February 19, 2004
By Philippa Garson
THE soon-to-open Constitutional Court was abuzz with activity this week as various choreographers steered workmen here and there, hurrying to get the premises perfect for its grand opening on Human Rights Day, 21 March. Several frowning judges paced around the entrance in deep discussion with organisers. Relocating is said to be one of life's most stressful experiences, so now was clearly not the time to ask them how they were feeling.
Someone else immersed in stress is Bié Venter, charged with the daunting task of relocating 200 art works from the old premises to the new. The contemporary works, many by South African artists, comprise one of the finest collections in the country.
Venter has lots of head scratching to do as she contemplates the challenge of finding the right place for so many artworks in a building, which is in itself a work of art, as she puts it. "One of the biggest problems has been that the building is so beautiful. It's an artwork itself. But I'm now seeing that as the works go up, the art and the building are starting to compliment each other."
Constitutional Court Public Gallery
She's right. The eclectic, colourful works look stunning in a building for which the word "beautiful" doesn't do justice. The grand scale, the intersection of light and space, the spectacular mosaics and artworks embedded in the building, the striking symbolism wherever one looks, all are breathtaking - and the subject of another story. Right now, Venter must find solutions to the problems she faces: too little wall space and too much light for the works she must hang by the end of the week.
Light filters are being placed over windows, "which will allow the same level of light but cut damaging rays", she explains. Another option is to rotate some of the works around the premises, so they won't be exposed to too much continual light. A solution to the lack of wall space is to suspend some of the works, which is what is happening with Kim Berman's spectacular And Fires of the Truth Commission series and three tapestries by Marlene Dumas. These are being suspended in large glass and steel frames.
Currently, Venter is contemplating the spaces in the Public Gallery above the beautiful black slate stairway, which is inlaid with brass plates containing designs by local craftswomen. The vast space is a long, lofty atrium through which light pours.
Another challenge is presented by the "open areas at the bottom of the steps, including a wall of louvre windows which allows in dust. The solution was to find robust artworks that could withstand these conditions," says Venter, who has placed sculptures by Walter Oltmann, Wilma Cruise and Norman Catherine in these spaces.
The collection of diverse and spectacular works - including tapestries, ceramics, watercolours, oils, San rock art, sculptures and photographs - has been put together by Constitutional Court judge Albie Sachs over the past 10 years. Although he acquired several art works on his travels abroad, most are by local artists, among them Dumile Feni, David Goldblatt, William Kentridge, Judith Mason Attwood, Bongi Dhlomo, Philippa Hobbs and Johannes Masanganyi.
The impressive collection is no small feat for the judge, who started out with a budget of R10 000. With this meagre amount, a tapestry by Joseph Ndlovu was bought. Sachs then raised additional funds from a speaking tour of the US. Contributions have also flowed in from the Dutch and Finnish governments, the US Getty Foundation, and others. The Getty Foundation paid for the investigation that revealed the building had too much light for the works to withstand - thus the light filters. Others, like Artists for Human Rights, have donated works.
Part of the 'blue dress' series by Judith Mason Attwood
The Constitutional Court and the campus of Constitution Hill, in which the court is located, are designed to be wide open to the public - there will be no fences around the precinct - and the streams of visitors who come to witness democracy in progress will be blown over by the visual delights and the rich cultural experience in store for them.
As Sachs said, the new court is "a new building for a new democracy. We didn't want blindfolded women, the scales of justice. We have a culture of dispute resolution, we don't have to replicate other courts." What was required was "an imaginative new building that had to compete in the public imagination with the Union Buildings and Parliament. It needed to represent our age and not be a copy of a past age, or a building imported from elsewhere. It is a building and a nation for everyone." Well the judges, and the rest of the nation, have surely got what they want.
Art work relocated to the new Constitutional Court
Constitution Hill, once the location of the Old Fort, Johannesburg's notorious prison complex, comprises much else besides the spectacular Constitutional Court and building is set to continue until 2006. The precinct, housing Constitutional Square, the Commission on Gender Equality, the Chapter Nine Commission, museums, exhibition and performance spaces, restaurants, offices and shops, is expected to draw upwards of 100 000 visitors by the end of this year alone.
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