DevèzeKaterina GregosClive KellnerAnitra Nettleton

and a conversation between Kendell Geers and William Kentridgemoderated by Okwui Enwezor

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Contents

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ForewordOkwui Enwezor

Kendell Geers (1988 — 2012)Clive Kellner

The Perversity of My Birth: The Birth of My PerversityKendell Geers

Kendell Geers: A Proletarian GnosisNicolas Bourriaud

On the Aesthetic and Political Language of Art: A Conversation between Kendell Geers and William KentridgeModerated by Okwui Enwezor

On the Political in Kendell Geers’ Early Work, 1988 — 2000 Katerina Gregos

(With Your) Back to the Wall: The Murals of Kendell Geers Anitra Nettleton

Kendell Geers, or the Denial of the Evident Laurent Devèze

List of Works in the Exhibition

Photo Credits

Authors’ Biographies

Colophon

7

Foreword

Kendell Geers: 1988 — 2012 adds to the growing corpus of important monographic exhibitions that Haus der Kunst has dedicated to living artists at di! erent stages in their careers. From the mid-career retrospective—as is the case with this exhibition, which examines the work of the South African artist Kendell Geers—to early-career exhibitions to late-career surveys; or the thematic elucidation of par-ticular areas of an artist’s oeuvre, the museum has made analytical devotion to the work of living artists a principle of its commitment to contemporary art and artists. We are therefore proud, that Kendell Geers: 1988 —2012, the fi rst comprehensive survey of the work of Geers—one of South Africa’s most acclaimed artists—is being presented at Haus der Kunst. As an artist who was born and grew up under the pernicious legacy of apartheid in South Africa, Geers at a very early stage in his career understood that the idea of the artist as an autonomous individual in a troubled society stained by inequality, segregation, racism, and oppression, was di" cult to rec-oncile with the harsh, repressive context of apartheid in which he and several generations of South Africans lived remarkably separate lives. The practice of art, then, o! ered Geers not only a platform to challenge the specifi c conditions of the apartheid state; more importantly, art o! ered him a lan-guage with which to establish a position of critical ad-dress. It was in the crucible of collective activism as a university student and in solitary isolation as an artist (both instances shaped on the street) in Johannesburg in the mid-1980s that he began to develop his voice. The result, across more than two decades of prolifi c practice has been a profusion of art that can be quietly refl ective and rigorous, but also provocative and incendiary. Brook-ing no protocols of the proper, Geers—through his fero-cious intelligence—has used the occasions of art-making to interrogate power and ideology. In his incisive and passionate art, he has specifi cally focused on thinking about the profound place of art and the position of the artist in the context of political emergency, social crisis, the psychic toll exerted by the legacy of apartheid, and the spiritual desert created by exile from his country of origin. Geers left South Africa in 2000 and moved to Europe. He lived briefl y in Leipzig before fi nally set-tling in Brussels, where he currently resides. The two experiences, home and exile, form the backbone of this

