Through the Darkness: A Life In Zimbabwe is a book long anticipated. Judith Todd’s chronicle of Mugabe’s crimes against his people appals, yet the ‘life’ of the subtitle has been a high-spirited crusade for justice, democracy and freedom of the press.

Firmly attached to the progressive values of her parents Grace and Garfield Todd – erstwhile prime minister of colonial Southern Rhodesia – benevolent paternalists engaged in ranching, healing, teaching and politicking in south-west Zimbabwe since 1934, their daughter has proven to be cut from the same cloth.

She was exiled in 1972 by the late Ian Smith, Zimbabwe’s last white prime minister, and stripped of her citizenship by the Mugabe government in 2003. Todd now holds New Zealand citizenship and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

When Todd returned to Zimbabwe from exile in Britain shortly before independence in 1980, and soon realised that, far from being the solution to Zimbabwe’s ills, Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu (PF) party were increasingly becoming the problem. She says when asked what she thinks went wrong in the country that “it’s almost as if Mugabe is angry he is mortal and wants everyone else to die before he does.”

As the country slid into economic and social decline, Todd had a front-row view from her position as director of a local development agency. Over the first 25 years of Mugabe’s rule, she kept journals, notes and copies of letters and documents from which she has compiled an intensely personal account of life in Zimbabwe. These make up Through the Darkness: A Life in Zimbabwe.

Todd’s narrative allows her to record slowly, becoming aware of how ruthlessly the party will enforce its authority and how totally it will contain and then eliminate everything that it regards as dissidence. Only by using the narrative method that she has used is Todd able to convey not only her slow disillusionment but to speak with authority about what is happening. Her authority derives from her presence, from the fact that she records nothing that she has not directly experienced.

about esopus

CONTENTS: 

ARTIST’S PROJECT: BEREND STRIK
“Untitled, 2008″ (removable insert)

ARTIST’S PROJECT: YVONNE JACQUETTE
“Untitled, 2008″

50 FRAMES: PETER HUTTON’S AT SEA (2007)
Introduction and interview by Scott MacDonald

DAILY REMINDERS
Letters by Robert Guest

ARTIST’S PROJECT: DULCE PINZÓN
“The Real Story of the Superheroes”

NEW VOICES: “PLATE TECTONICS”
By Lesley Clayton

DOUG McNAMARA’S BIODIVERSIONS
Interview by Tod Lippy

THE DESERT
By Jen Bervin

MODERN ARTIFACTS 4: DRAWING COMPARISONS
Introduction by Michelle Elligott

1929 IN RETROSPECT
By Angus Trumble

GUARDED OPINIONS 3
By Berhanu Taffa. Edited by Paul VanDeCarr.

