YIELD Noeleen Kleve art.b Gallery Bellville 22 Nov 2011 - 12 Jan 2012
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Fig. 1 If the bee disappeared (detail, cover page) Fig. 2 From the surface (detail) Fig. 3 If the bee disappeared (detail) (overleaf)
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Contents
Introductory essay................................6 Endnotes........................................................31 List of Illustrations..................................33 Bibliography..............................................36 Curriculum Vitae.................................37
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“If the bee disappeared from the surface of the earth, then man[kind] would only have four years of life left� - Albert Einstein
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Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is “a disorder affecting honeybee colonies characterized by sudden colony death … affect[ing] the adult bees’ ability to navigate. They leave the hive to find pollen and never return” (Hood 2009).
Fig. 4 If the bee disappeared (detail)
Fig. 5 If the bee disappeared (detail) Fig. 6 If the bee disappeared (detail)
Fig. 7 Copper etching plate(detail)
A lifelong fascination for the honeybee has fuelled my research into environmental concerns around bees and our dependence upon them for survival. A conversation with a local beekeeper gave me insight into threats to the bee species, such as the increasing lack of food supply - bee forage i - and the consequent stresses placed on these vital pollinators. 8
Fig. 8 Then man[kind] would only have
Yield refers to crops: up to 90% of food crops are pollinated by bees. Loss of sustainable crops would lead to a global food shortage, and ultimately a threat to human life (Verwijs 2011).
Yield implies a ‘bringing in’ or ’bringing forth’ - honeybees bring nectar into the hive for food, and bring forth information about the sites of pollen. Their sophisticated communication and navigational skills are being destroyed by crop pesticides.
Yield relates to the notions of surrender, evoking the dying of bees due to negligence in human environmental mismanagement.
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Fig. 9 Of the globe (detail) 12
And Yield invites a pause, an opportunity to contemplate ways in which we, as individuals, could become more environmentally proactive.
Fig. 10 Fig. 11 Fig. 12 Fig. 13 Fig. 14
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Then man[kind] would only have (detail) From the surface (detail) If the bee disappeared (detail) If the bee disappeared (detail) Four years of life left
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Fig. 15 Came forth sweetness
Fig. 17 Cream of the crop (detail)
Fig. 16 What’s the buzz 15
Central to my own concerns have been questions around my relationship to the environment and a need to understand my position on environmental ethics, which led me to consider the idea of Stewardship.ii
Contrary to Anthropocentrism - which blames mankind’s superiority for the overexploitation of all other life forms (Brennan 2008) - Stewardship implies benevolent custody.
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Fig. 18 From the surface
German artist Joseph Beuys (1921 – 1986) was a protégé of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy iii. In 1923, Steiner predicted the dire state of the honeybee today. Beuys’s philosophy - to inspire his viewers to “creatively get involved in changing themselves and the world” (Adams 1998:213) - has resonated strongly with me.
Fig. 19 for•age
His use of diverse and unconventional materials, which included beeswax, copper and honey, prompted my choices of technique and materials, namely etching on copper matrixes with a beeswax hardground resist; and integrating copper and beeswax into the sculpture for•age. 19
Fig. 20 Hexagonal etching plate 1 Fig. 21 Hexagonal etching plate 2 Fig. 22 Hexagonal etching plate 3
Contemporary South African artist, Kim Gurney was also influenced by Steiner’s writings. I am inspired by her engagement with the ecological impact of human development on honeybees and her use of beeswax and honeycomb structures in her artwork.
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Fig. 23 If the bee disappeared (detail)
The technique of blind embossing underpins what we choose not to see as well as the absence inherent in the potential for extinction.
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Fig. 24 Refrain (detail)
The ‘impression’ caused by the printmaking process has long had an association with the idea of it being a metaphor for sociopolitical ‘impressions’ (Hobbs & Rankin 1997:3), in my case, with environmental issues.
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A narrative sequence was created to illustrate Einstein’s quote: ‘If the bee disappeared’ ‘From the surface’ ‘Of the globe’ ‘Then man[kind] would only have’ ‘Four years of life left’.
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Fig. 25 Installation view of narrative sequence
The images here evoke the flight paths of bees, patterns on bee wings, geographical contour paths, honeycomb hexagons and microscopic fragments of bees’ wings.
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Fig 26. Then man[kind] would only have (detail)
In the work Fragility, the hand-cut paper alludes to delicacy or insubstantiality, and stands for the dissection and revealing of the crises concerning the honeybee.
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Fig. 27 Fragility (detail)
Fig. 28 Disorder (detail)
The documentation of bee flight paths by harmonic radar exhibits a myriad of marks evoking a sense of confusion and loss. My cutting away with a punch tool in the work Colony, Collapse, Disorder signifies loss: loss of memory, communication, the life of bees, and ultimately loss of pollination and sustainable crops.
