Strauss & co - 30 June 2014, Johannesburg

174 provenance Acquireddirectly from theartist by thecurrent owner notes StanleyPinker’s Camping in theKouebokkeveld is anextraordinarypainting that celebrates the ancient andmodernartistswhohavedrawn their inspiration from this are. Itwaspainted in the sameyear andas acompanionpiece to Meeting at theMountainsof theMoon withwhichPinker won thefirst prizeandgoldmedal at theCape TownTriennial in 1985. DescribedbyAlanCrump, former Professor andHeadof theDepartment of FineArts at theUniversityof theWitwatersrand andChair of theNational Arts Festival Committee, as the largest exhibitionof its kind to travel to major centres inSouthAfrica, itwas sponsored by theRembrandt vanRijnArt Foundation. Their handsome support entitled them topurchase thewinningworkwhich ishoused in theRupert Museum inStellenbosch,where it is currentlyon display. InCrump’sopinion, ‘theprize-winningwork byStanleyPinker undoubtedlymarks ahighpoint inhisdistinguishedcareer as apainter’. 1 Like Meetingat theMountainsof theMoon which, according to theartist,wasbasedona real event whilecamping inNamibiawithagroupof friends, 2 Camping in theKouebokkeveld documents anactual expedition, in this case, to themountainareaof the WesternCape locatedaroundPrinceAlfredHamlet, to thenorthof Ceres and southeast of Citrusdal. Thiswasoneof the favouritedestinationsof a groupof artistswhomade regular trips to sketch andpaint, toexperienceand tobe inspiredby thegreat outdoors, that quintessentially south africanpursuit. Amongst thegroupwere several artists suchas Erik Laubscher, someofwhose most impressivepaintingswere inspiredbyhis experiences in this area. A spectacular sun risesover thedistinctive silhouetteof theSneeubergmountainswhilea full moonhangs low in thevalley, as in Meetingat the Mountainsof theMoon . As if inaMedieval scene, awizardandawitch,whoappear tobeconjuring theirmagic, disport themselves ina squareRegent Pavilion tent toppedwitha torn southafricanflag of theolddispensation, heralding itsdemise.The couple representRoddyandHermineWengrowe, whohavebeendescribedas the stablecorearound whichanextraordinarycircleof creativeartists spun. In fact, socentral a roledid theyplay that it wasonRoddyWengrowe that thePinker family bestowed thehonour ofMaster of Ceremonies at theartist’smemorial atHiddinghHall. And it is to theWengrowes thatweare indebted for the narratives that form thecontent of thepainting. Erik Laubscherwas theacknowledgedpioneer, who foundwonderful places toexploreand to set upcamp. In themiddledistanceat left and right, thegreen tents, perhaps alluding to fecundcreativity,were inhabitedbyartists and their families. Famous couple, Erikandhis French-born wife, ClaudeBouscharain, occupiedonewhile the sonanddaughter-in-lawof Austrian-bornartist, AlfredKrenz, campedalongside. Art anddesigneducator,Mel Hagen, languidly offersher body to the sun likea recliningmuse. Marthinus laGrange, rememberedas agifted draughtsmananddrawing teacher, appears as a magician, directingactivities that includeagroup of Sandancers costumed for aperformance. These maywell be inspiredby theSan rockpaintings foundnearby. TheKrenzes confirm that Pinker and his fellowcamperswerewell-acquaintedwith these paintings, 3 someofwhich, portrayingVoortrekker wagons, areconceivably theearliest visual representationsof contactsbetween indigenous peoples andEuropean settlers. Pinker’s thoroughunderstandingof the formalist achievementsofModernism, gainedfirst-hand duringhisdecade-long sojourn inEurope in the 50s and60s, isput toeffectiveuse in thispainting. The dynamismof thecomposition, emphasised through radiating lines that extend intodramaticdiagonals, binds all theartists together intoacentre that eruptswith sensuous colour. Stripedpatterning –aplayful reference toartists like Jasper Johns – reinforces theflatnessof thecanvas, providinga rigorous structureoverlaidwith three-dimensional elements that attest toPinker’s fineobservation in capturing thecharacteristic topographyand fauna of thisuniqueplace. 1. Crump, Alan. (1985) CapeTownTriennial 1985, CapeTown: South AfricanNational Gallery, unpaginated. 2. Stevenson,Michael andPinker, Stanley. (2004) StanleyPinker . Cape Town:Michael Stevenson, page 70. 3. ConfirmedbyAndréKrenz inconversationwithEmmaBedford, 13May 2014. 233 Stanley Faraday PINKER south african 1924–2012 Camping in theKouebokkeveld signed oil and sandoncanvas, in theartist’shandmade frame 106by 161,5 cm, including frame R2000000–3000000