ESOPUS CD #10: GOOD NEWS

The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large. —ConfuciusOur tenth compilation CD features positive thinking—and inspired songwriting—from 12 musical acts who we invited to choose and interpret pieces of news they felt could be construed as “positive” to use as the inspiration for brand-new songs. Topics ranged from Liza Minnelli’s speedy recovery from a stage fall (Man Man), the black-footed ferret’s rebound from near-extinction (Neko Case and Carl Newman), the opening of a “death hotel” in Japan with coffins for beds (The Real Tuesday Weld), the U.S. government’s forthcoming income-tax rebate (Chris Rehm), and the miraculous tale of a Manhattan window-washer who fell 47 stories and survived (Marnie Stern and Artificial Workshop).Track List (with links to referenced articles):1. “Love at the Death Hotel,” by The Real Tuesday Weld
“DEATH HOTEL”
2. “Yon Ferrets Return,” by Neko Case and Carl Newman
BLACK-FOOTED FERRETS RELEASED IN KANSAS
3. “Impendin’ Recession,” by Chris Rehm
“TREASURY CHIEF: TAX REBATE CHECKS TO GO OUT IN MAY”
4. “Fathom Five,” by Marnie Stern
“‘MIRACULOUS’ RECOVERY FOR MAN WHO FELL 47 FLOORS”
5. “I’ve Always Known,” by Busdriver
“L.A. GANGS: NINE MILES AND SPREADING”
6. “A Song for Liza Minnelli,” by Man Man
“LIZA MINNELLI RECOVERS QUICKLY FROM STAGE COLLAPSE”
7. “Priceless,” by Langhorne Slim
“STOLEN MUNCH PAINTINGS FOUND SAFE”
8. “A Song in the News,” by Ryan Adams
9. “Butterfly Knife,” by Gowns
“TWO AGAINST ONE”
10. “Boredom Arcades,” by Catherine McRae
“CONEY ISLAND: RIDES AGAIN?”
11. “Sleeping Village Appears Empty,” by Atlas Sound
“MOST AMERICANS “VERY SATISFIED” WITH THEIR PERSONAL LIVES”
12. “Miracle Man,” by Artificial Workshop
“MIRACLE ON 66TH STREET: WINDOW CLEANER SURVIVES 47 STOREY FALL”Musician’s Bios:Ryan Adams has released a number of albums, including Heartbreaker (2000), the Grammy nominated Gold (2001), Rock N Roll (2003), 29 (2005), and last year’s Easy Tiger. Adams made three records with the storied alt-country band Whiskeytown prior to his solo career and has since recorded two albums with backing band the Cardinals. The longtime New Yorker has also released myriad EPs and singles and frequently collaborates with other musicians (including Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson, whose album Songbird Adams produced in 2006). He is currently recording a new album with the Cardinals.Graphic designer Dominic Dyson is the force behind Artificial Workshop. When not working on his “manufactured” electro-art-pop music, Dyson teaches at the School of Graphic Design at the London College of Communication.Atlas Sound is the solo project of Bradford Cox, who is also the front man of Atlanta psych-rock band Deerhunter. Atlas Sound’s most recent album is Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, released by Kranky Records in 2008. Busdriver is Los Angeles MC Regan Farquhar, a seminal figure in the alternative hip-hop world known for his hyper-literate, dizzyingly dense rapping style. Busdriver’s albums include Memoirs of an Elephant Man (2001), The Weather (2003), Fear of a Black Tangent (2005), and last year’s RoadKillOvercoat (on Epitaph Records).Neko Case’s highly regarded solo albums include her 1997 debut The Virginian, Furnace Room Lullaby (2000), and Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, which topped many critics’ “Best of 2006” lists. Case, who attended art school in Canada, is also a member of Vancouver-based band the New Pornographers with Carl (A.C.) Newman. The New Pornographer’s albums include Mass Romantic (2000), Twin Cinema (2005), and last year’s Challengers. Newman, who formerly led the band Zumpano, released his 2004 solo effort The Slow Wonder on Matador Records.The Bay Area band Gowns is the project of vocalist/guitarist Erika Anderson and vocalist/keyboard player Ezra Buchla (who have been joined on the road by drummer Jacob Felix Heule and bassist Daniel Brummel). Their debut album, Red State, appeared on Cardboard Records in 2007. Brooklyn-based Langhorne Slim was born Sean Scolnick in Langhorne, PA. He has toured with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Cake, and the Violent Femmes and is releasing a new full-length CD on Kemado Records this spring. Philadelphia-based Man Man is known for the exuberant live performances of its members Honus Honus, Sergei Sogay, Pow Pow, Critter Crat, and Chang Wang. The band’s albums include Six Demon Bag (2006) and Rabbit Habits, released by Anti- Records in 2008.Violinist and singer Catherine McRae has played with Patti Smith, Nick Tosches, Vic Chesnutt, Tom Verlaine, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.She currently collaborates with T. Griffin as one half of the Quavers, whose album Lit By Your Phone was released in late 2007. McRae, who lives in Brooklyn, has also worked with filmmaker Jem Cohen and theater director Richard Maxwell. The Real Tuesday Weld was founded, and is fronted, by Londoner Stephen Coates. The band’s albums include At the House of the Clerkenwell Kid (2001), I, Lucifer (a soundtrack companion to the 2004 book of the same name by Glen Duncan), and The London Book of the Dead, released in 2007 on Six Degrees Records. Based in Houston, TX, 17-year-old Chris Rehm self-released the album I Am the Hot Potato…I Hope You Work Out last year and is also a member of several other area bands. The high school senior will attend Loyola College in New Orleans next fall.Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Marnie Stern lives in New York City. Kill Rock Stars released her critically acclaimed debut album, In Advance of the Broken Arm, in 2007.

