BEG BOARDS IN JOHANNESBURG; MY ART ACADEMY GRADUATION PROJECT

Beg Boards in Johannesburg is my Art Academy graduation project which I conceptualized and completed in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2001. I'm responsible for the concept, design, copy and photography of the complete project. When I first came to Joburg, it struck me that there were so many beggars. You can find them on virtually every main intersection. They all have the same "beg boards" that all look the same and even the messages on them are often the same. Most of them have messages or outcries written on them such as "No food, no job, no family. Please help. God Bless".

Because there are so many of those similar looking beg boards, they just don't stand out anymore and people have become immune to them. Its like trying to point out a bike in the Netherlands. My goal with this project was to see if I could make a difference (at least a small one) by using my conceptual and design skills. I wanted to design new Beg Boards for them and hand them out for free. My 3 objectives were: 1. To let them make more money (that's what's most important to them). 2. To have the public start a conversation with them. 3. To make them visible on the streets again.

I started the project by interviewing 35 beggars and while slowly gaining their trust I asked them questions like: What's your name? What's your age?, Where were you born? What languages do you speak? Do you have family? Do you always operate on the same spot? How long do you stand on the intersection every day? How much money do you make in a day? Where do you live? etc. After collecting all the info I got to work and conceptualized and designed new beg boards for 10 of them.

Some were custom made to their specific needs or location, others were more generic. I used humor, nifty copywriting, graphic design, confronting images, quotes and other tools. Anything to attract some attention from the beggar savvy Joburg people. I also asked the beggars if they had specific wishes for their new boards. Interesting things and requests came out such as; they have to be rain proof, light, no sharp cords, colorful, etc.

I handed out their new beg boards and came back after a week and a half to interview them again to find out if the beg boards had actually made a difference. I was pleased to find out that in all cases the beggars had earned more money, started to have conversations with the public and... they were actually noticed again.

Back in the Netherlands I documented the whole project in a visual essay and a newspaper that I wanted to give away for free. I found a willing printer in Mart Spruijt printers in Amsterdam that sponsored the paper and so I was able to hand out the newspapers for free. Many thanks to them!

I completed the entire graduation project while living in Johannesburg for half a year. I graduated with honors from the Art Academy that year. After my graduation I also won the Academy's most prestigious award, the Piet Bakker Award, which gets awarded to the person who's work is most provocative, innovative, ground breaking and self initiating. After winning the award, a flood of press interest came upon me. The project and myself were published in numerous acclaimed National and International newspapers and magazines and i even made appearances in some of the most respected Radio and TV shows. I was also invited to participate in multiple other art exhibitions.

MEET 'N GREET WITH THE BANG BANG CLUB

I visited the Joburg Art Fair last saturday primarily for one reason; meet the two remaining members of the original Bang Bang Club, Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva. They were going to be at the Rooke Gallery stand and would tell little anecdotes behind the pictures. I met them and off course had them sign my copy of the book (see image). This book is an absolute must read! Especially when living in South Africa, you just can't miss out on this brutally honest book. This book will stay with me for ever! They are currently filming the movie of the book which is due for release in september this year.

Here's some more background information about them:
The Bang-Bang Club was a name primarily associated with four photographers active within the townships of South Africa during the Apartheid period, particularly in the years running up to the country’s first democratic elections (27 April 1994). While a number of photographers and photojournalists worked alongside the Bang-Bang Club (such as James Nachtwey and Gary Bernard), Kevin Carter, Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek, and Joao Silva were the four main men associated with the name.

The name comes from the culture itself; township residents spoke to the photographers about the “bang-bang” as reference to violence occurring within their communities, but more literally, "bang-bang" refers to the sound of gunfire and is a colloquial form of nomemclature used by conflict photographers.

In the course of their work, the members accrued two Pulitzer prizes. Greg Marinovich won the Pulitzer for Spot News Photography for his coverage of the killing of Lindsaye Tshabalala in 1990. Kevin Carter won the Pulitzer for Featured Photography in 1994 for his photograph of a vulture that appeared to be stalking a starving child in southern Sudan. The latter drew intense scrutiny to the roles a photographer was to play, as Carter was asked many times if he had helped the child or not.

Tragically, the photography of the Bang-Bang Club ended with the death of Ken Oosterbroek, killed on April 18, 1994 while photographing a siege in Thokoza, a few days before the elections they had worked so hard to support. Marinovich, who was also shot, documented the incident in an autobiographical book about the "Bang-Bang Club" and believes that, ironically, he and Oosterbroek were inadvertently shot by stray bullets fired by members of the National Peacekeeping Force. Kevin Carter committed suicide on July 27, 1994. Both Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva have remained active photographers. In 2000, they authored The Bang-Bang Club, a book documenting their experiences.

BAD BOYZ HILLBROW PHOTO DOCUMENTARY

I shot this security guard at Cyrildene in Bedfordview (Chinatown), Joburg. The photo is part of a photo documentary series I'm currently shooting on security guards. This security guard told me he had to use his shotgun twice. He had shot two people with it.

CHARLES MANSON

The first of a series of prints and canvasses I did under my Alter Ego: Cyanide. This print belongs to a series of 3 about serial killers (no pun intended). The canvas is on sale at the ZOO Art Gallery & Shop at 44 Stanley Road.

ALBERT FISH

The second of a series of prints and canvasses I did under my Alter Ego: Cyanide. This print belongs to a series of 3 about serial killers (no pun intended). Albert Fish used to stick needles deep inside his head as a punishment that would, in his mind, make up for the murders he commited. A quote of his says "None of us are saints". He might be right on that one... The canvas is on sale at the ZOO Art Gallery & Shop at 44 Stanley Road.

INDUSTRIAL FISH

The fifth of a series of prints and canvasses I did under my Alter Ego: Cyanide. The print is built up out of various industrial tool silhouettes. It comments on the massive industrial pollution problem that will slowly but surely wipe out nature and its inhabitants. Serious mutations amongst living organisms like fish are highly likely to appear in a fishpond near you. It belongs to a series of industrial polution based prints. More to follow... The canvas is on sale at the ZOO Art Gallery & Shop at 44 Stanley Road.

SOWETO > SOUTH WESTERN TOWNSHIP

It's a sunny day in Jozi and I'm rolling with Jimmy (officially Joburg's coolest Soweto expert alive!) towards Soweto. I'm asking him 10.000 questions about Soweto and I'm asking him to not do the tourist thing and take me through the real Soweto. Here's some photo's I took that day.