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About one hundred years ago, in response to the ethos of a British colonial school in
Africa, Herbert Baker designed St John’s College in Johannesburg. The look of the
school took its cue from the English vernacular, a style which many of the Masters,
who had come from England to teach in South Africa, would have found familiar.
The reassuring and cosy language of the Arts and Craft movement served as a part
of various boys’ lives, with the additions and alterations harmonising with the existing
buildings over the years. During those one hundred odd years, South Africa has
evolved into a different country. No longer a colony, its schools aim to serve the
diverse groups that make up the population of South Africa.
Vi a
AT
S T
J O H N’S
Our world is a materialistic and secular one, its citizens often self-centred. We need to
shift our gaze from ourselves to make it a better place. Philanthropy is the sharing of our
lives and our resources with others, and ultimately, the giving of our hearts.
St John’s Old Boys Clayton Seager, Rally Schachat and Kyle Schachat have generously
facilitated this loan of works by Edoardo Villa to St John’s College. They will serve as a
wonderful extension of the rich cultural heritage that is St John’s College and we are
privileged to be entrusted with their safekeeping.
Art gives colour and identity to our lives, shaping our world view and giving depth to
our understanding. At St John’s we are enriched by a diversity of cultures and within
it we seek to identify all that is good, beautiful and truthful. We respect the diverse
understandings and are challenged to think more deeply about our traditional views.
Art has the power to shift our minds and hearts by reminding us that not everything is
certain and absolute. It can challenge us to rethink our beliefs and it can broaden our
horizons to include the new. At the heart of education is a similar purpose. We need
to be inspired, to be creative, and to look with awe at the wonderful world around us.
Art helps us to look with new eyes.
While we know that St John’s will continue to celebrate its past traditions, we feel
that these challenging abstract works will inspire pupils to confront and question old
norms and boundaries.
Roger Cameron, Headmaster
This group of sculptures gives us an opportunity to look at the main shifts in Edoardo Villa’s career from the early 1960s to mid 2000s. Essentially
Modernist, his work reflects elements of Cubism, Constructivism and Abstraction. But he was also exposed to African art, which emerges in his
work alongside visual references to the socio-political landscape of the time.
In almost all of Villa’s work the human figure is present, even at its most abstract. On one hand, the figure is recognisable in his Cubist bronze
compositions. But in others the figures become more mechanistic or robotic, as Villa emphasised form through abstract line and material. Here the
figure is further from Henry Moore and closer to Darth Vader.
During the 90s Villa worked with steel sheets cut into circles,
semi-circles and ovals, which he curved into sheaths.
He later combined these with solid shapes made from joined
sections, which look like capsules or canisters, often resembling
bombs. In Endogenous (1997), pairs of capsules are positioned
symmetrically on top of a central core cylinder and partly
enclosed by sheaths. The protruding knobs on the two front
capsules make them look like breasts, while the sliced pipes
at the top seem like guns. The sculpture becomes a terrifying
mechanical goddess of war – a female terminator – unfolding her
weapons as she enters the combat zone.
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When you enter the school grounds, you catch glimpses of sculptures that might seem difficult to figure out. But as you walk through the school and look
at each work, there are recurring aspects that emerge. The sculptures have been placed along a path that allows for a conversation between the works.
This appears through form, structure and theme as you move from one work to the next but also when seeing the sculptures framed by the buildings.
In Maquette for Confrontation (1978) you can see a number of tubes of
varying heights topped with short horizontal split pipes. There is no uniformity
across these as each is set slightly off the vertical plane, suggesting dynamic instability
in the structure. These could be people
engaged in some kind of emotional
tension. This sculpture is not illustrative
of a particular event but reflects the
impending sense of doom Villa felt
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after the 1976 Soweto uprising. The
impression of emotional conflict is clear
in the series of fractured poles and
curved planes, recalling the aggression,
rupture, violence and pain of that time.
In the mid-70s Villa created a series of sculptures made
only from sealed pipes painted in bright colours. These
depict intertwined forms suggesting relationships. The seemingly
solid pipes are visually linear rather than three-dimensional, forming
fluid shapes that hint at the gestures we recognise between people.
In The Conversation (c. 1975), two vertical pipe forms painted bright
green and orange stand close together on a marble base. Together,
they look like two people deeply engrossed in conversation, perhaps
whispering some juicy gossip or engaged in serious flirting.
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Around 1972 Villa created a series of minimalist
works from tensile steel sheets in zigzag
compositions. Painted in sombre colours, the sculptures
look like drawings in space as the line made by the
steel offers the only clue as to what is represented.
