Willie Bester is an artist who is widely respected for his contribution to the struggle for liberation from the apartheid regime. Throughout his life, Bester has continued to create vibrant and thought-provoking pieces, the largest of which is the home he lives in. He spoke to Brigid Taylor from SMF News about the intersection between art, politics and life.
Artist Willie Bester points to a painting titled “Empty Cups”, one of the nine paintings that feature on a blue wall in his home. Bester says he painted “Empty Cups” when he realised “just how bad the situation in Gaza is going to get”.
Willie Bester leapt into his seventies this year, celebrating one day early, as he usually does when 29 February decides not to make an appearance. This jump in the life of the anti-apartheid artist and activist is certainly a cause for celebration.
“I like a party I can handle,” says Bester, which to him includes 20 of his closest friends and family, and an opportunity to talk to every person in the room.
Willie Bester is globally recognised for the art he produced during apartheid and its contribution to the liberation struggle. His production of powerful pieces did not end with the oppressive regime; Bester has continued to create art that reflects South Africa, and the rest of the world.
The art the man lives in
Bester lives where he works, works where he lives, lives in his work, and sleeps in it too. A concept that may seem tough to wrap your head around until you see the arresting piece of infrastructure that Bester calls home.
The best house on the block. The street view of the life-sized art installation that anti-apartheid artist and activist Willie Bester calls home, in Rouxville, Cape Town.
After the fall of the apartheid regime in the mid 1990s, a house unlike any other began to rise in the quiet Rouxville neighbourhood. The artistic installation is enough to make one halt their afternoon run, enough to stop and stare.
Designed by Bester and his wife, Evelyn, in collaboration with architect Carin Smuts, the house is as personal as it is extraordinary. It carries the traces of the three children raised within its walls, and a home studio where Bester continues to create his art.
On the Monday evening after his birthday celebrations, his house, in all of its glory, sits still. The large stained-glass door at its entrance swings open, letting in the final rays of sun. The warmly lit lounge reveals a couch with a wooden chair placed just to the left, and a wonderland of art.
Each new place your eyes settle on reveals a different piece, mostly his own, some by other artists he enjoys, all thoughtfully positioned.
“Mother and Child” is a sculpture that sits on the right side of the entry way in artist Willie Bester’s home. Some of the sculptures at his house, like this one, are for sale through the Melrose Gallery. This one for R395 000.
Wearing a green beret with a red star in the centre, Bester settles into his wooden chair with a sense of calmness that comes from being in the comfort of home.
How the man came to be an artist
“My upbringing is my biggest asset,” says Bester. “Because of it, I can survive quite heavy storms.”
Bester grew up in Montagu, a small town a few hours’ drive from Cape Town.
“It was tough because both of my parents were completely illiterate,” says Bester. This meant that, from an early age, he took up the role of teaching them how to read.
Bester first realised his knack for creating when he started making mixed-media toy cars for the kids in his neighbourhood. His self-taught artistic skills grew as he did, and even when his efforts were ignored by the Cape Town artistic community, his commitment to creating remained.
Cecil Skotnes, a South African artist who mentored at the Community Arts Project (CAP) in District 6 during apartheid, is someone Bester speaks of with a deep sense of admiration.
Bester, who attended part-time classes at CAP during the 1980s, acknowledges Sknotnes’ ability to focus on artists individually.
“Artists get lost when they are all forced in one direction,” he says. “Cecil was interested not only in the work I did in class, but the work I did at home.”
The art he makes
The mixed-media pieces Bester makes strayed from the traditional mediums of art made during the apartheid era. “There was a perception that art could only be wooden sculptures, or oil paintings,” he says.
His own work is a combination of oil painting, recycled materials, and scrap metal that he welds to create sculptures.
“The two work hand in hand,” Bester says. When welding, he gets so lost in his work that he sometimes forgets to eat, but with painting comes a tiredness that often leads to an afternoon nap.
“Music for Gaza” is a piece that artist Willie Bester created by combining pieces of scrap material and painting over them. Bester says he works slowly, revealing that this piece took him around three months to complete.
With all the change that Bester has weathered in his lifetime, he exudes a sense of confidence. There is a surety in his voice with every question he answers, as he reveals a vast amount of knowledge on the topics he speaks about.
This carries through to his outlook about his art. “If people dismiss my work, I will smile and walk away knowing they just missed out,” he says.
Bester ensured that he was skilled enough to do whatever he wanted to do, so that no one could say otherwise. “With the heavy work I deal with, the credibility must be there.”
The progression of his art
Bester doesn’t just live in his art, he lives through it. “Art is a way of understanding life,” he says, and a way of working through his emotions towards certain topics.
“It changed,” he says, when speaking about the nature of his art and the shift from the apartheid regime to democracy. “During apartheid, the threat was more immediate, more concrete.”
As the world surrounding Bester changed, so did his work. In a liberated South Africa, he sought to educate himself on other instances around the world where human rights had been violated.
“Understanding other people’s trauma gave me perspective,” he says. This exploration of trauma served as a tool for understanding his own.
While some of Bester’s work portrays everyday township life, much of it deals with heavy topics, and is often political. Not limited to South African content, some of his pieces reference issues that plague our global society, including the Gaza conflict.
A mixed media piece created by artist Willie Bester consists of welded metal school shoes and old bullet casings. Bester says that a piece like this becomes complicated to ship overseas, as he would need special permission to transport the bullet casings.
Despite receiving death threats for some of the art he displays, Bester says “no one can stop me from saying what I want to say”.
“When I sit and paint I don’t fear. I’ll get scared afterwards.”
Bester believes in the power of art to create change. “People have a different view when they look at art,” he says. Because of this, Bester believes he is able to educate others about what he is trying to say.
“People sometimes tell me my work has made them uncomfortable; not because it’s a bad work, but because of the effect the work had on them.”
The man through those who know him
Described as “a humble man” by his neighbour Melanie Johnson, Bester has often taken the time to open his house to children who may have learnt about him in school. This is a common occurrence, given that he has been in the curriculum for the last thirty years, he says.
Though he loves to share his passion with others, and is patient with those who get the opportunity, “he is a very busy man”, says his wife, Evelyn.
With a mind for the business side of things, she is often the one who arranges interviews for Bester.
“She’s like a bulldog that protects me,” he says with a chuckle, sharing how he feels comfortable knowing she is there to help him, and for them to make decisions together.
Taking this year’s leap into his seventies does not mean his busy schedule will change. Bester still takes his bins out on Monday mornings at 8am sharp, and reads the newspaper every day. He now spends his days looking after his grandchildren and working on his art, and when that includes painting, he might just have to take that afternoon nap.