The impressive collection Legal Resources Centre is auctioning on bobshop.co.za includes about fifty works of art and autographed books, making this auction an important event in South African arts and culture. The artists include William Kentridge, Thea Soggot, Isabel Thompson, Rudolph Tshie, Bongi Bhengu, and many more. Among the authors are such well-known names as Nelson Mandela and Nadine Gordimer

From 1st to 9th August 2008, bobshop, South Africa’s online marketplace, is hosting a fund-raising auction organised by the Legal Resources Centre.

“The art and autographed books auctioned are of such high quality that they deserve a place of pride in any collection,” says Bob Shop director Andy Higgins. He points out that among about fifty items on auction are works by William Kentridge and Thea Soggot, while the autographed books include such renowned names as Nelson Mandela and Nadine Gordimer.

“We at Bob Shop are proud to be part of this major event in South African arts and culture”, says Higgins. Other sponsors and contributors include Goethe Institute, Development Bank of Southern Africa, David Lewis Browne Framing, Random House, Knysna Art Gallery, Contemporary Event Consultants, Art Angle, David Krut Projects, The Framing Company, and Art Space.

bobshop’s director emphasises that South African art is very well received overseas, often reaching much higher prices on international markets than locally. “Whether a buyer decides to acquire a work by an established or by an up-and-coming South African artist on this auction, he or she can be fairly assured that the value of the work will appreciate in time”, he says. “As for the copies of the books signed by our national icon, Nelson Mandela, or by our Nobel Prize laureate for literature, Nadine Gordimer, no one can dispute their historical and investment worth”.

The most expensive work on offer is the piece entitled called “Wittgenstein’s Rhinoceros” by William Kentridge, valued at about R100,000. The catalogue entry states that the work is an early exchange about philosophy of mathematics. It refers to a famous encounter between Wittgenstein and Russell, where the former refused to admit that there was no rhino in the room.

There is also Thea Soggot’s monumental painting “Standing Figure”, executed in Magalies earth and pastel, for which the bidding starts at R40,000. Other painters, sculptors and photographers featured in the LRC Bob Shop auction are Bettie Celliers-Barnard, Zapiro, Isabel Thompson, David Koloane, Rudolph Tshie, Gwenneth Miller, Norman Catherine, Bongi Bhengu, Collen Maswanganyi, and many more.
All the items may be viewed at the Goethe Institute, 119 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg, until 9th August.

The LRC is marking its 30-th anniversary with this auction, intended to raise funds for this non-profit organisation. True to its motto “Justice for All”, the LRC uses law to develop a fully democratic society by providing free legal services for the vulnerable and marginalised, including the poor, homeless, and landless people and communities of South Africa who suffer discrimination by reason of race, class, gender, disability or by reason of social, economic, and historical circumstances.

In the words of Nadine Gordimer, quoted on LRC’s website, “the organised full time professional skills of the centre’s lawyers are already proven in their dedication to service in the reconstruction and development of South Africa as a state where human rights will be established not only in the letter, but in the deed.”