0:00:08.872,0:00:11.000 ♪ ♪ 0:00:34.168,0:00:35.696 Robin Rhode: [br]Split, split, split. 0:00:35.696,0:00:36.452 Come on, split. 0:00:40.146,0:00:40.646 Split, please. 0:00:45.543,0:00:47.094 Alright guys, strip the van, please. 0:00:49.480,0:00:51.737 I've been working here for about eight [br]years. 0:00:51.737,0:00:53.963 I think the wall is fantastic in terms of[br]its scale. 0:00:54.450,0:00:59.497 There's an amazing crack in [br]the surface, which appears in all of my works. 0:01:04.867,0:01:05.930 Drawing team! 0:01:06.084,0:01:07.872 I developed from a three-man crew 0:01:07.872,0:01:09.794 that would do pieces around Johannesburg 0:01:10.000,0:01:12.166 to this location here, which then developed to 0:01:12.166,0:01:14.482 a much larger crew of 10 persons, 0:01:14.482,0:01:16.837 consisting of guys that are from this particular area. 0:01:19.479,0:01:25.833 Over the last year or so, some of my team have[br]vanished. Two are currently in jail. 0:01:26.372,0:01:28.373 Kevin, here, is director of drawing. 0:01:30.450,0:01:34.864 Standby six-pack, Castle Lite. [br]I want change and receipt. 0:01:36.659,0:01:38.804 Producing a work of art is easy. 0:01:39.835,0:01:43.139 It's surviving day-to-day life that's the[br]difficult part here. 0:01:44.673,0:01:49.310 This is the shoemaker. Shoemaker has been [br]working with us for almost two years. 0:01:53.657,0:01:54.657 What's happening? 0:01:54.657,0:01:55.490 Shaun: [br]All right, big man. 0:01:55.926,0:01:57.477 Robin Rhode: [br]Big man! What's up, bru? 0:01:57.477,0:01:58.670 Shaun: [br]All right, you bru? You well? 0:01:58.926,0:01:59.918 Robin Rhode:[br]This is Shaun. 0:01:59.918,0:02:01.497 Shaun:[br]You see when Robin gets here. 0:02:01.497,0:02:02.972 Start hooting here, beep, beep, beep, beep. 0:02:02.972,0:02:05.000 and then they all get you. Then they all all get here! 0:02:05.000,0:02:06.000 [laughter] 0:02:06.560,0:02:09.459 Robin Rhode:[br]Across the train line is Westbury, this is Newclare. 0:02:10.429,0:02:13.575 This is where I was raised.[br]This is where I grew up. 0:02:15.370,0:02:16.410 This is a colored area. 0:02:16.410,0:02:19.222 We are a community of [br]mixed-race people. 0:02:19.376,0:02:21.600 We are African, Islamic, 0:02:22.006,0:02:24.263 but we have European ancestry as well. 0:02:24.416,0:02:25.300 - Standby coconut. 0:02:25.737,0:02:28.778 We reinvent various cultures. 0:02:30.368,0:02:31.458 Stand by. 0:02:34.843,0:02:38.333 Stand by, blade. Stand by, Unwrap boxes, please. 0:02:39.846,0:02:42.209 There will be a handover [br]taking place this afternoon. 0:02:42.541,0:02:43.436 - Snap back. 0:02:43.436,0:02:44.500 To form this camaraderie, 0:02:44.500,0:02:45.709 to form this team, 0:02:46.017,0:02:47.522 We're going military. 0:02:47.676,0:02:48.214 - Try. 0:02:48.214,0:02:49.291 - We're German. 0:02:50.522,0:02:51.921 Robin Rhode: [br]We're art soldiers. 0:02:52.203,0:02:52.767 - Shoemaker. 0:02:53.639,0:02:55.461 Discipline is a huge factor here. 0:02:55.461,0:02:57.472 - Randy, can you work? 0:02:58.909,0:03:03.184 Everyone's coming with their own personal [br]issues and when we work, the issues need 0:03:03.184,0:03:05.000 to be left on the pavement. 0:03:05.549,0:03:07.498 Who votes for Randy in? 0:03:07.960,0:03:10.678 - I got two hands for you. 0:03:11.012,0:03:11.512 - Welcome aboard. 0:03:11.512,0:03:12.697 Robin Rhode:[br]Welcome aboard, Randy. 0:03:12.697,0:03:14.608 - Welcome, soldier.[br]- Welcome, soldier. 