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made his mark at the university in 2011 when his
Thinking Stone sculpture, one of sixteen artworks commissioned by the Sculpture-on-Campus project, was installed near the Main Building. The "Black Belfast " granite stone, situated next to the H vd Merwe Scholtz Hall, weighs approximately 20 ton and, to date,is the largest of the artworks funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust fund. Mr Ben Botma, Head of the Department of Fine Arts, says Prof. Boshoff, who is based in Gauteng, will work on the Bloemfontein Campus for certain months of the year. "As an artist he is extremely productive and has an impressive international exhibition programme. As a result he has a good overview of what happens in the most important museums and contemporary galleries. This information and insight can be shared with students with great success." Mr Botma says although the mentorship is aimed at postgraduate students, Prof. Boshoff's presence and obsessive work habits will also motivate and inspire undergraduate students. "Willem is very popular as external examiner and moderator at other universities and he has a good perspective of what happens at the major universities". Boshoff would eventually leave the University and focus on becoming a professional artist.
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278:) is an art piece that consists of eleven black granite boulders with planed tops and rough-hewn sides. This was a commission given to the artist by the University of Johannesburg. Each granite boulder has engravings of the eleven official South African languages(including English). The phrases are engraved in a spiral formation on the planed top. Boshoff explains why using the South African languages is important in this piece.
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This piece used to represent the idea of sharing meaning. "Is meaning encountered in the humane gesture of reaching out to the other in his or her otherness, enriching the self by the experience of the other, or is meaning dictated by casting the self in stone and exporting it to distant consumers, presumably in need of self like the one and only self?" Boshoff's art style is compared to
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pieces and groups them to represent the different letters in the alphabet. The reason why
Boshoff created this art piece is to make an installation that would be blind-friendly. The information about the pieces can be understood by reading the braille on them, giving the blind an advantage against those who are sighted. "In the same privileged environment of the art gallery the
220:, Rotterdam as part of the curated exhibition: 'Unpacking Europe' by Salah Hassan and Iftikhar Dadi (13 December 2001 â 24 February 2002). In 2002, his installation: 'Garden of Words II' was exhibited at Vandskel Kunstcentret, Silkeborg Bad, Denmark; at Camouflage, Observatorio, Brussels and in Switzerland in 2003. In 2003 his work was also exhibited at
117:. The way he communicates his ideas and has a social responsibility is what makes Boshoff a conceptual artist. According to a book that was written by Ivan VladislaviÄ, he states that Willem Boshoff is "an artist who had been creating unusual art since the Seventies, although he came to widespread public attention with his installation
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is number of bread loafs on breadboards with the verse of the Gospel of
Matthew inscribed on the board in an extant European language. There are also boards with an inscribed African language using the same verse. The breadboards are made of black granite and they are used to represent gravestones.
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is a continuing work, designed primarily for blind people. It is a hands-on sculpture, its many pieces sculpted from a range of woods which are soft to the touch. Each word-sculpture is about the size of a rugby ball, easy to pick up, fondle and then pass on to others." Boshoff creates multiple art
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Boshoff, one of South Africa's most established artists, has joined the
Department of Fine Arts as a mentor for postgraduate students. Prof. Boshoff, whose work has been shown extensively in South Africa and internationally, will serve as mentor and resident artist in the department. Prof. Boshoff
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Boshoff spent his childhood in
Vanderbijlpark, which is a town located next to the Vaal River, located approximately seventy five kilometers south of Johannesburg. His father, Martiens, was a carpenter which allowed him to develop a love for working with wood. This had a large influence on his
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Boshoff's work was first exhibited in 1981, and in 1985 as part of a travelling group exhibition of South
African Art in South Africa and to West Germany, titled 'Tributaries'. His work has subsequently been exhibited in numerous worldwide exhibitions, such as: the 1st Johannesburg Biennial
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Boshoff's academic career stretches beyond a span of twenty years. He trained as a teacher at the
Johannesburg College of Art before pursuing a diploma in fine art, with an emphasis on printmaking, in 1980. He received a master's degree in sculpture from
165:, Belgium in 2000. In 1999, his installation 'Garden of words II' was exhibited at the 8th Floralies Internationales, Nantes, France and his work was also exhibited as part of a group show titled: 'Conceptualist Art: Points of Origin 1950sâ1980s' at the
185:, Cuba; Bildmuseet, Umea, Sweden; Via Cesare Correnti, Milan, Italy; Museo Nacional, Centro deArte, Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain (as part of the exhibition: Visiones del Sur: No es sĂłlo lo que ves: pervirtiendo minimalismo, curated by
246:, Germany in a group exhibition 'Happy End' curated by Annett Reckert; Daimler Contemporary Gallery, Berlin as part of 'Ampersand' curated by Christian Ganzenberg and an installation at Hyde Park Shopping Centre, London, UK.