Looking at Vertical Movement (c. 1972) you can see that the
work has a graphic, linear quality that resembles a Picasso line
drawing as Villa used the thin edge of wide steel plates to create
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a shape reminiscent of cartoon movement.
While vastly different in subject matter to other works in the group, Zurgon
(1992) combines various elements that appeared previously. Cut and bent
sheets, a flowing pipe and prefabricated sections
are welded together and rest on three points on a
floating base. The resulting structure looks like
something from a science-fiction movie – part
human, part creature, with a distinctly Star
Trooper-ish helmet. It resembles a giant robotic
insect hovering over the ground, ready to take
off at any second.
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Foyer of the Rene England Auditorium,
below the Alan Wilcock Vulindlela Centre
Angular flat sheets intersected by pairs of straight pipes appear to explode
beyond their physical space as the sculpture is tilted onto a diagonal plane,
as if Villa captured a freeze frame of a machine on the move. War Machine (1986)
comes from a series of works in the mid80s resembling the tools of war – tanks,
cannons and rockets – wherein Villa was
concerned about the misguided conviction
of their use for power and control. The strong
contrast between the black exterior
and red interior of the pipes and
stark shadows intensifies the
aggressive feeling of the sculpture.
During the late 80s Villa limited his constructions to pipe forms, cut on
the diagonal and densely packed into compositions. In Looking at the Sun
(1987), the pipes are loosely arranged obliquely along a horizontal plane. Resisting
our expectation of a dark interior, Villa has painted the insides of the pipes bright
yellow and the outside black, emphasising
the shapes of the pipes and the distinction
between the different parts. There is no
figurative reference here. This work simply
explores patterns of form, colour and line
in abstraction, and feels quite playful.
Paul Cézanne said that all forms in nature could be broken down
into three basic parts: cube, cone and sphere. This formed a
central premise of the European avant-garde. In Mother and Child (1983)
the stylised figure, in its reduction to geometric form, is one of the few
places that we see Cubism manifest so rigorously in Villa’s work. On top
of a simple column, a face is suggested by three planes meeting on the
spherical head. The elongated body swells into slanted hips containing
a hollow, symbolising the womb. The shoulder is juxtaposed with two
strong lines indicating her forearms, above which is a small sphere – our only
reference to a child in her embrace. With these small clues, you can imagine
a woman tenderly cradling a small child, a quiet protector.
Standing Mask (c. 2007), like most of Villa’s post-apartheid
work, is more playful. The bright colours are evocative without
detracting from the still dominant geometric forms. A tall navy column
forms the main structure. A capsule with a green curved oval above and
blue arrow shape below could be a nose, eye (or ornament) and mouth,
while two blue curved ovals on either side might be ears or slit eyes.
Masks are used to transport the wearer into another sphere of being and,
in Africa, many have distinctive forms with a face abstracted into simple
yet recognisable features.
Villa’s work in the late ’90s was dominated by the cone which becomes
the main feature in Group I (2000). Three conical
shapes topple away from the central axis with the upright
cones extending into pipes curving back toward the centre.
A number of origami-like folded semi-circular planes draw
symmetry into the structure. It is not clear whether the title
refers to a group of shapes or figures. While it is easy to
differentiate between the separate forms there is also
balance and unity in their arrangement. They feel fluid
and organic as if imitating the movement of a dancer.
Perhaps it is no more than a set of abstract connections,
or Villa’s exuberant study of form.
In Balance (2004) Villa continued with the conical shape
we see in Group I. Here the cone is split in half vertically
and stacked base-to-base at an angle, combined with semi-circular
flat sheets, pipes and caps with a triangular apex at the centre, and
suspended off a bent pipe at the base. The apex creates a focal
point for the work, drawing your awareness to the negative space
around the work and up to the pipes radiating outwards. You are
swept up in a visual vortex where it is difficult to decide whether
the sculpture is a figure, a hand or pure abstract form.
Like Mother and Child, Mapogga Woman (1964) is
another example of the Cubist fragmented figure, but it
also integrates elements of a stylised African identity that were in
vogue in the 60s and that preoccupied Villa’s work at the time.
