South African Joy Printmaking By Asbjorn Lonvig

Year:

Medium:

Serigraph Print

Size - (USA):

59 W x 84 H x 0 D (cm)

Size - (metric):

23.2 W x 33.1 H x 0.0 D (inches)

Theme:

Abstract

Edition:

210

Artwork ID:

386282

PDF Copy:

Artwork Info Sheet (PDF)

Artwork Description:

A South African Art Publisher in Cape Town contacted me. 4-5 artists from the 32 qualifying countries to 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa were selected to participate in the 2010 International Fine Art project. After signing a contract of many pages (don�t do this and don�t do that�. OK. But they wanted to transfer the copyrights of the work to FIFA. No, you can have a �general reproduction right� - I never sell my copyrights�. Well, I thought everything stopped here, they would never agree to my alterations of the contract. But. The Art Publisher in Cape Town and FIFA signed the contract). Then I got the �Artistic Brief�: The world is coming home to Africa, the cradle of humankind, the site where the story of our species started. It is � in essence � the home of all humanity. It is also the location for the greatest sporting event in the world � the 2010 FIFA World CupTM � the first time in its history that the tournament has been staged in Africa. The artwork must bring together the elements of this African heritage and fuse it with the energy and excitement of the World Cup, the heights of athletic excellence, the fervour of football enthusiasts, and pride of your country�s participation in the tournament. The original must incorporate at least an element of football in order to celebrate this extraordinary event being brought to African soil. The symbolism of South African Joy. The Acacia tree and the Baobab Tree are significant trees in South Africa. We all have seen giraffes eat the leaves of the Acacia tree. Some baobabs are said to be many thousands of years old, but this is very difficult to prove as the wood does not produce annual growth rings as trees normally do. The South African Savannah in the East, the bush and dessert in the West are the domicile of a lot of exotic animals such as Zebras, Flamingos, Elephants, Lions, Penguins, and Giraffes. In my opinion the most outstanding is the Giraffe. In �South African Joy� symbolized by a giraffe skin. The sun is important for all of us. In most of South Africa there is subtropical climate witch has an impact on everything. On nature as well as on people�s conduct and behaviour. From maps we know the shape of the African Continent. From the name we can guess where South Africa is, but it is hard to remember the exact shape f South Africa. FIFA World Cup stadiums in South Africa are scattered around the country: The stadiums are in Cape Town, Durban, two in Johannesburg, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Rustenburg, and Tshwane/Pretoria. In a very short time � when the FIFA World Cup has started - the world will recognize the shape and the colors of the Republic of South Africa's flag: Red symbolizes the struggle for freedom, black and white symbolize the different peoples of South Africa, yellow symbolizes the country's mineral wealth, and green and blue symbolize the country�s fertility and its magnificent scenery and wildlife. Desmond Tutu � you know, the former archbishop who is always talking and always smiling � called South Africa�s people the Rainbow Nation. That was because of the country's wonderfully diverse, colourful, and utterly unique society. Furthermore, South Africa�s National Motto is Unity in Diversity. I know about an explorer that drew down through the African continent from Tanger in Morocco to South Africa. He told that everywhere kids were playing soccer. Soccer, soccer, and no other sport but soccer. To accommodate all the soccer playing children the soccer field is a double field. There are 4 goals. Maybe the imaginative kids of Africa one day invents some new rules and find it amusing to play double soccer. In the left part of �South African Joy� you se run patterns � patterns of movements as you will see them on the stadiums of South Africa. Zigzag, forth and back, criss and cross etc. Stepping up the stairs � to fame. Or stepping down. Some day an African nation even might win the World Cup. My pride of my country�s participation in the tournament is shown by 3 Danish flags, an upside down Lego brick and some kind of electronic device. From the original image a series of 210 archival pigment ink prints on cotton paper is being produced. Each of these prints will then be numbered and labelled as Official Licensed Products of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, signed in original by the artist, and sold.

Artwork Keywords:   Original Printmaking

Materials:   Serigraph Prints