15th Mar, 2023 18:00
20th Century & Contemporary Art
77
Billy Monk (South Africa 1937-1982)
Stills from The Catacombs series, fourteen
silver gelatin prints on fibre paper
Artwork date: 1967-1969
silver gelatin prints on fibre paper
Artwork date: 1967-1969
(14)
sizes variable
Provenance:
Private collection, Johannesburg.
Including:
Man and two women standing, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 23 x 15.5 cm unframed
The Catacombs, 6 November 1968, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 23 x 15 cm unframed
The Catacombs, 26 February 1969, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 23 x 15.5 cm unframed
Couple laughing, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 23 x 15.5 cm unframed
Woman standing at table with brandy, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 23 x 15.5 cm unframed
Couple kissing, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 23 x 15.5 cm unframed
Seated couple with sailor hat, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 23 x 15.5 cm unframed
Two men drinking Coca Cola, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 20 x 15.5 cm unframed
Man posing with woman in polka dot set, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 20 x 15.5 cm unframed
Couple standing next to car, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 20 x 15.5 cm unframed
Couple with Coca Cola and Limosin, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 20 x 15.5 cm unframed
Three men and a bouquet, sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 20 x 15.5 cm unframed
Woman with whistle: sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 20 x 15.5 cm unframed
Three people standing with cigarettes: sheet size: 25 x 20 cm; image size: 20 x 15.5 cm unframed
COLLECTOR'S NOTE:
In the mid-1960s Billy Monk worked as a bouncer in Cape Town but, armed with a camera, also took photos of people in clubs such as the notorious Catacombs. His photographs show a variety of the underbelly of Cape Town life at the time – ranging from old men with young wives and gay couples, to midgets and mixed race relationships, he shows a side of life under apartheid that is rarely seen elsewhere. In the words of art critic Ashraf Jamal, “Monk was able to capture the lives of people redeemed from apartheid’s scrutiny, for in these hidden worlds no one cared about status, caste, sexual preference. One senses too that Monk’s subjects knew and trusted him, for with him they could be themselves. If I consider Monk as one of South Africa’s greatest photographers it has everything to do with his humanity – he was no voyeur, no connoisseur, no brittle collector of others’ lives.”[1]
Watch: https://vimeo.com/327908758?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=90466558
[1] Jamal, A. (2013). Billy Monk: Love in a Loveless time. A Journal for Design, Volume 21, No. 1.
COLLECTIONS:
The artist is represented in local and international collections, notably, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town.
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Auction: 20th Century & Contemporary Art, 15th Mar, 2023
Kickstarting the 2023 program Aspire Art are delighted to present their first Live sale, 20th Century & Contemporary Art in March. The sale has become a highly anticipated event in the Cape Town auction calendar, showcasing and recognising works by truly exceptional artists from Southern Africa.
Contemporary highlights include seminal works by William Kentridge, Robert Hodgins, Sue Williamson, Johannes Phokela, Zander Blom, Athi-Patra Ruga, Dan Halter and Georgina Gratrix amongst others. International superstars include Pascale Marthine Tayou and Francisco Vidal. Photographic works feature prominently as a special section and include limited editioned prints by celebrated documentary photographers Alf Kumalo and David Goldblatt alongside incredible photographic works by artists like Mary Sibande, Ayana Jackson, Candice Breitz and the award-winning Mikhael Subotzky.
Leading the sale is a group of important and rare works by South African modern masters, most significantly a selection of expressive drawings by Dumile Feni and paintings by social realist George Pemba. The modern collection is complimented by a landscape painted by J.H. Pierneef and a beautifully rendered gouache by Irma Stern from 1951.
Preview: 10 to15 March
Mon-Fri: 8.30-4.30, Saturday: 10-2 or by appointment
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Logistics
While we endeavour to assist our Clients as much as possible, we require artwork(s) to be delivered and/or collected from our premises by the Client. In instances where a Client is unable to deliver or collect artwork(s), Aspire staff is available to assist in this process by outsourcing the services to one of our preferred Service Providers. The cost for this will be for the Client’s account, with an additional Handling Fee of 15% charged on top of the Service Provider’s invoice.
Aspire Art provides inter-company transfer services for its Clients between Johannesburg and Cape Town branches. These are based on the size of the artwork(s), and charged as follows:
Small (≤60x90x10 cm): R480
Medium (≤90x120x15 cm): R960
Large (≤120x150x20 cm): R1,440
Over-size: Special quote
Should artwork(s) be collected or delivered to/from Clients by Aspire Art directly, the following charges will apply:
Collection/delivery ≤20km: R400
Collection/delivery 20km>R800≤50km
Collection/delivery >50km: Special quote
Packaging
A flat fee of R100 will be added to the invoice for packaging of unframed works on paper.
International Collectors Shipping Package
For collectors based outside South Africa who purchase regularly from Aspire Art’s auctions in South Africa, it does not make sense to ship artworks individually or per auction and pay shipping every time you buy another work. Consequently, we have developed a special collectors’ shipping package to assist in reducing shipping costs and the constant demands of logistics arrangements.
For buyers from outside South Africa, we will keep the artworks you have purchased in storage during the year and then ship all the works you have acquired during the year together, so the shipping costs are reduced. At the end of the annual period, we will source various quotes to get you the best price, and ship all your artworks to your desired address at once.
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Collections
Collections are by appointment, with 24-hours’ notice
Clients are requested to contact the relevant office and inform Aspire Art of which artwork(s) they would like to collect, and allow a 24-hour window for Aspire Art’s logistics department to retrieve the artwork(s) and prepare them for collection.
Handling Fee
Aspire Art charges a 15% Handling Fee on all Logistics, Framing, Restoration and Conservation arranged by Aspire.