Mapogga was the name given to the Ndebele people by
Voortrekkers in the mid-19th century after their encounter
with Chief Mabhogo who ruled at that time. The pose of this
figure has a formal, hieratic feel, evoking a solemn mood, like a
sentinel watching over us. The figure is columnar, narrow at the
top becoming broader at the base, with body parts implied by a
series of shapes – a sphere with protruding rod for a head and
eye, two uneven hemispheres for breasts, the curved form
around the neck most likely referring to an Ndebele beaded
blanket. Together, these build up an impression of the
figure, rather than a literal form.
Guerriere Morente (1979), ), meaning ‘the dying soldier’, encapsulates the
atmosphere of social unrest during the late 70s, but also Villa’s own experience
of pre-war Italy and his concern for the future of South Africa. This is probably the most
abstracted figure in this group of sculptures and it is difficult to see a human form in
these pieces of steel. But allow your eyes to blur and try to imagine a body
lying in front of you, chest twisted and leaning on a bent elbow; head
inclined a few moments before death. The long bar running diagonally
through the centre forms the soldier’s torso, while the triangular
point on which the upper part rests is his elbow. A short bar
with two points creates his head looking down.
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This Seated Figure (c. 1960s) is reminiscent of Henry Moore’s reclining
figures. But while Moore’s figures are more organic with rounded forms, Villa’s
retain an underlying geometric structure. Imagine Villa
working with Plasticine, rolling it into cubes, cylinders
and spheres and pushing these together in different
ways to create figures. While the details are removed,
the core of the figure remains. At the base of this
sculpture, two halved cylinders abut each other, hinting
at legs pressed together. Above them is an elongated cylinder
forming the torso, capped by a bulbous form that could be
breasts or a deformed head. Can you imagine a demure
lady sitting on the grass?
The Lovers (1980) comes out of the series of pipe-forms
from the mid-70s. Made from three curved pipes, the
shape suggests intimacy between two people. While the colour
is more sombre than earlier work, the red painted cut edge
with bright blue peeking out of the inside adds some frivolity.
Villa works with enormous complexity yet reduces the image to
a simple line that is as effective in communicating an experience as a
naturalistic work. This was an important approach of the avant-garde,
moving away from realist or naturalist depiction. The eye and imagination
fill the gap, allowing the mind to interpret the whole.
Like War Machine, Prisoner (1983) iis also
dark and hostile but more concerned with
issues of power and control. This imposing structure is
made of many heavy steel planes cut into angular and semicircular shapes, welded together to construct a closed
space that is broken by the diagonal pipe and offset
point running through it. The windows into its interior
are blocked by menacing steel bars. It is hard to tell
if this is a prison or a prisoner or even a policeman
protected by a riot shield, and there is again a strong
feeling of mechanical robotic power, perhaps referring to the
dehumanised power of state control.
Rising Form (c.1970s) was made around the same time as
Confrontation and also reflects the underlying political
tension of the late 70s. A mixture of rectangular C
and H-beams are stacked haphazardly at various
angles. There is no unity or regularity in
the composition making it feel seriously
unstable – as if the entire structure might
topple over at any moment. With its cut angular edges,
the work feels hostile as the slanted points are poised to
inflict pain. There is no figurative element to this work. But
it does embody an emotional experience, describing to us
how Villa felt about the unrest.
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At St John’s Pre-Prep
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BURGER RUGBY FIELD
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E D O A R D O V I L L A AT S T J O H N ’ S
By Karel Nel and Jeannine Howse
Edoardo Villa was one of South Africa’s pre-eminent sculptors. His creativity has been characterised by a disciplined work ethic
international art world and his close friends, Vittorini Meneghelli and Egon Guenther, made a considerable impact. Both were
encapsulated in his phrase, ‘to work is to live’. Born in Italy in 1915, Villa was by circumstance South African. Conscripted to the army
significant dealers who worked with modern art in Europe prior to settling in South Africa and both collected African art. Cubism
when the Second World War began, he was sent to South Africa as a prisoner of war. He chose to remain in Johannesburg after his
was radically influenced by African art and the simplified representation of human form found in African sculpture resonated
release in 1947, where he spent the rest of his life working to fulfil his focused artistic vision, until he passed away in May 2011.
with Cubist ideals. Both had a powerful effect on Villa, evident in his stylisation of the figure with a robust central core. Karel Nel
says that ‘Villa may never have quoted African art directly but its characteristics are nevertheless clearly discernable in his art’
Having understood the avant-garde lessons of his early training in Italy, his work in part looked to Europe, reflecting elements
and there is a distinct African presence in his sculpture.
