In 1811 Joseph de Maistre wrote that every nation gets the government it deserves. By extension then, it also get the heritage it merits, and as building after building in our city centres continue to fall before the demolisher’s hammer, many white South Africans have been left wondering exactly what they have done to warrant the destruction of so many of their memories.
BOOK REVIEWS
‘Geomotional’ is a remarkable and beautifully illustrated exploration of – as the sub-title says – ‘Geometric art, past and present’. The book, which has us journey through images, words, poetry and song, and gives account of a ‘performance-installation’, is compiled by Mary Elizabeth Lange, who is prolific in her writings on Indigenous art and story, and various intersections with heritage.
BLUE PLAQUES
The building was designed in 1934 by Emily & Williamson for an International insurance company which used the “aegis”, the shield of Jupiter (Father of the Roman Gods) and Minerva (Goddess of Wisdom and War.) The storeys rise higher and higher until almost out of sight, and draw the eyes upward to the stepped roof line and the sky, the abode of the Gods.