What Our Judges Said

Pfunzo Sidogi, the National Chairperson for Sasol New Signatures, has been waiting since 2019 (when he was first appointed) to facilitate the team of regional judges based around the country. The pandemic disrupted the competition and artists, and no one could predict how impactful this global health crisis would be on the creative process.

One thing that was clear was that the pandemic was a theme noted by a number of judges. For example, Durban judge, Angela Shaw picked up that Covid and related isolation and alienation was a theme evident in some artworks, and Robyn Sassen (FADA, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg) commented that there are a lot of young people thinking about the implications of Covid on their lives. This was echoed by Sipho Mdanda (Pretoria Art Museum), who identified mental health, trauma and loss, and the effects of the Covid-19 virus on humanity as a dominant theme.

Sidogi told us that he was extremely impressed by the overall standard of work submitted for the 2021 edition of the Sasol New Signatures Competition and that all the regions had had standout entries. A total of 617 entries were submitted and 123 selected to be showcased at the Pretoria Art Museum in November. “Without the superpower of seeing into the future, we all go in blind. But I’m happy to say that the judges have been positive about the high-quality artworks on show. I’m confident that a very strong exhibition will be staged”.

The 2021 entries showed the eclectic and multi-disciplinary character of contemporary art in South Africa. “I’m excited to report that artists tapped into the toolbox of infinite art styles, techniques, and mediums to produce a set of artworks that are fresh, trendy, and bespoke. Some artists incorporated Technology and VR was also explored. This is exciting because it allows the viewer to experience the artwork in multiple modes and interface with mobile devices”. Angela Shaw (Durban) commented that “In general, the good work had sound critical thinking and strong concepts”, and Cedric Vanderlinden, our judge in the Eastern Cape City of Gqeberha was impressed “technically and conceptually”. Janine Allen-Spies (Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein) reflected that the overall quality of submitted work was of a good standard and that entries from the Freestate unpacked important and current themes for artists living in that region including surveillance; security, political turmoil; emerging black identities; trauma; death and the bereaved; materiality and human-machine interaction. Johannesburg Judge Robyn Sassen told us, “I was impressed that there are some obvious ‘outsiders’ in terms of art-making practice, using elements such as sewing, sound art, word art, metaphors from the advertising industry and so on, in their submissions.”

We asked Sidogi about the overall experience of the general judging process. “The standard of judging was exceptionally high. However, I must emphasise that my role as national chairperson is not to act as a judge. But rather, alongside Nandi Hilliard from the Association of Arts Pretoria, our role is to oversee the judging process and to ensure fairness, non-bias, and consensus among the judges.” This means that the competition organisers respect the position and authority of the judges as key members and custodians of the visual arts industry to select and reject artworks based on sound reason and analysis. Hamlin Jansen van Vuuren from Art B, Bellville in the Western Cape said, “I found the judging experience to be very informative and enjoyable. I also relished the interaction with the other judges.”

So, with the regional judging completed, some disappointed artists did not make the final cut. What words of encouragement can Sidogi share with those who fell short, “I have to be brutally honest, some artists showed a lack of respect for the mediums they engaged with. These artists neglected the basic rules and processes related to using and manipulating whatever medium they chose. Usually, such artworks do not stand a chance of doing well in the competition or generally in the art industry as well, because regardless of how great the idea or narrative of the artwork is, if the medium and materiality of the artwork are not strong or resolved enough to carry the concept or story, then the artwork falls flat. Therefore, I encourage artists to show due respect and reverence -- not fear -- to their chosen medium and materials.”

Artist’s statements were also identified as an area of concern due to non-alignment between the artist’s statement and the actual artwork. Poorly articulated artist’s statements harmed some artworks. “Ask someone to do a quick edit of your artist’s statement and think carefully about the title of the artwork. Some of the titles were hopelessly inappropriate and confused the judges. It is acceptable to leave the works untitled. There is value in the open-endedness of an ‘untitled’ piece”, added Sidogi

The judges also noted that some artists were disadvantaged because they engaged in the storytelling of other people’s experiences, subjectivities, and histories in ways that came across as insincere and insensitive. The competition stands for artistic freedom and the ability for artists to express themselves freely through their creativity. But equally, the competition does not advocate for any instance where people’s stories, histories, and experiences are expressed in insensitive and potentially offensive ways. Unfortunately, several artworks fell into this category, even though it was not the intention of the artists for their work to read or perceived in this way.

With the regional judging closed out, the judges had the opportunity to reflect on Sasol New Signatures as a whole. Collen Maswanganyi, the regional adjudicator from Polokwane, expressed encouragement for the competition and noted that “there is a need from artists, Institutions and other forms of getting the word out there to make our up-and-coming artists know about the New signatures. Thanks to Sasol for giving the artists platform to showcase their work”.  Janine Allen-Spies re-doubled those sentiments. She said, “Sasol New Signatures plays a massively important role in the arts as this is now the only competition platform that can give viewers an impression of the state of current art regarding upcoming artists in the country. Through the competition, you can get an impression of what type of art is made in the regions. I am glad that Sasol New Signatures still includes art centres in the regions where artists can submit their work. This gives context to work and offers stability in the competitions’ role in giving presence to art in the country.  Art just entered online is not ideal. I think that regional entry points make the competition more real and give the competition the necessary gravity and status.” Durban judge Angela Shaw added her voice in support of the competition by complimenting Sasol for supporting the Arts in South Africa. “Well done on keeping this going. It is so important for artists in all regions of the country to have this access to the industry.”