This art piece was unveiled as part of FNB’s “21 years of freedom” initiative to celebrate the effect that Nelson Mandela has had on the world since his release from prison. FNB invited people to submit tributes to Madiba so that they could be compiled into a book which would be given to his family along with the artwork. The piece was unveiled on the 21st of June, as part of a celebration for FNB clients, contributors as well as 21 icons including: John Kani, Philip Tobias, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, PJ Powers and Zapiro.
I don’t think I have ever enjoyed getting lost in my work as much as I did when working on this piece.
We got to read some of the tributes before the event. The ones we saw all described the profound effect that Mandela has had on the world, but each went on to specify how influential he is on a personal level too. The idea of freedom was a common thread, but the tributes all went a little deeper: I consistently found reference to the fact that Mandela’s journey and the struggles in his life have forged a path for us, giving us the freedom to choose paths of our own.
The Thembu expression, (and the title of the piece) “Ndiwelimilambo enamagama” encapsulates this beautifully: It refers to a person who has crossed many rivers, or more specifically a person who has crossed famously named rivers. This concept seemed to echo everyone’s sentiments; because it essentially implies that hardship, like a river, can be crossed, forded and even bridged by great men so that others may follow.
The biggest challenge you face when portraying such an amazing person is to simply find a way to house all your ideas. The format became a combination of both an intimate portrait and a monumental landscape.
As a person who shares in Nelson Mandela’s awe of our beautiful country I felt it was important to set a scene he would approve of. I wanted to paint a potentially treacherous landscape in the most serene way, in order to show how Madiba’s amazing outlook makes everything seem surmountable. Making the piece a mindscape as much as a landscape also allowed me exaggerate wide rivers and high mountains but still echo the familiar look of the Eastern Cape; a place I understand is close to Nelson Mandela’s heart.
The vista had to be balanced with finer detail to incorporate some of the more specific stories and references that are so synonomous with Madiba. If you look closely at his shirt and in the landscape these may become apparent.
It was an honour to be able to share in peoples’ thoughts through the making of the piece as well as on the night. If it is one thing that this has taught me it is that visual art should be as much about listening as it is about seeing.
We often post progressions of our work: we record the evolution of every art piece for two reasons:
Firstly if we scan, and re-create a digital version of every little step we are able to make pretty much anything from the artwork: A finished custom art piece can be animated, applied to a range of collateral or used set the precedent for other interior works.
Secondly and perhaps more importantly the steps are a record of what our clients have put in and what they subsequently get out of the process:
People have pegged our process as a tool for things as diverse as brand strategy, and executive management teambuilding and it has even been used to facilitate business development. We say it is simply using art to bring people together to visualise what they can’t verbalise.
We recently unveiled a triptych for Live Out Loud, an exclusive lifestyle magazine.
We used the process of creating the work to help articulate the relationship between the magazine; which facilitates a unique forum between readers and high-end brands; and the events company which brings it all together with sublime once-in-a-lifetime occasions.
Below are details from the panels and the descriptions from the corresponding plaques.
Live Out Loud – the Mechanism of Moments:
where clock work precision meets sophistication and time stands still For Those Who Can….
Panel 1
Abstracted mechanical workings of precision time pieces:
The behind the scenes aspect to the magazine;
The transition between what you read and what you LIVE!
Panel 2
The magnificent cityscape of high rise buildings;
Each reflecting the subtleties’ of the iconic brands,
that have been a part of the Live Out Loud journey.
Panel 3
The event culminates in a moment of
Glitz, fashion, cars and the glamorous people who…
We work within a completely new genre of communications: a genre which we have helped to originate. We are not bound by trend, best practice or any convention. Instead, we simply utilize the power and immediacy of fine art to address a number of corporate needs, as well as catering for personalized commissions. Our company consists of a talented group of artists who are proficient in many different media – both traditional and non-traditional – and across a wide spectrum of styles.
What would you say is the essential spirit of your company?