about esopus

CONTENTS:

A SHORT FILM ABOUT ANDY WARHOL
By Jim LyonsARTIST’S PROJECT: SARAH MALAKOFF
“Untitled Interiors”DECONSTRUCTING CONSTRUCTING
By David QuarfootARTIST’S PROJECT: CHARLIE WHITE
“American Blondes 2005″I’M WITH THE BAND
By Heather McPhersonFOUND OBJECT: STALAG JOURNAL
Contributed by John Limon100 FRAMES: “I DON’T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE”
by Tsai Ming-Liang; Afterword by Claire DenisARTIST’S PROJECT: KAY ROSEN
“ABC, a Primer” (removable book)MODERN ARTIFACTS 3: TENTATIVE AND CONFIDENTIAL
Introduction by Michelle Elligott1824 IN RETROSPECT
By Angus TrumbleESOPUS SUBSCRIBER INVITATIONAL #3
Dreams submitted by Esopus readers

ESOPUS CD #9: DREAMS


For our third subscriber invitational, Esopus asked readers to send us descriptions of their dreams. We passed along about one hundred submissions to 11 musical acts, asking each of them to choose one to serve as inspiration for a song. The selected dreams appear in the issue, along with an introduction by guest editor Mike Powell, and are accompanied by five extraordinary dream-images created for Esopus by artist Daniel Gordon.Black Moth Super Rainbow has released four records on the Graveface label, including Falling Through a Field (2004) and this year’s Dandelion Gum. The band’s members—Tobacco, The Seven Fields of Aphelion, Father Hummingbird, Power Pill Fist, and Iffernaut—all live in the Pittsburgh area.Cheval Sombre is the project of New York–based poet and musician Christopher Porpora. His poems have been collected in two books: In Mine Eyes and Becoming, both published by Anne’s House Press.Dirty Projectors since 2003. He is currently collaborating with Brian McOmber, Amber Coffman, and Angel Deradoorian. The Brooklyn resident’s 2005 album The Getty Address was a “glitch opera” about Don Henley; his most recent record is Rise Above.Hank. Their albums Ackrill/Venning ’91 (2003) and How to Prosper in the Coming Bad Years (2004) are available on Blocks Recording Club.High Places is Mary Pearson and Robert Barber, who live and work in Brooklyn, NY. The duo just released its debut self-titled EP on Ancient Almanac.Ida was formed in 1994 by husband and wife Daniel Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell. The band’s current lineup also includes Jean Cook, Karla Schickele, and Ruth Keating; they are also frequently joined by pedal steel player Matt Sutton. Ida’s albums include I Know About You (1996), The Braille Night (2001), and Heart Like a River (2005).Paavoharju (whose other members include Jenni Koivistoinen, Ragnar Rock, and Emmi Uimonen). Their first album, Yhä hämärää, was released on Fonal in 2005; the band is currently finishing work on a new record.Lucy Wainwright Roche comes from a musical family: Her mother Suzzy Roche, father Loudon Wainwright, and half-brother Rufus Wainwright are all singer-songwriters. Lucy, who grew up in Greenwich Village and attended Oberlin College, has taught second and third grade in New York City but now tours as a musician. Her first album is 8 Songs.Ta’Raach & the Lovelution is the project of Terrell McMathis, an instrumental figure in the underground hip-hop scene in late-’90s Detroit (where he went by the moniker Lacksidaisycal). His first solo album, The Fevers, was released earlier this year; he currently lives in Pasadena.White Whale is Matthew Suggs, Rob Pope, John Anderson, Zach Holland, and Dustin Kinsey. The band’s first album, WWI, was released in 2006 by Merge Records.