0:03:19.314,0:03:20.545 Robin Rhode: [br]Thanks, guys. Let's push. 0:03:20.545,0:03:21.718 Let's finish this job. 0:03:23.435,0:03:26.917 My team are paid on a daily rate, but it's[br]beyond 0:03:26.917,0:03:27.872 just cash. 0:03:29.360,0:03:34.340 It gives him a sense of status, [br]as somebody that is part of something really 0:03:34.340,0:03:35.989 positive and productive. 0:03:36.938,0:03:41.235 Your contribution, [br]no matter what level it is, has value. 0:03:52.400,0:03:54.140 So I used to play football here. 0:03:54.140,0:03:58.598 I played under 12s, under 14s and under 16s. 0:03:59.060,0:04:02.840 I must say, when I was younger, [br]the conditions were a lot better. 0:04:04.481,0:04:07.590 There's not much facilities for the youth [br]to engage with. 0:04:07.590,0:04:11.785 So, there is also other modes of spending[br]their free time, 0:04:11.785,0:04:13.640 and that's a [br]problem. 0:04:14.461,0:04:16.999 You have a beautiful park in this area, 0:04:16.999,0:04:21.930 but opposite the park is, like one of the [br]biggest drug gang wars in Johannesburg. 0:04:26.213,0:04:32.184 You know, when I'm not here, this also creates[br]a huge vacuum for the team that I work with. 0:04:33.184,0:04:40.000 I'm not sure how productive they will be[br]if I'm not around, 0:04:40.720,0:04:45.250 or do they have an employment of some sort.[br] 0:04:45.712,0:04:48.497 So, um, yeah. It's a major issue. 0:04:50.728,0:04:55.888 It's only a matter of time before I do a piece [br]on this wall. It's only a matter of time. 0:04:59.325,0:05:05.000 ♪ ♪ [hip-hop music] ♪ ♪ 0:05:11.000,0:05:14.330 Strip the van please, unload. ASAP. 0:05:15.231,0:05:16.348 - Standby spirit level. 0:05:16.550,0:05:21.909 As a school kid, we had a form of hazing in the[br]toilets of the school. 0:05:22.396,0:05:23.601 We used to steal 0:05:23.601,0:05:29.418 the chalk in the classrooms, draw objects [br]onto the toilet walls, and force young kids 0:05:29.418,0:05:32.364 to interact and engage with the drawings, 0:05:33.160,0:05:34.421 to ride a bike 0:05:35.667,0:05:37.209 or to blow out a candle. 0:05:38.109,0:05:42.247 I think that kind of planted the seed [br]for my practice as a young artist. 0:05:44.273,0:05:45.273 ♪ ♪ 0:05:51.556,0:05:55.000 I used to create these performances for [br]myself and for the camera, where I would 0:05:55.000,0:05:58.718 just draw an object on the wall and interact[br]with it. 0:06:00.591,0:06:03.060 One of the first objects I drew was the bicycle, 0:06:03.932,0:06:07.206 and then it became a television,[br]then it became a chair, 0:06:07.360,0:06:09.880 and it just began to extend [br]itself further and further. 0:06:12.111,0:06:18.620 We use humor as a mode of survival, and [br]we use play as a means to destabilize 0:06:18.620,0:06:20.499 various dominant structures. 0:06:21.730,0:06:23.710 - Standby! 0:06:23.710,0:06:25.380 - Wall touch up green, here. 0:06:25.380,0:06:28.879 Johannesburg, there is no art education whatsoever. 0:06:28.879,0:06:30.297 - Stand by, shot one! 0:06:31.220,0:06:32.220 And go! 0:06:32.220,0:06:33.370 Oh, beautiful, Kevin! 0:06:33.370,0:06:35.259 So how do we engage with minimalism? 0:06:36.084,0:06:37.418 - Thank you very much. 0:06:37.536,0:06:42.543 Minimalism. I would reference and rework [br]in a kind of humor-orientated way. 0:06:42.819,0:06:46.590 Feet up higher, higher. Yes![br]Two shots. 0:06:47.487,0:06:49.785 Standby bike.[br]Standby bike. 0:06:53.350,0:06:57.440 The Institute for Quality.[br]Building South Africa. 0:06:57.440,0:06:59.650 Child by Child. 0:06:59.650,0:07:01.620 So doppelganger is a kind of body double 0:07:01.876,0:07:04.011 to represent me in the works. 