September 23, 2004
By Lucille Davie
HE looks craggy and happy. But then he should be. He's Albie Sachs and he's at the launch of his book about happiness, happening at the Constitutional Court, or what he calls the "palace for the people".
The challenge for Sachs with his latest book was to write about happiness instead of pain and suffering, a theme dominant in his previous books. But judging by the warmth and excitement and ready applause at the launch last week, he needn't have worried.
Sachs, a judge at the court and a fighter for democratic freedom in South Africa, has almost become synonymous with the court, with his by now fairly famous tours of the court, said: "I tried", before adding: "I would have loved to have written a book about the Constitutional Court, which would have been much more exciting, but there are rules of confidentiality."
The book, 'The Free Diary of Albie Sachs', details his journey with his partner of six years, Vanessa September, to conferences in Europe, and places which for him hold a lot of nostalgia. He was encouraged to keep a diary, later to be worked into a book.
Sachs says on the back cover: "All my previous books have dealt with disaster. I am not convinced that I can write well about happiness. What a challenge, to depict not calamity survived, but joy experienced!"
His other books are 'The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs', an account of his time in solitary confinement; a second detention and sleep deprivation produced 'Stephanie on Trial'; and his struggle after losing his right arm in a car bomb in Maputo was recounted in 'The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter'. He's also written many books on human rights, culture, gender rights and the environment.
Judging by the happy crowd around the stack of books, and their eagerness to hand over their money, and pop their books into packets, lots of Joburgers want to read about the challenge he took on. And later, all those eager readers stood patiently in line to get the book signed by both Sachs and September - she offers her viewpoint in paragraphs in each chapter.
Sachs does tours of the court and its art gallery, an experience not to be missed as he gives a piece of his soul each time - he knew several of the artists, who willingly gave him artworks for the gallery, or from whom he commissioned work.
He says at the launch, to much laughter: "I am starting to wonder: am I a judge who is a tour guide or really a tour guide?" After the launch he is scheduled to give another tour.
The love and passion Sachs and September have for one another is tangible. He says at the end of his first chapter: "Vanessa and I just love being with each other, doing things together, sharing house and travelling."
I suspect that Joburgers are beginning to fall in love with their Constitutional Court. The court has become the top venue for functions, and it's not hard to see why. It's an unusual space, a mix of textures, shapes, different floor heights and concrete walls softened with artworks or interesting mosaic and wood finishes, presided over by the intact notorious No 4 jail, where black prisoners were locked up under the most inhumane conditions.
Sachs was on the panel that selected the winning design for the court, describing it as one of his "greatest delights" in recent years. The judges moved into the building in January this year and had their first sitting on 24 February.
Although Sachs spends half of his year in Cape Town - he has a flat in that city and one in Joburg - he feels "growing enthusiasm" for Joburg, and an intense passion for the court.
"Ensuring that the new court building to be built on the site of the Old Fort Prison in Johannesburg is beautiful and friendly has become my passion, almost my obsession. We chose the site because of its intense emotional significance, symbolizing the conversion of the negativity of the past into positivity for the future," he says in his book.
Sachs was appointed, together with fellow judge Yvonne Mokgoro, to take charge of decor when the Constitutional Court came into being in 1994 at its old location in Braampark in Braamfontein. What this has primarily involved was acquiring - mostly through donors - artworks for the walls of the court. The result is that the court is not a dull, stiff place where the scales of justice appear somewhere along its cold corridors, but rather a joyous place, where people feel at home with recognised indigenous artefacts like fish traps, tapestries with familiar symbols, or wire lights.
The art collection consists of around 200 works - oils, etchings, tapestries, wire works, carvings - of mostly South African artists, some very well known, others not known at all.
Sachs describes it as a palace, "a palace for the people".
He says in his book: "I live in a world of self-achieving delight and wonder, and it is only right that I now come to spend my days in a glorious palace up to which one lifts one's eyes on the hill. And since this is the age of democracy, the palace will be open to everyone, a palace for the people. And since I am a bit snobbish in these matters, it will be a palace with style. And since I believe there is a need for a little showing-off in the world, it will be a palace that makes ordinary people, including those with style, say: wow!"
Go right ahead, Judge Sachs.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
