|
|||||
 |
In part 2 September - 3 October 2010 Paula Louw gained her Fine Art Degree at UNISA in 2002 and she completed her MAFA in 2007 with distinction at the University of the Witwatersrand. Louw also has a diploma in Fine Art from the University of Johannesburg, (then Witwatersrand /Pretoria Technikon), gained in 1977. Presently Louw teaches Life Drawing at Wits University to MA Animation students and also works at the Film and Publication Board as an Examiner. artist's statement I use a selection of old machines which are often redundant - old typewriters, firearms or pianos - pulling them apart before attaching the individual components to plexiglass sheets with wire. This renders them quite unusable, different. Caught by wire, the ancient typewriter pieces seem to hold within them unwritten poems, memories, histories, and seem, in a sense, to stop time. They have a type of melancholy that something temporary has, yet still offer an impression of something lasting. Using the gun as a metaphor for violence, its disassembling signals the dismantling of violence. Flanked by Nelson Mandela's inspiring words, it sends out a strong message for reconciliation and non-violence. I am interested in inter-personal communication processes. My work with the typewriters and text speaks of separation and the attempt to connect with others through the use of contemporary communication media like sms or email and how contemporary technology has affected these. With the new technologies, where speed is the key strategy for saving time, language often paradoxically presents as much a hindrance to communication as a pathway for it. Misunderstandings and confusion frequently result from hastily written and much abbreviated texts. The speed and intensity of pace that characterises our use of this technology seems to be in direct opposition to the attitude of reverence and respect and the investment of time with which letter writing was handled in the past. In the days when manual typewriters were used, a slower form of communication demanded greater reverence and respect in our manner of addressing people. When I was a child, my late father was the general manager of Olivetti (typewriters) in South Africa. This has given me a very personal connection with typewriters. My father had an analytical mind and a great love for words and language and read the Shorter Oxford Dictionary for pleasure. Communication with him was difficult and our relationship was a stormy one, and in an odd way this has informed my art.
|
||||
|
Some rain |
.jpg) Some rain, detail |
A simple peace 1 |
 A simple peace 2
|
 Broken aloe |
 Upended aloe |
