Willie Bester
Encyclopedia
Willie Bester is a South Africa
n artist
known for his installations
made of found object
s.
Born in the Montagu
section of Cape Flats
, at the age of ten Bester was required to move to a township
with his family after the area of Montagu was designated under apartheid’s Group Areas Act as appropriate for white people. To earn money, he was forced to leave school after the sixth grade
. Employment was seasonal, and he was sent to a punishment camp because he could not find work for more than a year. Bester became an artist after 1986, when he took art classes at the Community Art Cape Town
. This was the beginning of his career as an artist. Bester lives and works in Kuilsrivier, a suburb of Cape Town.
In May 2008, Bester was involved in a restaurant brawl over racist comments allegedly made by restaurant manager Richard Sterne.
of history.
Bester also created his own house and transformed it into a form of his uncensored artistic expression. The statement it makes is "that by looking past the clichés of everyday life in our country, one will discover the raw energy and inventiveness that give our land and its people their unique character".
One of Bester`s works was sold for £10.000 at a Sotheby's
auction in London.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for his installations
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
made of found object
Found object
A found object, in an artistic sense, indicates the use of an object which has not been designed for an artistic purpose, but which exists for another purpose already. Found objects may exist either as utilitarian, manufactured items, or things which occur in nature...
s.
Life
Born in the Montagu
Montagu
- People with the surname :* Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke of Manchester* Ashley Montagu* Charles Montagu , several persons* Edward Montagu , several persons* Edwin Samuel Montagu* Elizabeth Montagu* Ewen Montagu...
section of Cape Flats
Cape Flats
The Cape Flats is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. To many people in Cape Town, the area is known simply as 'The Flats'....
, at the age of ten Bester was required to move to a township
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
with his family after the area of Montagu was designated under apartheid’s Group Areas Act as appropriate for white people. To earn money, he was forced to leave school after the sixth grade
Sixth grade
Sixth grade is a year of education in the United States and some other nations. The sixth grade is the sixth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 11 – 12 years old...
. Employment was seasonal, and he was sent to a punishment camp because he could not find work for more than a year. Bester became an artist after 1986, when he took art classes at the Community Art Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. This was the beginning of his career as an artist. Bester lives and works in Kuilsrivier, a suburb of Cape Town.
In May 2008, Bester was involved in a restaurant brawl over racist comments allegedly made by restaurant manager Richard Sterne.
Work philosophy
Willie Bester's socially influenced art has reached locales and international audiences alike. His main objective is to record historical happenings in South Africa in his art. He states: "What I try to get behind is why it is so difficult for people to change from their old ways. It hasn't worked out the way I imagined. People who thought they were superior before haven't really changed. I try to find out through studying history what gives people the right to think that way. I try to find a solution, not to be disappointed, to reach an understanding." An icon of South African art, Willie Bester's socially charged art has spoken to local and increasingly international audiences. His main concern is to record events in South Africa in visual terms. By adopting an interesting approach, Bester treats the town as a historical find and uses all kinds of things to make a collageCollage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
of history.
Bester also created his own house and transformed it into a form of his uncensored artistic expression. The statement it makes is "that by looking past the clichés of everyday life in our country, one will discover the raw energy and inventiveness that give our land and its people their unique character".
One of Bester`s works was sold for £10.000 at a Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
auction in London.
Solo exhibitions (selection)
- 1982 Forum, Cavendish Square, Cape Town
- 1991 Gallery International, Cape Town
- 1992 Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
- 1993 South African Association of Art, Cape Town
- 1994 Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
- 1998 Emporain, Dakar
- 1999 Opere Recenti, Studio d'Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy
- 1999 Archivio Della Scuola Romana, Introdotto da Achille Bonito Oliva, Roma, Italy
- 2000 Arte Assortite, Torino
- 2001 Centre D'Art Contemporain, Brussels, Belgium
- 2002 SASOL Museum, Stellenbosch
- 2003 Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town
- 2005 34 LONG, Cape Town
- 2007 Montagu Museum
- 2008 Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town
- 2009 Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg
Group exhibitions (selection)
- 1989 Baxter Gallery, Cape Town
- 1990 Gallery International, Cape Town
- 1991 Operation Hunger Exhibition, Cape Town
- 1991 - 1992 ZABALAZA FESTIVAL, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford
- 1992 Primart Gallery, Cape Town
- 1993 Venice Biennale, INCROCI DEL SUD: An exhibition of works by 27 contemporary South African Artists
- 1993 - 1994 INCROCI DEL SUD, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
- 1994 UN ART CONTEMPORIAN D'AFRIQUE DU SUD, Galerie De L'Esplanade, La Defence, Paris
- 1995 DIALOGUES OF PEACE, Exhibition for the UN's 50th Anniversary, Palaise Des Nations, Geneva
- 1996 Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
- 1996 Contemporary Art from South Africa, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
- 1997 Galleria d'Art Moderna e Contemporanea di San Marino, San Marino
- 1998 Biennale de l'Art Contemporian, Dakar, Senegal
- 1999 Claiming Art Reclaiming Space, National Museum of African Art, Washington DC.
- 2000 Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
- 2001 Barcelona Contemporary Cultural Center, Spain
- 2002 Passport to South Africa, Centro Culturale "Trevi", Bolzano, Italy
- 2003 Suidoos Festival, Peninsula Technikon 'Coexistence- Contemporary Cultural Production in South African' Rose Art Museum, USA
- 2004 Africa Remix - Düsseldorf, Museum Kunst Palast: 24 July - 7 November 2004
- 2005 London, Hayward Gallery
- 2006 Tokio, Mori Art Museum
- 2007 Rocca di Castagnoli, Biennale Internazionalr dÁrt, Italy
- 2009 34 LONG FINE ART, Cape Town
Literature
- House, Gloria, Alison Kenzie, und Art Gallery of Windsor. Willie Bester: apartheid laboratory : Art Gallery of Windsor, February 24-June 17, 2007. Art Gallery of Windsor, 2008.
- Lee, Donvé. Willie Bester: art as a weapon. Awareness Publishing, 2008.