Fig. 29 Disorder (detail)
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Fig. 30 Installation view: Colony, Collapse, Disorder
Environmental issues are a concern of many contemporary artists. With Yield, I hope to have sparked some understanding of this significant environmental challenge. As individuals, the choices we make may seem to yield small results, but accumulatively could have a radical effect on the plight of the honeybee; and Einstein’s prediction need not become a reality.
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Fig. 31 Four years of life left (detail)
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ENDNOTES
i For bees, their forage or food supply consists of nectar and pollen from flowering plants within flight range. Honey bees need natural nutrition from plants to cope with pests, pathogens and other challenges. Bee forage is at risk due to felling of trees in the interests of water-wise programs and urban development, as well as the use of pesticides and other environmentally mismanaged practices (Francisco 2010). ii Christian stewardship interprets the Genesis commandment as “a divine charge to be good stewards and to take care of and protect the earth and all living creatures� (Kearns 1996:58). iii Anthroposophy is a philosophy introduced early in the twentieth century by Austrian Rudolf Steiner. It proposes the existence of an intellectually comprehensible spiritual world and is rooted in the philosophies of Aristotle, Plato and Thomas Aquinas (Setzer 1998). iv Harmonic radar is a system suitable for use in tracking moderate-sized, low-flying insects including bees, with the use of a portable transmitter-receiver attached to the bee. The device is used to measure various attributes of their flight (http://www.actahort.org/books/437/437_15.htm accessed on 5/9/2011).
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Fig. 32 If the bee disappeared (detail)
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 2 Noeleen Kleve, From the surface (2011) (detail). Sugarlift etching with soft- and hardground etching and aquatint on Hahnemühle with embossing and hand-cut detail. 507 x 790mm Fig. 3 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 4 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 5 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 6 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 7 Noeleen Kleve, Copper sugarlift and softground etching plate for ‘Then man[kind] would only have’ (2011) (detail). 350 x 300mm Fig. 8 Noeleen Kleve, Then man[kind] would only have (2011). Sugarlift etching with soft- and hardground etching and aquatint and Chine-collé on Hahnemühle with embossing and hand-cut detail. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 9 Noeleen Kleve, Of the globe (2011) (detail). Sugarlift etching with aquatint, pencil, embossing and hand-cut detail on Hahnemühle. Laser engraved perspex. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 10 Noeleen Kleve, Then man[kind] would only have (2011) (detail). Sugarlift etching with soft- and hardground etching and aquatint. Chine-collé on Hahnemühle with embossing and hand-cut detail. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 11 Noeleen Kleve, From the surface (2011) (detail). Sugarlift etching with soft- and hardground etching and aquatint on Hahnemühle with embossing and hand-cut detail. 507 x 790mm
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Fig. 12 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 13 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 14 Noeleen Kleve, Four years of life left (2011) (detail). Hardground etching and aquatint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 15 Noeleen Kleve, Came forth sweetness (2011). Hand-cut on Hahnemühle Britannia. 360 x 440mm Fig. 16 Noeleen Kleve, What’s the buzz (2011). Hand-cut on Hahnemühle Britannia. 410 x 410mm Fig. 17 Noeleen Kleve, Cream of the crop (2011) (detail). Hand-cut on Hahnemühle Britannia. 480 x 470mm Fig. 18 Noeleen Kleve, From the surface (2011). Sugarlift etching with soft- and hardground etching and aquatint on Hahnemühle with embossing and hand-cut detail. 507 x 790mm Fig. 19 Noeleen Kleve, for•age (2011). Eucalyptus saligna wood, copper etching plates, offset print on copper hexagons, beeswax. 480 x 565mm Fig. 20 Noeleen Kleve, Hexagonal etching plate 1 for Sustain and Refrain (2011). Hardground etching and aquatint on hexagonal copper etching plate. 52 x 58mm Fig. 21 Noeleen Kleve, Hexagonal etching plate 2 for Sustain and Refrain (2011). Hardground etching and aquatint on hexagonal copper etching plate. 52 x 58mm Fig. 22 Noeleen Kleve, Hexagonal etching plate 3 for Sustain and Refrain (2011). Hardground etching and aquatint on hexagonal copper etching plate. 52 x 58mm Fig. 23 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 24 Noeleen Kleve, Refrain (2011) (detail). Hardground etching with aquatint and embossing on Hahnemühle. 300 x 570mm
