Nelson Mandela University Art Professor’s Unique Art Form Integrates Painting and Kite Flying
Over the weekend Nelson Mandela University’s Professor Pieter Binsbergen, the Director of the School of Visual and Performing, is often to be found hoisting his kites aloft, either near his home in Summerstrand or on the University’s sports field nearby.
“While flying kites started as a hobby, I quickly became fascinated by the possibility of marrying my trade as a painter with the passion of kite flying,” says Prof Binsbergen.
Prof Binsbergen says he imagined his paintings breaking free from the confines of the “white cube” or gallery and being exhibited in the sky for everyone to see. Joining a painting brush with a sewing machine was his key to achieving this.
“This has become an integral part of my research into socio-semiotic multimodality where the material status of modes mediates from one source domain into another” he explains.
The birth of his son, Xavier, in 2007 ignited his passion for kites and the shared father-son experience has led to Xavier, now 18, becoming a kite-flying enthusiast himself.
Prof Binsbergen took up a senior lecturing position at Mandela University in 2014 and this further strengthened what would later become a passion project.
Since then, he has led kite-building workshops, among these is academic planning with kites in 2022, where over 100 academics attended a Learning and Teaching Vision 2030 Planning workshop with the theme “Rise up and Fly”.
The Binsbergen’s former home in Pretoria was not ideal for flying kites, due to the shallow density of the highveld air. However, he has been able to reap the full benefits of living near the beach in the Windy City, the nickname for Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth.
Although it is generally a fun hobby or sport, kite flying can be dangerous as wind intensity can change very quickly. Fliers must adhere to the international Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulation rile book section on “kite line operators”.
“I have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) at the airport since I fly in Summerstrand and at the University’s sports fields,”.
“Although just out of restricted airspace, I contact the air traffic control tower to inform them when I am launching and taking down my kites, and the general rule is that we may fly no higher than 150 feet (45 metres),” says Prof Binsbergen.
Kite flying is not exclusive to fliers only, and the general public is always involved, whether at informal flies or organised kite festivals.
“We have two world famous festivals in South Africa – the Cape Town and the Garden Route International Kite Festivals. Both are international events, and it is here where I met many international kiters,” says Prof Binsbergen.
“Over time I have managed to collect over 300 kites from kite makers around the world.
“I have also extended my passion to drive community projects, where I have worked with charities, such as Masithandane in Sedgefield, to bring the joy of kite flying to other-abled children and those from under-resourced backgrounds,” says Prof Binsbergen.
Extending the joy of kite flying to young people gains more importance in the digital world where a lot of young people are more consumed with gadgets than outdoor activities.
There is a tradition of flying kites in the Indian and Coloured communities, but in general it is not seen as part of South Africa’s cultures in the same way that it is in, for example, China and India.
“In response to this, I am currently working with the Malay Kite makers in Cape Town, who have pioneered something called the ‘Kaapse Swaeltjie’ (Cape Swallow), which is a rendition of the Malaysian barong kite.”
He believes it is important to keep these traditions alive, claiming something that can be called South African.
Kiters across the world live by the motto: “One Sky One World”, a slogan which emphasises how we all share the same sky irrespective of culture or creed.