Taking in some culture

I have at last ventured through the doors of the mysterious construction that took place over the last few years on the site of the old Barnyard farmstall in Tokai, which turned out to be the magnificently architectured Norval Foundation art and sculpture centre, set in a protected wetland and designed to allow the visitor to not only enjoy the exhibitions inside, but also the sweeping mountain views outside. There is no doubt, as you enter the quiet and cool space, that attention to detail in design was foremost, and it is indeed a most welcoming space.
There are currently three major exhibitions, Nudes in the Sanlam Art Collection, Labour of Many by Ibrahim Maham and On the Mines by David Goldblatt. This is not a review of the exhibitions but rather an overview of my experience. I am a bit of an art philistine despite being an artist myself, in that I do not always appreciate all art forms nor enjoy the sometimes pretentiousness that goes with it, but I know what I do like and that is beauty and something that resonates with the soul. Fortunately everybody has different tastes and ideas of what appeals to them, otherwise there would be millions of starving artists out there.
The photographs of David Goldblatt are astounding. The black and white images of mines, mining and miners in South Africa in the 1960s are a revelation that might have changed the course of our history if we had been exposed to them from a young age and had any concept of the realities of the exploitation of mineral wealth. You can feel the heat, the sweat, the danger, the darkness. The appalling conditions. There is a full length documentary continuously running in a screening room, with short interviews with the late Nadine Gordimer and Goldblatt - these were excellent and gave real meaning to what we had seen, and although time did not allow us to watch the documentary, I will definitely be going back to see it and look at the photographs again. I don't think any exhibition has grabbed my attention like this one.
The gallery is not a cheap visit, but I signed up as a member (pensioner's rate!) plus 1 guest for a year and the benefits make it so worthwhile that it would be foolish not to take up this excellent option. The Skotnes Restaurant has set the bar very high for ambience, service, food and general desire to visit many more times, and I look forward to spending many pleasurable hours in this most cultured corner of Cape Town.