157:(Africus), 1995; the 23rd International Biennial of SĂŁo Paulo, 1996; the 2nd Johannesburg Biennial, 1997; 'Memory, Intimacy Traces' (Intimas Memorias Marcas) curated by Fernando Alvim at PavilhĂŁoa Branco, at the
125:.â âCalling himself a âlinguistic terrorist,â Boshoff stresses not only that he has claimed all languages as a weapon in an artistic war against cultural hegemony, but also that his tactics are unconventional.â
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Staden-Garbett, Miranthe. 2009. "The worldcentric art of Willem
Boshoff: an analysis of artefact and discipline in Children of the Stars." South African Journal of Art History 24, no. 2: 114-127.
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in 1984. He made study trips to
Austria and Germany in 1982, as well as to England, Wales, and Scotland in 1993. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg in 2008.
527:"Review: 'A feature on an artist in the public eye' on Artthrob by Sue Williamson, Archive: Issue No. 48, August 2001. See: Curriculum Vitae, selected exhibitions"
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Dapena-Tretter, Antonia. 2018. âWillem
Boshoffâs Visual Lists: A Personal Plea for Cultural Preservationâ Seismopolite. Seismopolite Journal of Art and Politics.
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Murray, SallyâAnn. 2008. "On ivan vladislaviÄ on willem boshoff on conceptual art." Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa 20, no. 1: 16-37.
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Hassan, Salah and Dabi, Iftikhar. 2001. Unpacking Europe: Towards a Critical Reading. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. 308-313.
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and are created in materials ranging from stone to paper to sand. Boshoff has also worked with plant-related art pieces. He submitted a piece into the
235:, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA and in 2008 his work formed part of an exhibition curated by Stichting Sonsbeek in Arnhem, Netherlands.
109:(born 1951, Johannesburg, South Africa) is one of South Africa's foremost contemporary artists and regularly exhibits nationally and internationally.
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311:'s, stating that Duchamp disenfranchises art as masterpieces while Boshoff disenfranchises art as connoisseurs of the finest things in life.
228:, Copenhagen, Denmark as part of the exhibition: 'Sted/Place' and Musee departmental de la Haute-SaĂ´ne Albert Demard, Champlitte, France.
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200:, Munich, Germany (as part of the group exhibition: 'Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa') travelling to the
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The answer is under the rock, Willem Boshoff interviewed by Johan Thom), Art South Africa Magazine, V4.5, 2006. Also available online:
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Inside Out: The Johannesburg Biennale, by Ruth Rosengarten, Frieze Magazine Issue 23 June â August 1995. Also available online:
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enables the visually impaired to reverse the conventional set-up, by guiding the sighted and interpreting art for them."
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Willem Boshoff at the Goodman Gallery, 18 August â 24 September 2011, Artthrob, by Matthew Partridge. Available online:
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http://www.artthrob.co.za/Reviews/2011/08/Matthew-Partridge-reviews-SWAT-by-Willem-Boshoff-at-Goodman-Gallery.aspx
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https://movingcube.uj.ac.za/watch/blind-alphabet-documentary-series/brief-history-willem-boshoffs-blind-alphabet/
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is a combination of two different themes: science and religion. Boshoff uses the same concept from his art piece
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Creative Feel. 2020. âQ&A With Willem Boshoff: Expanding the Range of Sensory Engagement.â Creative Feel.
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Book: '10 Years 100 Artists: Art in a Democratic South Africa' pg 435, Biennials/ Festivals/ Mega-Exhibitions
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https://creativefeel.co.za/2020/11/expanding-the-range-of-sensory-engagement-a-qa-with-willem-boshoff/
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https://www.seismopolite.com/willem-boshoff-s-visual-lists-a-personal-plea-for-cultural-preservation
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as part of the exhibition Authentic/Ex-centric: Africa In and Out Africa curated by
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that referenced the Biblical parable of the sower sowing seed on the rocky ground.
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Zeitz MOCAA. n.d. "Art and Artists: Willem Boshoff." Accessed October 21, 2021.
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current technical expertise. Boshoff is known primarily for his conceptual
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In 2001 his work was shown at Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art (
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2005 saw his work exhibited at the 'Textures' exhibition at the
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http://www.willemboshoff.com/documents/artworks/young_guns.htm
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His installations are frequently based on the exploration of
579:"News: "The Sao Paulo Biennale opens October 2" on Artthrob"
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Krut, David. 2005. âWillem Boshoff.â Art Africa Magazine.
266:. Engraving words into boulders in different languages.
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490:"Prof. Willem Boshoff joins Department of Fine Arts"
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