retrospective exhibition. Conceived in two chronological parts (1988 — 2000 and 2000 — present), and partitioned between two geographical as well as psychic spaces (South Africa and Europe) the exhibition—organized so sensitively by guest curator Clive Kellner—explores the di! ering sensibilities, concepts, strategies, formats, and materials used by Geers while living in South Africa; and the shift in attitude and formal language produced by his presence in Europe. Nevertheless, the exhibition does not attempt a syn-thesis of these two cleaved parts, each with their enigmas and resolutions. Rather, through acts of subtle displace-ments and positioning, Kellner has engineered an exhi-bition of sensory, visual, physical, and conceptual think-ing. His exhibition—which opens with the open terrain of the historical archive as porous memory and as always incomplete—presents a sequence of overlapping temporal and historical registers through a tour of all periods and genres of Geers’ practice in sculpture, installation, phot-ography, video, and performance. The result is sometimes visually low-key and at other times physically demanding, but still exhilarating. With this exhibition, Haus der Kunst continues the tradition of rigorous analysis of the artist’s oeuvre, placing a critical spotlight on the challenges and plea-sures the work of art brings. Making all this possible has required the critical support and cooperation of many lenders, including museums, foundations, and private collections in South Africa, Europe, and Australia. Pierre Lombart, Gordon Schachat, Xavier Huyberechts, FrancoisPinault, Museum Africa, Hector Pieterson Museum, Mor-dant Family Collection and others have kindly extended loans’ work Geers to this project. We thank them enor-mously. The exhibition would not have been possible with-out the active participation of Lorenzo Fiaschi and Alice Fontanelli at Galleria Continua, San Gimignano / Beijing /Le Moulin; Liza Essers at Goodman Gallery, Johannes-burg / Cape Town; Rodolphe Janssen at Galerie RodolpheJanssen, Brussels and Stephen Friedman and David Hubbard at Stephen Friedman Gallery, London. With the galleries’ support we have tracked down works in vari-ous collections and fi lled gaps in information necessary to form a fuller picture of the artist. We also extend to the four galleries our gratitude for their generous funding support to the project.

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Okwui Enwezor

We are especially pleased to have worked with Clive Kellner who, as a curator and longstanding collaborator of Kendell Geers, perhaps like no one else, knows the art-ist’s work with the depth of insight required to bring the exhibition successfully on stream. Working with Clive has been a singular pleasure. It goes without saying that ev-ery work of art and the career of an artist require the particular knowledge and insight that interpreters of that work can bring. Typically the exhibition catalog serves as the historical index in the course of analysis and inter-pretation. For this Nicolas Bourriaud, Laurent Devèze, Katerina Gregos, and Anitra Nettleton have each contrib-uted essays of depth and clarity. Important thanks go to William Kentridge for his participation and eloquence in a conversation with Geers, which I was only too pleased to moderate. Others have played a crucial role in shaping the publication, not least of which are the artist and cura-tor. We thank Kendell Geers’ wife Cendrine du Welz who assisted and supported the exhibition and catalog pro-duction in immeasurable ways, and Anna Schneider, who served as the catalog’s assistant editor and worked in close collaboration with the authors, the curator, the artist, the designer, the publisher, and the copyeditor. We thank as the book’s designer Chris Goennawein for the clear visual programm of the catalog; Katharina Haderer,editor-in-chief of Prestel; and our incomparable copy-editor Monica Rumsey. The members of the Haus der Kunst’s exhibition planning and production team have been indispensable to this project. With their usual professional care they have made the exhibition seem both e! ortless and engag-ing. For this, thanks are due to Tina Köhler, head of ex-hibition production and planning; Anton Köttl, technical director; Cassandre Schmid, registrar; and Sophie Remig, exhibition assistant, who closely tracked every facet of the installation and production. Finally, we are grateful to Kendell Geers for his col-laboration on this important exhibition project and thank him for his patient dedication, working with members of the museum’s sta! to see through all aspects of its pro-duction. It is my hope that this exhibition and the publi-cation that accompanies it will bring further insight into understanding Geers’ work and its relationship to South Africa and the world at large.

Okwui EnwezorDirector Haus der Kunst

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Out of Africa, 1994

Foreword

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1988S

outh

Afr

ica

Counting Out Song (a.k.a. Tyre)

64

1994S

outh Africa

T.W. Batons (Spiral)

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Sou

th A

fric

a1994

T.W. Batons (Pentagram)

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1995S

outh

Afr

ica

Self Portrait

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1999

T.W. (Deployed)