Daniel Gordon’s photographs have been featured in solo exhibitions at the Zach Feuer Gallery in New York, GroeflinMaag Gallery in Basel, Switzerland, and Angstrom Gallery in Dallas, TX. His work has also appeared in several group shows in New York and Texas. He received an Emerging Artist award from the Scope Foundation in 2003.

Brooklyn resident Mike Powell has written about music for Stylus, Pitchfork, the Oxford American, Wire, and The Village Voice.

TRACK LIST:

1. “One Day I Had an Extra Toe,” by Black Moth Super Rainbow
2. “A Heavenly Light that Shines,” by White Whale
3. “Sumuvirsi,” by Paavoharju
4. “Me and My Daddy Are Walking in the Desert,” by Hank
5. “Moon Flower,” by Ida
6. “One Kill,” by Dirty Projectors
7. “Oceanus,” by High Places
8. “Two/The Machinery in Your Stomach…,” by Califone
9. “Poison,” by Lucy Wainwright Roche
10. “Montparnasse,” by Ta’Raachh & the Lovelution
11. “I Sleep,” by Cheval Sombre

MUSICIANS’ BIOS:

Chicago-based Califone’s first album, Roomsound (2001), was recently reissued on Thrill Jockey. Founder Tim Rutili, working with a rotating cast of musicians, has since recorded Sometimes Good Weather Follows Bad People (2002), Heron King Blues (2004), and Roots & Crowns (2006). Califone’s music was recently featured on the soundtrack for the HBO documentary The Trials of Darryl Hunt.

David Longstreth has been releasing music on Western Vinyl as

Cab Williamson, Magali Meagher, Tara Azzopardi, and Paige Gratland make up the Toronto-based collective

Brothers Olli and Lauri Ainala are the founders of Finnish collective

Lawrence, KS–based

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More on Spier Contemporary

Africa enters the 21st century without a major international museum, research institute or performance venue dedicated to the arts, culture and heritage of the continent. The Africa Centre seeks to address these glaring needs. Based in South Africa, the Africa Centre is both a physical entity and an ongoing philosophical process. It is meant to grow spatially and conceptually over a period of several years, in time it will emerge as a multi-sited, multiple-usage space where the visual, intellectual and performance cultures of Africa, South and North are celebrated, studied and brought to life for diverse audiences in innovative ways. One of the Africa Centre’s new initiatives is the Spier Contemporary. Named after its primary sponsor – Spier – the Spier Contemporary is a major South African exhibition and awards which opened on 12 December 2007. Spier Contemporary is a biennial event that began at the Spier Wine Estate. This choice has come from a belief that arts and culture give us an understanding of the complexities of our society in a way that political and other discourses are not able to provide. In a society as rapidly changing as ours we need many ways of ‘knowing ourselves’. One of the themes that have emerged in the last few years in South African art and life is the difficulty of speaking about certain subjects. As ideas of political, cultural, social, moral and other norms have changed or been challenged, there have not always been the vocabularies to cope with these changes.

Leora Farber’s exhibition, Dis-Location / Re-Location, produced in collaboration with the design team Strangelove, traverses places and periods, from Victorian England, nineteenth- and twentieth-century Eastern Europe, to colonial and contemporary South Africa. By means of various media – photographic prints, video, sculpture, sound art, and installation – the exhibition presents the intertwined and inconclusive narratives of three Jewish women. In this catalogue brochure Leora Farber’s work is showcased and accompanied by text explaining the work and artist’s intent.