0:07:04.396,0:07:05.397 - Arm lower. Yeah. 0:07:05.500,0:07:10.530 The doppelganger also acts as a stand-in for [br]the viewer. He's standing on the bike, lying 0:07:10.530,0:07:13.092 on the bike, never touching the surface of the 0:07:13.092,0:07:16.473 ground, trying to grapple with gravity, [br]in a way. 0:07:17.832,0:07:20.000 I'm trying to escape time. 0:07:20.446,0:07:21.949 Look up. Yeah. Two. 0:07:21.949,0:07:25.430 And this is why I've been [br]so fascinated with geometry. 0:07:25.430,0:07:26.430 - Painters! 0:07:27.174,0:07:31.107 The simple geometric form allows for kind of transcendence 0:07:31.107,0:07:34.412 over time, over space, over geography 0:07:39.361,0:07:43.715 A lot of preparatory drawings take [br]place in my studio, in Berlin. 0:07:47.972,0:07:50.549 Berlin just gives me that breathing space to 0:07:50.549,0:07:53.002 internalize what I've created in South Africa. 0:07:57.030,0:08:00.603 I first came to Berlin in 2001. I had a residency. 0:08:01.629,0:08:05.248 I met a beautiful woman, that eventually became my wife. 0:08:06.408,0:08:11.841 We have two sons. My family is what roots me to Berlin. 0:08:13.380,0:08:15.586 I think that being here has given me 0:08:15.586,0:08:19.077 a level of education that I never actually [br]had in Johannesburg. 0:08:20.000,0:08:21.020 All those years ago, 0:08:21.020,0:08:26.334 I said that I would school myself by reading magazines, 0:08:26.642,0:08:28.909 going to exhibitions, going to museums. 0:08:29.063,0:08:30.770 [imitates piano] 0:08:31.975,0:08:36.456 Berlin has given me that kind of hands-on [br]experience in understanding different artistic 0:08:36.456,0:08:40.000 movements, from the Bauhaus to Der Blaue Reiter. 0:08:41.240,0:08:44.493 I'm an artist that really loves art history. 0:08:47.750,0:08:50.389 When I think about the studio, I get really 0:08:52.210,0:08:58.210 emotional because it's luxury. It's [br]the great space to think. 0:08:59.339,0:09:02.064 But I have an army on the street in Johannesburg, 0:09:02.424,0:09:06.541 and my studio is a beautiful piece of architecture. 0:09:08.541,0:09:12.610 A street corner in Johannesburg offers a lot[br]more danger and risk. 0:09:12.610,0:09:15.160 And the danger and risk becomes a kind of 0:09:15.160,0:09:20.130 subliminal effect on the energy of that work. 0:09:21.976,0:09:24.157 South Africa, there's a lot more vibrant, 0:09:24.157,0:09:25.567 a lot more colorful. 0:09:28.593,0:09:29.593 ♪ ♪ 0:09:35.000,0:09:36.909 Maxime Scheepers:[br]I am good friends with Kevin, 0:09:36.909,0:09:41.216 and Kevin has worked with Robin so many times before. 0:09:41.216,0:09:44.201 And I always just hear the stories of how[br]amazing it is. 0:09:44.201,0:09:45.761 - Yay. Thank you so much. 0:09:46.300,0:09:47.889 And I see the final product. 0:09:47.889,0:09:49.769 - You guys are so cool. 0:09:49.769,0:09:51.600 I've always wanted to work with him. 0:09:52.344,0:09:54.110 Robin Rhode:[br]Just take note that we, you know 0:09:54.110,0:09:56.899 once you put in a few missions, 0:09:56.899,0:10:00.550 you do receive the Amarillo bottle string. 0:10:01.217,0:10:02.350 Maxime Scheepers:[br]For levels. 0:10:02.350,0:10:03.980 Robin Rhode:[br]For levels. This is our levels, 0:10:03.980,0:10:05.042 our tour of duty. 0:10:09.808,0:10:13.290 If I combine that performance with what I'm [br]drawing on the wall, 0:10:13.290,0:10:15.350 that can lead to a visual language. 0:10:16.837,0:10:21.907 Today, the drawing is replaced by a [br]sculpture of children's jungle gyms 0:10:22.240,0:10:25.140 as a set for this particular performance piece. 