of Cubism, Constructivism and Abstraction. But he was also exposed to African art here, which emerged in his sculptures
alongside visual references to the socio-political and natural landscape. Villa was engaged with the very fabric of the society in
The idea of creating minimal form that conveyed meaning without narrative is central to Modernism. Abstraction is essential to
which he was living and producing art. As Esmé Berman explains, ‘Villa’s work speaks not of the appearance, but the experience
this concept. Villa’s fascination with the possibilities Modernism offered led to his progressive move toward the abstract. During
of Africa.’
the 1950s he started using welded steel to construct sculpture. Easily accessible and relatively inexpensive, steel allowed him
to create direct sculptures rather than transforming material through reductive modelling as he had done previously. At first Villa
Villa’s work is characterised by a powerful anthropomorphism. In almost all of his work the human figure is present, even
used remnants that he cut, bent and welded to create abstract form. Later on he made use of flat sheets and prefabricated
at its most abstract. On one hand, the figure is easily recognisable in primarily Cubist compositions which reference his
shapes like pipes, beams, hemispheres and funnels in endless variations.
early constructivist reliefs. But in other works the figures become more mechanistic or robotic, as Villa emphasises pure
form through abstract line and material. Here the anthropomorphic is further from Henry Moore and closer to Darth Vader.
These are not statues, frozen in their representation of a historical figure or allegorical nude. Rather your eye is swept into a visual
While his earlier work is more Rodin-like in that you can see the figure, in later work the figure is increasingly faceted as
vortex of form and colour, encouraging you to decode the emotion of the sculpture through your own experience. Villa’s sculptures
Villa played with the steel so that the viewer now senses the figure.
are disruptive presences filled with dynamic tension. They are austere and powerful with a sense of spontaneity so different from the
traditional sculpture made by other artists at that time. His work was never overtly political but reflected very clearly what Villa heard,
Most works reflect single figures, groups of figures or fragments of the human body. The fragments are metonymic, standing
felt and saw in the country – a response to his environment and the South African psyche. Perhaps this is why they are both powerful
in for an emotional, socio-political or human experience. From tender to terrifying and ultimately optimistic, these sculptures
and unsettling for many people.
are emotion made visible. Some are clear references to the political environment at the time, but for Villa they more importantly
reflected the trauma of the human condition, perhaps because of his own experience of war.
Over the course of his life Villa had 35 solo exhibitions, participated in more than 74 group shows, represented South Africa at
the Venice Biennale five times and at the Sao Paolo Biennale twice. He was whole-heartedly dedicated to his life project and over
His primary interest was in exploring the formalist boundaries of sculpture. He continuously looked at developments in the
the decades has created an indelible mark through the abstract works he has left behind.
GLOSSARY
Cubism – a new way of representing reality in art invented by Picasso and Braque from 1907– 08,
Metonymic – figurative language where one term is used in place of something else that it is related to or
Abstract art – means that the artist starts with some visible object and extracts elements from it to create/
along with Juan Gris. Objects are broken up, analysed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form –
often associated with, where a part stands in for the whole.
construct a more or less simplified or schematised form.
depicting the subject from multiple viewpoints to represent it in a more extensive context. Cubism
Minimalist – referring to Minimalism, a form of abstract art that emphasises the extreme
Anthropomorphism – attributing human-like characteristics to something that is not human.
was the starting point for much abstract art, and opened up almost infinite new possibilities for the
simplification of form by using basic geometric shape and monochromatic colour and usually
Avant-garde – meaning at the forefront or innovatory, introducing and exploring new forms, or pushing
treatment of reality in art. ‘A head,’ said Picasso, ‘is a matter of eyes, nose, mouth, which can be
incorporating industrial material and products.
the boundaries of the norm.
distributed in any way you like. The head remains a head.’
Modernism – a broad movement in Western art, architecture and design, from about 1850 until the
Constructivism – branch of abstract art founded by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko in Russia
Form – refers to the overall appearance of the work – its physical nature; but also the elements of shape that
1960s, which self-consciously rejected the past and tradition as models for the art of the present. Modernism
around 1915 and influenced by Cubist construction of scrap materials.
make up a work. Sculpture consists almost exclusively of form.
proposed new forms of art on the grounds that these are more appropriate to the present time.
References: Burroughs, E. Nel, K. & Von Maltitz, A. 2005 Villa@90 Shelf & Jonathon Ball Publishers: Johannesburg. Nel, K. 2009 Edoardo Villa: Changing Worlds Everard Read Gallery & Nirox Foundation: Johannesburg. Tate Glossary http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/
Portrait of Edoardo Villa - Copyright Michael Meyersfeld