The Koos Malgas legacy at the Owl House
by Diana Studer
- gardening for biodiversity
in Cape Town, South Africa
I took you with me on our March 2010 visit to the Owl House in Nieu
Bethesda. Visitors come to this far away town to see her home, filled with
her art works, created thru the second half of her life.
The sculptures are crafted from concrete.
If you are a sculptor, or a craftsperson imagine
the artist Helen Martins handing you her idea, a rough sketch on the back of a
match-box. A scribble on a paper napkin. And today something electronic.
What does it do to the creative process if the mind's eye does not work thru a pencil on paper? Just tapping at an electronic keyboard? Writing from the heart.
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| Men?! |
Thru the large window is the kitchen, with that hearth blazing
So you can understand why Koos
Malgas' granddaughter was bitter and indignant. All the benefit of tourism
comes to White Nieu Bethesda. All the fame for the art lies
with Miss Helen! From this young woman's sorrow grew a book -
Koos Malgas, Sculptor of the Owl House - Julia Malgas and Jeni Couzyn.
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| Koos Malgas selfie |
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| Koos Malgas' two daughters |
What is rather fun is that Koos
left a self-portrait of himself as shepherd. With this wonderful image of his
daughters - two young girls, one older, one younger, in swirly dresses, hand in
hand. Running to follow that star in The East (capitals because east is where
Helen placed it!) There they will find the baby, lying in a stable, with his
mother and father. A horde of camels and wise men from afar. It really is a
step-out-of-this-world experience. I appreciated being alone, no-one else's
comments, whether thoughtful or flippant, intruding on me.
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| The Camel Yard at the Owl House |
The Camel Yard. And in The East,
they saw a star...
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| They saw a star in The East |
Koos Malgas worked at shearing
sheep, and casual labour out of season. He converted Helen's initial ideas,
into actual three-dimensional sculptures in the garden. They worked together
over the course of twelve years. He died in 2000. artthrob In Memory of
Koos Malgas
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| Baby in house |
House baby, and the garden baby
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| Baby in garden at the Owl House |
Jack from Sequoia Gardens in
2010 -'Ah, one day I will see the Owl House. It was immortalised for me by
Yvonne Bryceland and Louis van Niekerk in the Market Theatre production of
Atholl Fugard's play "The
Road to Mecca (Broadway snippet)" about Miss Helen and the local
dominee... Mecca? Surely not? Or perhaps that was an ironic reference to the
dominee thinking she was busy with heathen things... I'm certain that was the
title. I thought it one of Fugard's great plays, and Bryceland astounding.
Thanks for sharing this South African icon with the world!'
Pictures by Diana and Jurg Studer
(If you mouse over teal blue text, it turns seaweed red.
Those are my links.
To read or leave comments, either click the word Comments below,
or click this post's title)
"What does it do to the creative process if the mind's eye does not work thru a pencil on paper LINK?" Indeed! I am no artist, but I CANNOT get the hang of drawing on the computer screen as opposed to putting a pencil to paper.
ReplyDeleteI was reading about school children. If they use pencil and paper, it uses a part of the brain, which doesn't get used via digital media.
Deletedigital artists like Pascal Campion are magnificent!
DeleteFascinating sculptures and tie in with the manger story. The sculptor is very talented. That would be a "must see" if I ever get to South Africa. I especially enjoyed the life and beauty of the two sisters hand-in-hand to follow the star.
ReplyDeleteWhen I took a History of Garden Design class, I wrote about this garden and other visionary or outsider art gardens. It's the result of a remarkable vision and collaboration.
ReplyDeleteLove these sculptures...especially the daughters. I write poetry with paper and pencil. it does engage a creative side not accessible otherwise for me.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteJack
The Owl House is one of those places where you will always discover something you haven't seen before
ReplyDeleteThe daughters are my favorite. You always provide fascinating links, Diana, and the Judy Lee-Dunn article is so true and useful that I printed it out. P. x
ReplyDeleteThe Camel's Yard is remarkable! It must be doubly hard to create the vision of another person, but no doubt some of Koos Malgas' own vision came through.
ReplyDeletea joint effort. It takes two. I especially enjoy that Koos left us himself and his 2 daughters. Some happiness to set against Helen's sadness.
Delete