0:10:25.140,0:10:27.779 Kevin: [br]Given by you. And we say- 0:10:27.779,0:10:29.410 Maxime Scheepers: [br]sow the seed 0:10:29.410,0:10:32.710 Kevin:[br]Paint the wall. Be at home 0:10:32.710,0:10:34.810 Together:[br]in our desert for all. 0:10:34.810,0:10:37.421 Robin Rhode: [br]I was inspired by the poet, 0:10:37.421,0:10:39.591 James Matthews, and Gladys Thomas, 0:10:40.232,0:10:42.732 because the youth that they were referring to was myself, 0:10:43.117,0:10:44.807 being born in the mid-1970s. 0:10:45.781,0:10:48.989 Dedicated to all the children of South Africa 0:10:49.810,0:10:52.875 who will become one family, brothers and sisters. 0:10:53.516,0:10:57.962 It's the first collection of poems that [br]was banned by the apartheid government. 0:10:58.860,0:11:01.740 It speaks of the white fences in society, 0:11:01.740,0:11:04.279 speaks about the city as a jungle, 0:11:04.279,0:11:05.640 demarcated areas, 0:11:05.640,0:11:09.081 identity and race, and these ideas are 0:11:09.081,0:11:11.190 playing out right now on the streets of South[br]Africa. 0:11:15.550,0:11:19.091 Kevin:[br]The poetry comes from two colored poets, 0:11:19.091,0:11:21.498 and we're both mixed race. 0:11:22.165,0:11:23.735 Learning them and reciting [br]them 0:11:23.940,0:11:26.840 is the most beautiful part about this whole process. 0:11:26.840,0:11:28.040 It still relates to us now. 0:11:28.040,0:11:31.360 Maxime Scheepers:[br]But it's also harsh, I think, pieces of it. 0:11:32.694,0:11:34.472 It's something we want[br]to play with, you know? 0:11:40.000,0:11:41.167 Shh! 0:11:45.245,0:11:48.678 Maxime Scheepers:[br]A beautiful land with beautiful 0:11:48.678,0:11:52.990 mountains and beautiful seas, 0:11:54.554,0:11:56.567 but not for me. 0:11:57.876,0:12:02.255 Come, take my hand, [br]stop touring and go slumming with me. 0:12:03.307,0:12:05.680 Kevin and Maxine: [br]Look before your eyes. 0:12:05.680,0:12:08.770 Maxime Scheepers:[br]You see a jungle. 0:12:08.770,0:12:10.610 Kevin:[br]See the white cages. 0:12:10.610,0:12:13.120 Maxime Scheepers: [br]With thousands of animals running wild. 0:12:13.120,0:12:17.300 Kevin: [br]Look into their eyes. Haunted eyes. 0:12:19.044,0:12:20.760 Robin Rhode: [br]We're working so much focus around the 0:12:20.760,0:12:23.760 aspect of youth, and we refer to the 0:12:23.760,0:12:25.130 youth as the born frees. 0:12:25.130,0:12:26.700 Maxime Scheepers: [br]We say, sow the seed. 0:12:26.700,0:12:27.740 Kevin: [br]Paint the wall. 0:12:27.740,0:12:31.520 And the born frees don't have the same experiences[br]as my generation have, 0:12:31.520,0:12:33.400 and the generation before me, 0:12:33.400,0:12:35.520 of understanding the mechanisms of apartheid. 0:12:37.648,0:12:39.800 So they are still trying[br]to find themselves 0:12:39.800,0:12:42.867 and find a position for themselves in society. 0:12:44.201,0:12:45.642 Robin Rhode: [br]What do you guys want to do? 0:12:45.770,0:12:46.770 - Anything. 0:12:46.770,0:12:48.759 Robin Rhode:[br]Anything? You want to paint? 0:12:49.529,0:12:50.980 - Yeah, we can paint. 0:12:51.365,0:12:53.949 When you give young people a sense of worth, 0:12:53.949,0:12:58.144 you can really change your own identity and[br]sense of self. 0:12:59.606,0:13:04.084 And this is something that [br]I try to communicate to my young crew. 0:13:12.355,0:13:20.000 When I see the works exhibited on a wall of[br]a gallery, of a museum, it's almost muted, 0:13:20.000,0:13:21.006 somehow. 0:13:22.683,0:13:27.896 But the energy and excitement of the process [br]is so intoxicating. 0:13:28.254,0:13:29.242 - Standby photography. 0:13:29.897,0:13:31.506 That's why I always go back to the wall. 0:13:42.560,0:13:46.251 To learn more about Art21 and [br]our educational resources, 0:13:46.251,0:13:51.340 please visit us online at pbs.org/art21.