Wilma Cruise uses the body as the vehicle for the exploration of meaning. The body provides the metaphorical link between unconscious realities and the conscious known world. Her sculptures are rendered in expressive life-size figures in bronze and ceramic which in recent years have included animals such as horses and sheep. In collaboration with David Krut Arts Resource she has produced a body of work on paper that incorporates the figure, animals and text.

Recent works include The l Suite. This suite of works includes installations and a series of mono-prints made in collaboration with David Krut Arts Resource and the commission Sheep May Safely Graze: the Return of the Bultfontein Sheep for the Oliewenhuis Museum in Bloemfontein. Another public work The Right to Life was installed at the Constitutional Court in 2004.

Cruise has had eleven one-person shows and curated several others. She has won awards including Architect’s Project Award in 2000 for the Women’s Monument at the Union Buildings, the Quarterly Vita Award in 1993 for Nicholas – October 1990 and the Lorenzo il Magnifico Award at the Biennale Internazionale Dell’arte Contemporanea, Florence.

Her work is represented in The South African National Gallery, the Corobrik Collection, the Pretoria Art Museum, The Durban Art Museum, the University of South Africa, MTN, the Billiton Collection, Standard Bank and the Constitutional Court.

Text taken from http://www.art.co.za/wilmacruise/

“Style is a big thing in the township. If you look good you feel good. You forget about poverty and find pleasure in the things that you own. It has always been there. I think warriors themselves had a competition about whose spear shined the most,” says Monwabizi Mfobo, resident in the township of Langa.

The townships of Cape Town burst with creativity. They are the place where traditional African culture meets global youth cultures. Hip-hop has reached South Africa and is reinterpreted according to local conditions. Styles in fashion, dance and music are a way out of poverty. For the first time this fascinating street culture is presented outside South Africa. Tomorrow’s global subcultures are born in the big cities of the Third World.

Photographer Per Englund offers a brand new image of South Africa. In The Beautiful Struggle, the reader will meet youths talking about their lives and dreams. But life is still a struggle in a society in which the Apartheid structure is still evident.

The texts are written by Per Englund, Mlamli Figlan, born and raised in the township Guguletu and the Danish anthropologist Karen Waltorp. Foreword by Marika Griesehl, Swedish Television’s former Africa correspondent.

MTN and David Krut Publishing announce

the publication of

Messages and Meaning: The MTN Art Collection

In September 1997 MTN, one of the leading cell phone companies in South Africa, made a modest purchase of artworks by South African artists. This marked the beginning of what was to become a major corporate collection of South African art. Now eight years old, and comprising some 1400 African and South African works, the collection has been energetically researched, published, traveled, exhibited, discussed, debated and admired. With this new book, the MTN Art Collection has come of age.

The writers who have contributed essays to Messages and Meaning: The MTN Art Collection are renowned South African critics, art historians, anthropologists, and curators. Andries Oliphant, Emile Maurice, Nessa Leibhammer, Khwezi Gule, Pattabi Ganapathi Raman, Philippa Hobbs, Ronel Kellner, Colin Richards, Clive Kellner, Wilma Cruise, Judy Seidman, and Elizabeth Rankin share their insights on the artworks in the collection, the messages they embody, the stories they tell, the ideas they communicate and the spaces – both architectural and psychological – that they occupy. The essays explore a variety of topics: the ceramics, beadwork, and textiles in the collection; the problems and challenges of curatorship in South Africa; MTN’s extensive holdings of Resistance posters; sculpture and mixed-media works in the collection; the architecture of MTN’s new corporate headquarters; and MTN’s place in discussions on contemporary South African art.

Messages and Meaning, edited by MTN’s current resident art curator, Philippa Hobbs, with the assistance of two former curators, aims to be an informative, diverse, and sumptuous read for years to come. The book has been launched simultaneously with the first national touring exhibition of the MTN Art Collection.

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