Neglected tradition revived at Delta
2009-05-07
LAST week a cellar façade at the Solms-Delta farm, created by internationally acclaimed South African artist Joachim Schönfeldt, was officially introduced. Schönfeldt said that no one is doing such façades any more and that someone had to remind the public how it should be done. A friendship between Mark Solms, a co-owner of Solms-Delta and Schönfeldt resulted in this project. The façade consists of a 18th century map of the Western Cape, drawn by Adam Tas, on the western wall of the cellar. Superimposed over the landscape is a series of linking, golden highways that reinforce the stark lines of the cellar. Five big glazed ceramic discs, described as jewels, that are placed on the wall represent Cape Town, Paarl, Stellenbosch, Solms-Delta and Franschhoek. Each provides a précis in relief of these selected landmarks with the Solms-Delata disc that is located directly over the cellar door. The motif on the Solms-Delta disc is the Professor’s house. The façade was created using a variety of mixed media techniques that Schönfeldt workshopped with farmworkers. It included sculpture, clay modelling, ceramics, grouting and painting with pigments by using Khoesan techniques and natural materials from the farm. Schönfeldt said that it was vital that workers on the Solms-Delta farm also participate in the project. “We discover unrealised talent among people who live on the farm. We had to accommodate them in the busy seasonal and day-to-day demands of a working farm life to complete the project.” Craftsmen of Franschhoek, ceramicist David Walters and mould maker Klaus Fuhlbruegge help with the gargoyles that loom over the vast façade. The gargoyles consist of a death mask (representing a friend of Solms and Schönfeldt) and the head of a cow (in Africa, cows always implied wealth and sustenance).
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