MJVV Bree Taxi Still Large.jpg Still image from Bree Taxi Rank stereoscopic time-lapse film, presented as part of the Minutes 2010 exhibition by Theresa Collins and Mocke J van Veuren. Courtesy of the artists. The Rhythms of Minutes Mocke J van Veuren 34
MJVV Graph Comp 01.jpg Rhythmanalysis graph representing patterns and intensities of movement over time. M J van Veuren 2011. Courtesy of the artist. MJVV RA Movie Comp 01.jpg Combined stills from Minutes 2010: Time, Bodies, Rhythm, Johannesburg. T Collins & M J van Veuren 2010. Courtesy of the artists. This project was conducted towards an MTech in Fine Art through the UJ Department of Visual Art, completed in October 2012. The work was awarded the UJ Chancellor s Gold Medal in 2013. 35
The practical elements of the project progressed in dialogue with theoretical investigations, and comprised three main outputs: The Minutes 2010 video installation, a short film titled Minutes 2010: Time, bodies, rhythm, Johannesburg, and the Jozi Rhythmanalogues performance in November 2011. Overall, the iterations of the work struggled with the question of how to develop methods for the study of urban everyday life, combining empirical data and poetic interpretation. Specifically, the study aimed to engage with Henri Lefebvre s incomplete account of the poetic science of rhythmanalysis, a science of rhythms where the body and senses are given prime place as instruments of measure. This partial framework was brought into dialogue with the Minutes Project: a long-term study, in collaboration with artist Theresa Collins, of everyday urban Johannesburg through the mediums of time-lapse film and sound recording. Culminating in the Jozi Rhythmanalogues performance, the project explored a relation between the measuring function of indexical graphic traces and the rhythmic measure of bodily, sensory experience. 36
MJVV Swimming.mp4 Selection from underwater public swimming pool studies, presented as part of the Minutes 2010 exhibition by Theresa Collins and Mocke J van Veuren. Courtesy of the artists. A novel method of creating graphs from the patterns of movement in urban public spaces led to a musical rendition of these graphs as graphic scores, interpreted and performed by extraordinary musicians Siya Makuzeni, Bradley B Maponya and Joao Orecchia. The various outputs of The Rhythms of Minutes are intrinsically collaborative and cross-disciplinary, and represent a continuous, creative and critical conversation rather than a single, fixed point of view. While this decentred approach to the generation of knowledge often meets with resistance in our current academic milieu, I hope that this work may contribute to a shift towards more collaborative approaches to local knowledge production. 37
Uncles & Angels Mocke J van Veuren A film by Nelisiwe Xaba and Mocke J van Veuren Stereoscopic back projection or framed 3D monitor, 11 50 Uncles & Angels is a collaborative dance and film project created by Nelisiwe Xaba and myself in 2013. Based on our internationally successful stage performance of the same title, the stereoscopic film employs a minimal, constrained aesthetic within a box-like spatial frame to metaphorically elaborate on conceptions of feminine purity and virginity under patriarchy. The central allusion within the piece is the Reed Dance well known in Southern Africa as a colourful, cultural celebration that is meant to promote respect for young women and preserve the custom of girls remaining virgins until marriage. In light of this annual cultural happening, Uncles & Angels is a dream-like, sometimes nightmarish meditation on questions of chastity, virginity testing, purity, and tradition. Uncles Still Broadway.jpg Nelisiwe Xaba on the set of Xaba and Van Veuren s Uncles & Angels, 2013. Photo: Zelé Angelides 38
Uncles Still Reeds.jpg Nelisiwe Xaba on the set of Xaba and Van Veuren s Uncles & Angels, 2013. Photo: Zelé Angelides The film uses interactive, live projected video elements to play on different levels with singular/multiple bodies, repetition, mimicry and power relations between Xaba s real three-dimensional figure and flattened, projected bodies. I, in turn, use programmed video manipulation and a novel optical projection method to create a montage of live video images. The technology creates a backdrop of multiplication and temporal dissonance against which the choreography unfolds as a sometimes playful, Video MJVV Uncles 01.mp4 Selections from Uncles & Angels, stereoscopic film by Mocke J van Veuren and Nelisiwe Xaba, 2013. Courtesy of the artists. unpredictable, mutual interaction. Re-imagined elements of the Reed Dance and virginity testing are deliberately playacted by Xaba; sometimes as the dreams or anxieties of a little girl, sometimes as a role-play of imagined adulthood. Choreography that integrates allusions to the Venda Domba snake-dance and drum majorette routines is echoed through the use of delayed video signals. The Uncles & Angels film was awarded the FNB Art Prize in 2013. CREDITS: Uncles & Angels, Nelisiwe Xaba & Mocke J van Veuren Nelisiwe Xaba: Choreography and performance, Mocke J van Veuren: Live video, cinematography, post production and sound design. With music by João Orecchia Filmed at the Soweto Theatre, 2013. Special thanks to Goodman Gallery, Russell Bowden and Visual Impact, and ASE Screen Arts 39