Made it to Joburg!

I got in Saturday evening. Jill Ross was so kind to pick me up from the airport and put me up for a couple of days. Sunday, Jill, Kate (also a new to David Krut Projects) and I went on a tour to see works public works done by Hannelie Coetzee. This lead us into an amazing abandoned post office, a huge building in downtown Joburg that burned down in 1998. They've begun to reconstruct it and it is destined to become the new mayor's office. 

 On Sunday I also ran into a familiar face. This mural of Jan Van Riebeck was painted by none of than Gaia.

Monday was spent orienting myself to the DKP Arts on Main location in the Maboneng Precinct. I made myself useful when possible but spent most of the day sponging up as much as I could about the work being made there, where everything goes and how the workflow runs. 

Tuesday was great, I spent a good chuck of the day handling William Kentridge prints. He came into the workshop to sign the finished editions and I was able to introduce myself. I couldn't help but be a bit starstruck. David invited us to go along to see William's studio and check out the sculptures he is working on at the moment that will soon be cast in bronze.

Assembling prints

Some assembled and signed prints

Mlungisi brought over some finished prints to dry and be assembled.

One quarter of the workshop (interior spaces are hard to photograph without a ladder, no?)

And today, I assisted Talya in proofing plates to be editioned (we hit just about every possible printmaking speedbump) 

In the afternoon Talya took me to see a closed down letterpress shop called Calrose Typesetters. The shop suffered burglaries that left them without any matrixes for their Ludlow, Intertype and Monotype machines. Jill, Talya and I ae rallying David to purchase the shop however it is unlikely that DKP will save the type-producing machines and will rather stick to saving the type and the Vandercook SP15 that are cooped up in the shop. Who knows where the wind blows...

Always nice to see a familiar face

Intertype machines, though fascinating are hard to save because they are complicated and heavy pieces of machinery that very few people know how to use or have the need to use. Its a sad story. If you're interested at all you should check out the documentary about Linotype machines called Linotype The Film http://www.linotypefilm.com/

They have twin Monotype machines in a little room with a big window

Ways to tell that letterpress was a man's world: Wall of Boobs

Bahahahaha