Adriaan Boshoff Jnr: man of action and painter of movement
Marlene Dietrich, the famous Hollywood actress of yesteryear, was once given this bit of advice by the equally renowned author Ernest Hemingway:
“Never confuse movement with action”.
Had the American Hemingway been speaking today to the Broederstroom-based South African painter Adriaan Boshoff Jnr, he may well have reformulated his statement to words such as these:
“You never lose either action or movement”.
For Boshoff Jnr is a man of action who strives also to convey movement on the canvasses and wood to which he applies his oil strokes and charcoal lines. The dynamics of life find reflection in the liveliness of art.
Apart from still enjoying his motorcycle rides and paragliding, he has a history of hiking in the Middle East, skydiving, bungee jumping, fishing, kayaking, military service and high school rugby (a record of exploits not unlike that of Hemingway himself!). It is the adrenalin rushing through his veins that gives him the sense of being alive, Boshoff Jnr says. These also form the basis of many of his creative moments, he indicates, along with his experiences of go-carting and cycling as a youth – which were for him idyllically happy times.
It is precisely these two elements – action and happiness – which are combined in Boshoff Jnr’s artwork:
- The movement in Boshoff Jnr’s paintings and sketches are twofold. First, many of his subjects are clearly in motion: children running a race, a hippy playing music, farmers dancing, or a go-cart careening down a street with a dog in tow. This action is not directed at us looking at the painting; this is movement captured in a moment from memory, playing out on the canvass we are watching, in front of us. But then, second, there is a movement from the painter to the onlooker: the intense intellectual energy in the mind of Boshoff Jnr, as he plans in detail every aspect of the artwork; this finds expression in the vibrancy of the painting, once finalised, at times after concentrated work and reworking; this speaks to us looking at the painting: the impressionist’s technique of vagueness that entice us in some way to complete the picture, psychologically making us co-creators of the painting, drawing us into communication with the painter; lastly, the multi-dimensional frames that Boshoff Jnr himself places around his art, which draw the eyes into the painting, step-by-step, like a staircase, almost, to beauty.
- “Beauty” is the exact correct word here too! For Boshoff Jnr, his art should add splendour to life. For him, there is enough that is bad, ugly and negative in the world; for him, therefore, his calling as an artist is to counter such influences by means of uplifting beauty, humour and colour. Thus, the happiness that Boshoff Jnr has found in life is spread wider, to all who encounter his artworks. Here, beauty serves a life lived well. Much of this philosophy Boshoff Jnr finds in music too, such as songs by Bruce Springsteen: in the simple, daily, natural things beauty is found.
Offering happiness to those who encounter his art is however no easy task for Boshoff Jnr. It entails a never-ending process of seeking perfection: one must explore one’s own frontiers, be original and be fresh. The idea for a painting may form in the head, but after that comes the hard work. Then, with any luck, an “a-ha!”-moment in which the thoughts crystallise into a visual image. However, it may also be a gut-wrenching creative process, full of frustrations, with no quick solutions.
If no ideas come, or shortly after completing a large project, he feels empty, Boshoff Jnr says. What helps, though, is his attitude of openness to learning. When there is always room to develop and grow, there is also space for creativity. The endless road to perfection...
This is not a view of life that is unique to artists, Boshoff Jnr firmly believes. You can find it in all careers, in all spheres of life: that beauty is sought through perfection. Art offers Boshoff Jnr the opportunity continually to focus on beauty, and to spread his underlying message, that life ought to be lived joyfully. There is no use in becoming addicted to any modern rat race. Life is just too beautiful for that! This is the vitality that drives Boshoff Jnr to action, and which speaks through his paintings, with movement, from the canvass to our eyes, to our insides.
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