Sou

th A

fric

a

72

1999

Suburbia 70

South A

frica

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1999S

outh

Afr

ica

Suburbia 73

2008

Mutus Liber 50

Eu

rop

e

158

2005E

uro

pe

Twilight of the Idols (Fetish) 3

159

2005E

uro

pe

Fuckface

161

2007E

uro

pe

Manifest

180

2007E

uro

pe

Temene

181

Eu

rop

e

2008

PostPunkPaganPop

187

2010E

uro

pe

Saint Johns Pendulum

199

2010E

uro

pe

Master Mistress of my Passion VI

201


Brick

1988Xerox on brick, tape10 ! 22 ! 17 cmEdition 5 + 2 APPrivate Collection

Counting Out Song (a.k.a. Tyre)

1988Spray-paint on tyre115 ! 108 ! 108 cm (x 2)Edition 5 + 2 APCollection the artist

Death Certifi cate

1988Situation (death certifi cate)21 ! 29 cmPrivate Collection

Suitcase

1988"Xerox on suitcase, tape64 ! 31.5 ! 15 cmEdition 5 + 2 APCollection the artist

Title Withheld (June Seventy Six)

1988Situation10.3 ! 10.2 cmEdition 10 + 2 APCollection the artist

After Liberty 2

1989Rectifi ed postcardEdition 5 + 2 AP10 ! 15 cmPrivate Collection

After Liberty 3

1989Rectifi ed postcard15 ! 10.5 cmEdition 5 + 2 APPrivate Collection

Possession

1989Marker pen on newspaper10 newspaper sheets each approx. 58 ! 38 cm Private Collection

Bloody Hell, Version 2

1990C-print102 ! 62 cmEdition 10 + 2 APCollection the artist

Hanging Piece

1993Bricks, ropeDimensions variable

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

1993Performance/Photograph101.8 ! 72.1 cmEdition 10 + 2 APCollection the artist

T.W. (Exported)

1993 Razor wire fence (Situation) Edition 3 + 2 APDimensions variablegordonschachtcollection, South Africa

T.W. (Flatwrap)!

1993Found object (Flat Wrap / Razormesh)Edition 5 + 2 AP57 ! 57 ! 57 cmCollection the artist

Title Withheld (Vitrine)

1993Situation/Performance, Vitrine, brick, debrisEdition 5 + 2 APCollection the artist

Untitled (1976), 1976 — 1993"Found object (1976 autopsy register)43 ! 33 ! 7 cmMuseum Africa, Johannesburg

Untitled (ANC, AVF, AWB, CP, DP, IFP,

NP, PAC, SACP)

1993 — 1994Performance (9 political party membership cards)Collection the artist

Corner Piece

1994Situation (Security signs and tape)200 ! 200 ! 200 cmCollection the artist

Cultural Weapons (28 March 1994)

1994Weapons used in Shell House Massacre 28 March, 1994104.5 ! 19 ! 8.5 cmPrivate Collection

Out of Africa

1994Latex Mandela mask and camoufl age jacketDimensions variableCollection the artist

T.W. Batons (Circle)

199424 police batons170 ! 170 cmEdition 3 + 2 APCollection the artist

T.W. Batons (Spiral)

199427 police batons195 ! 195 cmEdition 3 + 2 AP

All works courtesy the artist; Galleria Continua, San Gimignano / Beijing / Le Moulin; Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg / Cape Town;

Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels; Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

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By Any Means Necessary

1995SituationDimensions variableCollection the artist

Self Portrait

1995Found object (original destroyed on TWA Flight 800)5.5 ! 11.6 cmEdition 12 + 2 APgordonschachtcollection, South Africa

48 hrs

1997 — 1999Situation (wallpaper)Dimensions variableSeries of 7 unique panelsFrançoise Pinault Foundation

My Traitor’s Heart

1998Sca# olding, 12 TVs, 12 DVD PlayersDimensions variableEdition 3 + 2 APCIAC, Colección Isabel y Agustín Coppel, Mexico

