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The
following is an essay by Professor Mark Jurey
I
left the Picasso museum in Paris in a Bart Simpson funk. I had
the feeling that I was being conned. How many examples of male
genitalia and pubescent hormone problems can one endure before
noon. Paul du Toit's work may look like Picasso's, but, unlike
the Macho Man, it has the energy and feel of a first hand experience.
Having discovered his painting and sculpture, I was surprised
to find that Paul shows the expressive character and clarity of
a true primitive. Much of Picasso's work was influenced by pre-literate
masks and sculpture, but it usually oozes with the self conscious,
ego driven, politically correct, look of a fake. Pablo was playing
visual games with second hand imagery. But, Paul du Toit seems
to have real contact with the loony evolution of the Universe
and is able to express this connection in his work. His untainted
eye sees clearly and he obviously has none of the hang-ups of
an academically trained artist. The line is quick and honest.
The sense of balance and harmony complete. If his work reminds
us of Bart Simpson, it may be because Bart also expresses the
"primitive" aspects of our media mad cultural. After a quiet morning
spent in a garden of Mir— sculpture, I feel free--I smile knowingly
at the world around me. But, happy art has rarely been taken seriously
and I suspect that Paul, like Mir— and Bart, will always have
this problem. Humor, like first hand knowledge and honesty, will
always be politically incorrect. Standing in Los Angeles, media
and hype capital of the world, it looks like Paul du Toit may
be the real thing.
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