Ad HominemArtwork date(s): 2010
- Concept, art director, photography
- Graphic design, font design, layout
Description: Codex with laser cut front cover and black spine.Medium: Modified perfect bound. Colour digital prints on aged paper with laser-cut cardboard interleaves.Measurements: 250mm
Edition: UniqueCategory type: South African Artists Book
Publisher: The artistPages: unpaged
Reference note: The artists states:
'Die algemene beskouing is dat die �kultuur van geweld� wat endemies aan Suid-Afrika is, �n normatiewe eienskap van ons samelewing geword het en dat geweld dikwels gesien word as �n toepaslike middel tot �n doel.
Smith (1993) stel dat, �individuals, feeling powerless or helpless in the face of dramatic social and economic upheaval, frequently symbolically reassert their power through violence in those dimensions of their lives in which they still feel they hold sway. This results in much aggression which, although social or political at root, is expressed through displaced violence within the family and in the home�.
Die verwerping deur heelwat Afrikaners van hierdie nasionalistiese mite is opgeneem in die geskiedskrywing van die laat twintigste eeu. Die skeeftrekking, diskriminasie en geweld van die Apartheidsideologie het nie ruimte gelaat vir Afrikaners om ŉ eie outentieke identiteit vas te l� nie � di� erfenis se oorhoofse tema is ŉ etniese skuldgevoel wat onderstreep word deur kulturele masochisme. Kulturele masochisme ontspring uit aktiewe haat jeens kulturele instellings wat dikwels gesien word as onontkombaar. Heelwat van di� soort haat groei uit die erkenning van magteloosheid teen die werking van hegemoniese kultuurpraktyke. In ŉ poging om hegemoniese norme omver te werp mag ŉ persoon andere se meegevoel of aandag oproep deur die openbare of private oorskryding van samelewingsnorme.
In die lig hiervan ondersoek ons die moontlikheid van die self as Other en other. In hierdie konteks word die projeksie van die self ŉ spie�lrefleksie. Die dubbelsinnige subjekposisie van self as other het angs ten opsigte van identiteit tot gevolg. Strydom doen aan die hand dat, as ŉ eietydse wit Afrikaan van Afrikaanse herkoms, hierdie gedagte versterk word deur die bagasie van ŉ gekonstrueerde kultuurgeskiedenis wat deurspek is met paranoia en masochisme, wat ook die teleologie van kultuur ondermyn.'
The work was exhibited with a set of four framed photographs.
Collection(s): UNISA Art Gallery. A trade version, without the laser cut sections, and titled 'A Verbis Ad Verbera' has been produced. Exhibition notes: Included on the exhibition 'Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page', exhibited at WOORDFEES 2010. Archive Room in JS Gericke Library, University of Stellenbosch, 1st - 6th March 2010; The Gallery of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 15th April - 13th May 2010; the FADA Gallery, Faculty of Art Design and Architecture, University of Johannesburg, 12th � 30th July 2010.
The crowning achievement was that both the Word Festival awards for Visual Arts went to artists of the Transgressions project. Richardt Strydom and Jaco Burger were honoured as best visual artists (with Ad Hominem), and Diane Victor was placed second. This is the first time that the WOORDtroFEES were awarded at the Word Festival.Ref: DP10/27
The cover of the trade version
The cover of the unique version