Picto Diary - 23 December 2018 - Kingklip

Above; Opheophillia. Zeitz Mocaa museum of contemporary art. Cape Town, South Africa. 23 December 2018.

Snakes on a plane?

Work by Frances Goodman. Medium: finger nail covers. (!)

The piece has to do with consumerism, the objectification of women, and the absurd standards of beauty promulgated by movies and the media.

Zeitz MOCAA is South Africa's answer to DIA Beacon on the Hudson..

To be sure, there's some fascinating stuff la dedans...

...but is it "art?"

Robert Smithson, eat your heart out. At least Opheophillia is not a pile of glass or a spiral jetty!

Above: Golden Man (on the right). Zeitz MOCAA museum of contemporary art. Cape Town, South Africa. 23 December 2018.

Above: Designs of contemporary South African fashion designers. Zeitz MOCAA museum of contemporary art. Cape Town, South Africa. 23 December 2018.

The fashions were interesting.... but, is it art?

Above: Slave trade water color. Zeitz MOCAA museum of contemporary art. Cape Town, South Africa. 23 December 2018.

If you have the time, MOCAA is an interesting place to visit. Many of the expressions therein seem to come from a rage at the plight of black Africa... its poverty and backwardness. Rage alternates with black pride in the beautiful tapestries and avant guard sculptures (see above).

But, as I said, is much of this art? While many of the so called artistic expressions are interesting, I maintain that there is a difference between Goya's masterpiece, La Maja Denuda,(say) and contemporary art. Few so-called contemporary artists... anywhere in the world... could create a La Maja Denuda, but a high percentage of creative types could do a Smithson Spiral Jetty, given a bull dozer and a few rocks. So called modern, contemporary art, seems to me to be more an engineering exercise than an artistic one.

I'm not saying that MOCAA is not worth visiting. It is. There are creative expressions here that provoke reflection... like the slave walk image above. If that's your definition of great art... well, OK, its great art. But, its not my definition of great art.

Above: Pineapple flower. Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. Cape Town, South Africa. 23 December 2018.

Above: Blossoming Cape Chestnut, TIMDT, at foot of back of Table Mountain. — at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. 23 December 2018.

There was a Sunday rock concert scheduled at Kirstenbosch at 7:00 PM. We were there at 4:00 PM and hundreds of would be concert goers, replete with coolers, lawn chairs, and Frisbees were patiently waiting in line along the garden walkways. It was warm... 85 degrees. I wouldn't wait for any band act that long in the heat. But, that's just me. Also, this was one of those first come first served concerts where people would rush in to lay their blankets in the best space. To much hassle for me. But, festive, here, for sure.

Parked cars lined the road leading to the garden. The ratio of Porches, Audis, Land Rovers and Mercs was high... surprising. South Africa per capita income is high for Africa but far from the developed country levels. Unemployment is high. Government corruption sucks away much of the productive potential of the country. Yet, Cape Town stands out as a location that could substitute for Malibu, Venice, Palm Beach or Sarasota. South Africa is a bit like Brazil (California?) where there are large income and living standard gaps between rich and poor. Yet there are enough "rich" to create exclusive subdivisions, five star hotels, and upscale shopping and restaurants.

The sea side setting, with Table Mountain as a back drop, is, of course, stunning... adding to the attraction of Cape Town.

People are coming to Cape Town. Thirty cruise ships a year come. Cape Town is doubling the size of its convention center. One of our guides pointed out that the cost of upscale housing is rising to European levels so many are the expatriates moving in to Cape Town to retire.

Above: Tiny TIMDT. Big African mahogany tree. — at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. 23 December 2018.

We loved Kirstenbosch the first time we visited it in 1996. We hung back from today's ship's tour to some quaint Western Cape towns and a couple of wineries. We had done winery visits on our previous visit... and, TIMDT wanted to get some shopping in at the V and A Wharf. We came by the MOCAA via serendipity. After museum and shopping we decided to avoid the holiday hoards and return to our hotel, The Westin, for lunch. We made the decision to go to Kirsenbosch on a lark, hired a car and driver at the hotel and off we went.

Bond and Bridge reported that the winery tours, village visits and lunch were excellent.

Above: Tree Canope Walk. — at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. 23 December 2018.

Above: Cape Goose. Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. Cape Town, South Africa. 23 December 2018.

Above: Baia Fish Restaurant. V and A Wharf. Cape Town, SA. 23 December 2018.

I had a calamari appetizer and Kingklip. TIMDT had sea bass. All fresh.

Bond, Bridge, and TIMDT are seen at a table midway into the image.

Iconic Table Mountain looms in the back ground.

Cape Town is a source of Amazement. V and A Wharf is loaded with spectacular restaurants... food and service are top class. Fisherman's Wharf in SF seems a little antiquated compared to this. And, I suspect the fish these days is better in Cape Town.

People from around the world are milling around... shopping... going on boat tours... taking helicopter rides. Bands featuring African rhythms play in various locations.

Note: The kingklip was terrific. TIMDT, however, would not order the fish because Bond told her, that notwithstanding the excellence of the fish as a dish, the real fish itself, a deep ocean swimmer, was really ugly.

Above: Kingklip.

Above: Music. V and A Wharf. Cape Town, SA. 23 December 2018.

Its about the music. It's always about the music.

Above: Moonrise. V and A Wharf. Cape Town, South Africa. 23 December 2018.

Addendum:

Pictures bring back memories of our
Trip/ loved the penguin beach...
wine tastings.

Montage,
Marina del Rey, CA