Oliewenhuis Art Museum, in collaboration with the Society for the Blind, Free State, will present an exclusive guided tour, with the main goal to interpret the well-known artwork by Willem Boshoff, Blind Alphabet A. The artist will also be present on the night of the event and will share his artistic experiences and concepts behind the making of the Blind Alphabet A.
Boshoff is one of South Africa’s foremost contemporary artists and academics who was also recently appointed senior lecturer in the department of fine arts at the University of the Free State. He is well known for producing meticulous sculptures in wood, conceptual installations and for writing dictionaries such as A Dictionary of Perplexing English, Beyond the Epiglottis and What Every Druid Should Know. These dictionaries often form the basis of his artworks.
The Blind Alphabet project originated in 1990. "Oliewenhuis Art Museum is indeed proud that The Blind Alphabet A, a component of the project, is part of its permanent collection" says Yolanda Els, education officer at Oliewenhuis. The Blind Alphabet A consists of 94 wire mesh boxes, each containing a unique wooden sculpture. An interpretation of the wooden sculpture, inscribed with braille text, is provided on the lid of each box. Boshoff’s intention with the Blind Alphabet series is to deliberately handicap sighted viewers by restricting them from seeing or touching the sculpture inside each box. The braille text, which is mostly unfamiliar to sighted people, disadvantages the viewer even more.
The tour is taking place on 22 October at 19:00 at the museum. Together with Willem Boshoff the blind tour guides Julius Masebuko, Clint Stedman and Dewald Hatting will reveal the Blind Alphabet A’s meanings and symbolism.
A minimal entrance fee of R12 per person for members of the Friends of Oliewenhuis Art Museum and R15 per person for non-members will be payable on the night of the event. Refreshments will be served. For more information please contact Yolanda Els, education officer at Oliewenhuis Art Museum on 051-011-0525 (ext 611) or yolanda.els@nasmus.co.za
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