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Fig. 25 Noeleen Kleve, Installation view of narrative sequence, from left to right: ‘If the bee disappeared’ ‘From the surface’ ‘Of the globe’ ‘Then man[kind] would only have’ ‘Four years of life left’ (2011). Hard- and softground etching, aquatint, sugarlift and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing and hand-cut detail; laser-engraved and laser cut detail in perspex. Each 507 x 790mm. Fig. 26 Noeleen Kleve, Then man[kind] would only have (2011) (detail). Lasercut perspex over sugarlift etching with soft- and hardground etching and aquatint. Chine-collé on Hahnemühle with embossing and handcut detail. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 27 Noeleen Kleve, Fragility (2011) (detail). Hand-cut Arches paper. 565 x 765mm. Fig. 28 Noeleen Kleve, Disorder (2011) (detail). Vegetable seeds. 80 x 560mm. Fig. 29 Noeleen Kleve, Disorder (2011) (detail). Hand-punched blotting paper 125 x 655mm. Fig. 30 Noeleen Kleve, Installation view from left to right: Colony, Collapse, Disorder (2011). 145 x 520mm (Colony); 150 x 620mm (Collapse); 125 x 655mm (Disorder). Fig. 31 Noeleen Kleve, Four years of life left (2011) (detail). Hardground etching and aquatint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 32 Noeleen Kleve, If the bee disappeared (2011) (detail). Hardground etching, aquatint and monoprint on Hahnemühle with embossing. 507 x 790mm. Fig. 33 Noeleen Kleve, Sustain (2011) (detail). Hardground etching with aquatint and embossing on Hahnemühle. 300 x 570mm.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Adams, D. 1998. The artistic alchemy of Joseph Beuys, in Bees: Lectures by Rudolf Steiner. Gt Barrington: Anthroposophic Press. Ashley-Cooper, B. 2011. Expert Beekeeper. Personal interview. 9 June, Cape Town. Brennan, A. and Lo, YS. 2008. Environmental Ethics. Sv “Environmental ethics”. Available at http://plato.stanford.edu/ (accessed on 24/05/2011). Francisco, C. 2010. American foulbrood [DVD]. Cape Town. Sv “Colony Collapse”. Hobbs, P and Rankin, E. 1997. Printmaking in a transforming South Africa. Cape Town and Johannesburg: David Phillips. Hood, M. 2009. Honeybees and Colony Collapse Disorder: Year in Review 2008. Sv “Colony Collapse Disorder”. Available at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1348211/ colony-collapse-disorder-CCD (accessed on 2/6/2011). Kearns, L. 1996. Saving the creation: Christian environmentalism in the United States. Sociology of Religion. Special issue: Sociology of Culture and Sociology of Religion [Online] Vol 57(1) (Spring): 55-70. Available at: http:// www.jstor.org/stable/3712004 (accessed on 5/6/2011). Setzer, V.W. 1998. Anthroposophy. Sv. “Anthroposophy”. Available at: www.sab.org.br (accessed on 24/05/2011). Verwijs, R. 2011. The plight of the honey bee. Sv “Honeybee”. Available at: www.securefoodsavebees.com (accessed on 1/04/2011). Young, P. 2010. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Revere. Available at http://dalspace.library.dal.ca/ bitstream/handle/10222/12816/thesis_final.pdf?sequence=1 (accessed on 05/06/2011).
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Noeleen Kleve Born
1962. East London, South Africa Lives and works in Kommetjie (Cape Town)
Education 1981-1983 1995 2006 – present
Diploma in Graphic Design – Ruth Prowse School of Art Photoshop, Freehand – MacTrain Computer Graphics College BVA Studies at UNISA
Professional 1984 - 1986 1986 - 1987 1987 - 1988 1988 – 1992 1993 – 1998 2000 - 2004 2006 – present 2010 – present
Graphic designer – Omega Art (Cape Town) Graphic designer - Fine Advertising (Cape Town) Graphic designer – Protomarque (Cape Town) Freelance designer (Cape Town) Part-time lecturer in Graphic design – Austin Ellis Graphic Design College Print, design and laminating business owner (Fish Hoek, Cape Town) Self-employed artist Teaching as part of LifeXchange project
Selected Group Exhibitions 2010 2011
‘[In]sight’ exhibition, Rust-en-Vrede (Cape Town) ‘Print’ exhibition, These Four Walls (Cape Town) ‘Les Artistes’ exhibition, Aardvark Gallery (Cape Town) ‘Berg’ exhibition, Athol Fugard Festival (Nieu Bethesda) ‘Print’ exhibition, Rust-en-Vrede (Cape Town) ‘Animals in law and society: perspectives from Africa and beyond’ exhibition, Unisa (Pretoria)
Art Competitions 2011 Sasol New Signatures (Pretoria) Vuleka Awards (Cape Town) Thami Mnyele (Johannesburg) Contact details
email: kleve@global.co.za Cell: 083 330 5577
Fig. 33 Sustain (detail)
Photography: Noeleen Kleve and Leah Hawker Design and layout: Noeleen Kleve Printing: House of Colours Catalogue 1 2011
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