Two South African online video makers recognised by peers in New York at Guggenheim
Die Antwoord, from Zef Side session
NEW YORK — Two South African online video makers, one
living in Cape Town, the other an emerging musician now based in Australia,
were amongst the 25 finalists selected by a distinguished jury for the
inaugural YouTube Play: A Biennial of Creative Video. Convened by Nancy
Spector, deputy director and chief curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Foundation, the biennial drew 23,358 online video submissions from 91
countries.
Knysna-born Sean Metelerkamp was selected for his massively popular Zef Side music video for the avant-pop musical outfit Die Antwoord. The video, which has had over four million hits on YouTube, introduces the band and their unvarnished Cape Town milieu.
Die Antwoord, from Zef Side session
Metelerkamp was approached by Die Antwoord’s frontman
Ninja (aka Waddy Jones) last year to help create a moving image for the concept
band. “I enjoy working with anyone who is excited about
creating something fresh,” Metelerkamp told 10and5.com in February. “I couldn’t
care what the image/video is used for as long as it is satisfying creating it.”
His video, which went viral earlier this year, is credited with introducing the band to a widespread international audience. Die Antwoord, who have been criticised by some commentators for their appropriation of the iconography of Western Cape gang culture, later went on to sign an international recording contract with Los Angeles label Interscope.
Pogo aka Nick Bertke
The other South African selected was Nick Bertke. Better
known by his musical alias Pogo, Bertke was born in Cape Town (1988) and
currently lives in Perth, Australia. His selected entry, Gardyn, is a
stuttering sound-visual collage recorded in his mother’s garden; the sampled,
textured beats recalls the work of electronic composer Matthew Herbert.
Metelerkamp and Bertke’s work was seen and adjudicated by an illustrious jury, comprising artist and musician Laurie Anderson; music group Animal Collective; filmmaker Darren Aronofsky; visual artists Douglas Gordon, Ryan McGinley, Marilyn Minter and Takashi Murakami; artists and filmmakers Shirin Neshat and Apichatpong Weerasethakul; and graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister.
“It was our goal to reach the widest possible audience, inviting individuals from around the world to submit a video for consideration,” said Spector, who has previously curated exhibitions of work by Matthew Barney and Joseph Beuys. “While our original goal had been to select 20, the jury was so moved by the quality of work submitted that we decided to honour a final list of 25. We believe the end result is 25 of the most unique and innovative video work to be created and distributed online during the past two years.”
The winning videos are on view at the Guggenheim Museum in New York October 22—24 and at YouTube.com/play.
Links:
Die Antwoord’s Zef Side by Sean Metelerkamp
Sean Metelerkamp, b. 1984 in Knysna, South Africa, lives
in Cape Town, South Africa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q77YBmtd2Rw
Gardyn by Pogo
Pogo (Nick Bertke), b. 1988 in Capetown, South Africa,
lives in Perth, Australia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBN-CAhOYQ0&feature=player_embedded
Guggenheim Press Release (0.21 MB)
