Great work recognised at Sanlam Portrait Awards

Barbara Benjamin:

Great work was recognised at Sanlam Portrait Awards which was won by Kate Arthur for her Genna and Felix, an oil on canvas painting. It is currently on display at George Museum. The opening was on 21 August. "Look at me!", Genna's aggressive stance demands. I don't want to, but I must. Her portrait won a prestigious competition and I wanted to scream, "No, how can this be?" My mind returned to this question during the night.

Genna and Felix are separated by space and a dominant dirtyteal blue, shadowless background, that thrusts them forward into my face. The rest is realistically rendered. Gemma certainly wants to bash her walker into me, but her flaming red hair and piercing eyes strike me before it can. Look, I must. Gemma you are a woman, your matching black bra and panties, long curling hair and curves tell me

so, but you are angry with me. Your body is twisted, and I do not want to stare at you. "Were you born like this?" I would ask, but I do not. Instead I turn to Felix and look away. "Look and see", the portraits insist. Felix is just passively standing there.

The bow on her panties and her short hairstyle do not fit with each other. Her wide shoulders and narrow hips are also incongruous with her bra-less breasts. "Where you born this way?" would be a rhetorical question.

How can this be? Why was this work awarded to be the best of 1 437 entries? Highly qualified and experienced judges recognised the work as being of great artistic value. Should we agree with them? I do, because Kate Arthur thoughtfully and skilfully used visual media to engage me. She made me look and helped me see both Gemma and Felix, and all the Gemmas and Felixes that (I) have yet to meet and (am) now willing to greet.