Plato’s Cave

1999C-print102 ! 70.5 cmEdition 10 + 2 APCollection the artist

Suburbia

1999 — 200180 C-printsEdition 5 + 2 AP30.5 ! 40.5 cm eachCollection the artist

TerroRealismus

2003 Brick, cement, glass, neon, aluminium300 ! 800 ! 800 cmEdition 3 + 2 AP Collection the artist

Fuckface

2005 Spray paint on human skull22 ! 14 ! 15 cmMordant Family Collection, Australia

BE/LIE/VE

2006Mural Dimensions variableEdition 3 + 2 AP

Post Pop Fuck 22

2006Wall paintingDimensions variableEdition 3 + 2 AP

Cadavre Exquis

2007Spray paint on resin cast from Nike de Samothrace, Louvre320 ! 170 ! 200 cm

Fuckface (Kendell Geers)

2007C-print 150 ! 111 cmgordonschachtcollection, South Africa

Manifest

2007Neon300 ! 270 cmEdition 3 + 2 APYvon Lambert, Paris

Typhonic Beast 1

2007Spray paint on hippopotamus skull 77 ! 55 ! 34 cmYvon Lambert, Paris

Typhonic Beast II

2007Spray paint on walrus skull77 ! 55 ! 45 cmPrivate Collection

Obelisk

2008Concrete and glass349 ! 75 ! 75 cm

PostPunkPaganPop

2008Installation (razor mesh and mirror)Dimensions variable

Four Letter Portrait (Evil)

2009Plexiglass mirror100 ! 67 cm

Four Letter Portrait (Fate)


Four Letter Portrait (Fear)


Four Letter Portrait (Fire)


Four Letter Portrait (Fuck)


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Four Letter Portrait (Gift)


Four Letter Portrait (Give)


Four Letter Portrait (Gyre)


Four Letter Portrait (Hate)


Four Letter Portrait (Host)


Four Letter Portrait (Kill)


Four Letter Portrait (Late)


Four Letter Portrait (Life)


Four Letter Portrait (Live)


Four Letter Portrait (Lost)


Four Letter Portrait (Luck)


Four Letter Portrait (Lust)


Four Letter Portrait (Play)


Four Letter Portrait (Prey)


Four Letter Portrait (Sale)


Four Letter Portrait (Sign)


Four Letter Portrait (Take)


Four Letter Portrait (Time)


Four Letter Portrait (Veil)


Four Letter Portrait (West)


Four Letter Portrait (Clit)


Four Letter Portrait (Will)


Country of My Skull IX

2010Indian ink and gesso on human skull and wood 12 ! 12.5 ! 22 cm

In Advance of a Broken Arm

2010Painted bronze and chain81 ! 20 ! 8 cm

Master Mistress of My Passion VII

2010Jesmonite and glass160 ! 80 ! 80 cm

Monument to the F Word X 2010Stainless steel, chain128 ! 25 ! 25 cm

Monument to the F Word XI

2010Bronze 100 ! 25 ! 25 cm

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Saint Johns Pendulum

2010Painted bronze, nails, and chain60 ! 20 ! 20 cmPrivate Collection France

Flesh of the Shadow Spirit 58

2011Resin150 ! 51 ! 51 cm

Four Letter Protest (After Daniel Buren)

Performance2011Collection the artist

PrayPlayPreyPay

2011Bronze, concrete, handcu# s16 ! 43 ! 43 cmEdition 5 + 2 AP

Age of Iron L

2012Rust on Paper200 ! 130 cm

Age of Iron LI


Age of Iron LII


Age of Iron LIII


Arrested Development (Spiral)

201224 Murano glass police batons170 ! 170 cm

Kaput Mortum XVI

2012Plaster of Paris cast, bottle caps15 ! 17.5 ! 20 cmPrivate Collection

T.W. (CV)

1652 — 2013SituationDimensions variableCollection the artist

Title Withheld (Kendell Geers)

1968 — ?Performance/SituationWork will be auctioned upon the death of the artistCollection the artist

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Photo Credits

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162 / 163166174175176177

180 / 181190 / 191192 / 193

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210 / 211213214215

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