Imagine that you could create an artistic rendition of that spirit – projecting precisely those qualities which differentiate you in the market place. Factors such as company culture and corporate personality: your fiscal strengths, your structure – the intelligence, courage and ingenuity of your people. This is precisely the niche area that Glyph is focused on: the uniqueness in our service is in our ability to craft the uniqueness in yours. In achieving these ends, we are fully prepared to employ any medium, or a dynamic mix of media. The artworks we commission are functional and can establish your marketing positioning – making them simultaneously fine art and commercial art.
The idea of using fine art within a corporate context is new – and seems to be almost unlimited in terms of the number of applications which can be successfully implemented. Glyph has undertaken some of the following applications on behalf of a number of South Africa’s Blue Chip companies:
Founded in (2004) by Andrew Robertson and Craig Hazle, Glyph is a company very much in the process of redefining the way we think about commercial art, fine art and the marketing process in general. Prior to the establishment of Glyph, Andrew and Craig had accumulated valuable experience working within advertising, design and commercial art spheres. They wanted to create a company which was diametrically different to anything else in the local market place – and perhaps in the international arena, as well. It looks very much as if they have succeeded.
So what does Glyph actually do? In a nutshell, the company creates custom-made artworks to drive a plethora of corporate campaigns (and also undertakes private commissions). Looking at some of their past assignments, one is struck by the fact that so many blue chip companies have bought into their vision. The work might support a positioning statement, or function as a call-to-action or as a means of unifying a vision. According to Craig Hazle, there is an almost infinite number of applications:
‘It could be intended as a motivation starter, a celebration of values, or as either an internal or external communication campaign. Alternatively, it could be utilized for teambuilding, corporate identity or for interior design. One cannot really refer to this as a niche area, because the applications are so widespread.’
Nevertheless, no matter how intricate the project might be, it always begins with the same approach. A clear canvas, an open mind, and some very careful listening. Although Glyph’s methods are informed and strategic, the artists and executives always take a humble approach so that they fully appreciate the vision of the client. After all, the client has a very deep and multi-layered understanding of their own business. Andrew explains:
‘we use the immediacy of a fine art process and the non-verbal power of art to help people visualise what they can’t necessarily verbalise. The process is tailored to simply illicit what you probably already know but have difficulty consolidating. Often our intrinsic strengths, because they come naturally to us are the hardest to express. Our work involves being good listeners first and foremost: using our ears before we put our hands to work.”
Because Glyph is working in a brand new area there are no precedents nor ‘conventional wisdom’ to fall back upon; and so to a great extent – every job is different – anything but formulaic.
The Glyph team like to follow different leads every time they tackle a new project. They insist on working within the medium which best suits the task: rather than relying on the same old default approach.
Glyph is indeed an interesting company and one that certainly offers in infinite palette of possibilities to the market place.
We utilize the power and immediacy of the fine art process to help unify your vision, consolidate your culture and enable you to articulate both.
No matter how intricate the project may be, it always starts with the same elements: a clear canvas, an open mind and some very careful listening. Although our methods are informed and strategic it is our humble approach that enables us to determine your core vision and drive this process. We feel that as the client you have the answers, our process is tailored to help you articulate what you probably already know but can’t verbalise. We recognise that often our intrinsic strengths, because they come naturally to us, are also the hardest things to express.
This is our philosophy and our starting point for creating without limits.
In one way or another everything we do can be seen as an investment. People don’t spend time, money or energy on anything without expecting some kind of return.
This is especially true of relationships, and I think that we tend to lose sight of how much time our clients invest in us. If you consider a long-term relationship to be like a long-term policy in a portfolio, you would expect a greater return just by nature of the fact that you have stuck with it for so long.
The AV that we did for UMT for us is a great example of this. We started out by painting a cityscape for UMT –which you can view here. Through the evolution of the artwork, and our Involve sessions with the UMT team, we also built up parts of the city that existed beyond the frame of the canvas. We have since been able to use the elements from the painting for a number of UMT’s projects, and each time the has grown a little more. When it came to creating an AV we could animate the painting pretty easily and greatly reduce the cost to UMT because most of the work had already been done.
The process works in reverse too: if you consider that an animation runs at 24 frames a second you get an idea of how many new compositions we can turn into interior artworks.
They say less is more, but in this case, we were able to do more for less.
