kagablog

23 July 2006

Performer, film maker and blogger Aryan Kaganof has a new incarnation, that of author.
Tymon Smith talks to him about playing the fool

‘Previously the rings around his eyes were the result of his efforts to hawk his self-published books at a pool club in Melville’

THE ANTI-ANTI: Kaganof believes ‘one should always be outside in order to have a good take on the world’

ONCE upon a time there was a guy called Ian Kerkhof. He was born in South Africa in 1964 and then one day he upped and left in order to avoid conscription into the dreaded South African Defence Force.

Time passed and Kerkhof found himself in the Netherlands. He studied film at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy where he learnt enough jargon to last a lifetime, made a few award-winning films that drew attention, often simply by virtue of their seemingly shocking subject matter, hosted film screenings, was a DJ, and generally made the most of life as a South African in exile.

He returned to South Africa in 1999, with a fluent command of Dutch that may have confused some people, and lived in Cape Town, a place that’s “… not here and it’s also not there, it’s nowhere.” He made some more films and then in 2001, Ian Kerkhof disappeared. In his place arose a stocky, wavy-haired character who shoots Glock and likes to play pool.

His name is Aryan Kaganof and in his five-year existence (following a rebirth in Randburg in 2001) he has variously been a filmmaker, poet, artist, front man for a band called Freedom Fighter (a task he performs like a spirited Louis Armstrong impersonator) and a writer, most recently of a book called Uselessly.

When we meet at a Newtown coffee-shop, Kaganof arrives in his 1966 Valiant 200, wearing his Mongolian coat. He is slightly dishevelled, has big rings under his eyes and is a few days’ worth of shaving short of a smooth face. He’s being kept busy with rehearsals for a play called The Shooting Gallery directed by Catherine Henegan. It’s a digital performance piece. He tells me that the work is hard, rehearsals long and Henegan a demanding director who’s teaching him a lot about the art of directing. He’s only got an hour to spare in between being hung upside down and all the other physical exertions that the piece demands.

“Whatever I’m doing is the most important thing to me while I’m doing it,” he says between gulps of filter coffee. Kaganof doesn’t so much talk as do what Lenny Bruce used to do, he does shtick; words pouring out one on top of the other, jokes and ironic digs flying thick and fast and pauses taken only for breath and coffee. He also has the inflections and cadences, though not the accent, of an old Jewish guy who likes to throw Yiddish in at every turn.

buy uselessly now (in south africa) (in united kingdom)

We’re really supposed to be talking about Uselessly, a book that consists predominantly of a series of letters to God from one JJ Uselessly, a recently-returned South African artist dealing with an ill father and his own personal neuroses, while living in Cape Town. The book has a bittersweet tinge to it mixed in with moments of high hilarity, irreverence and irony. It’s also inventive, combining elements of different literary styles. In short, the tale of JJ Uselessly is a playful, laugh-’n’-cry, roller-coaster cocktail of a book that entertains quickly and quietly.

However, if you’re looking to read the book as an autobiographical piece of sentimental confession, then forget it. “None of my work is autobiographical. Everything I write is fiction, except for the stuff I make up.”

The rings under his eyes are the product of a new project. His blog, www.kaganof.com, is updated daily and has sections like KagaBlog, KagaMP3, KagaVerse and so on. It also highlights the work of a plethora of local and international artists and writers, from Stephen Hobbs, Christo Doherty, Catherine Henegan, Caroline Suzman, Michelle McGrane and Luiz Hernandez to a Nigerian poet named Dike Okoro. “The site reflects what I like. Obviously a lot of the stuff that people send is no good and you might find some of the stuff that I publish is not good, but that doesn’t matter, it reflects what I like. It’s called Great Art Daily and there’s 20 pieces of great art daily. It’s what I always wanted but never found because I consume a lot and I want to see something different every day so now I’ve actually put out what I’ve always wanted to read. It’s as simple as that.

Previously, the rings around his eyes were the result of his efforts to hawk his self-published books at the Stones pool club in Melville.

And it’s his devoted attention to self-promotion and his willingness to work in a variety of different mediums that has allowed him to survive as an outsider artist who’s always busy making something; whether it be a film, a book, a series of paintings or Internet fiction. “I’m always in a state of supporting myself and I think that’s the way one should be as an artist. As soon as the state supports you then you’re just a propagandist and you may as well cut your leg off and be stupid … I think one should always be outside in order to have a good take on the world, precisely for the people who are inside. The outsider sees the system better and the only way to stay outside is to stay financially free of the strings of the system, in as much as possible, because it’s impossible to be totally outside without starving. But playing the fool is very important because that’s what artists do, they play the fool in order to tell the truth.”

Kaganof refuses to see himself as an artist challenging the political and social orders of South Africa. “I live in Westdene behind a wall with Nazi wire on top of it. What can I say about social issues? It’s all hypocrisy if I do. I have a wonderful life. I’m not outside of myself.

“All these artists who have opinions but then end up sending their stuff to the gangsters at the Brett Kebble Awards? It’s bullshit. Everyone is an opportunist and a hypocrite, so why should I be any different?

“Yes, Aryan Kaganof is anti-anti, but he still needs the public’s shekels to buy clothes and cars and booze.”

So what, exactly, does he want readers to take away from his latest literary endeavour? “I hope another copy and that I would take away another eight bucks … It’s an entertainment, I want you to have a laugh and a cry, it’s good, schmaltzy, sentimental stuff that’s coming from the heart … Whatever I make, I make to make one person happy. I’m very specific in who I try and please, I always try and please me.”

As we wrap up I’m let in on future endeavours: the release of SMS Sugar man (a feature film shot entirely on cellphones and due to be released by Ster Kinekor). Kaganof maintains it is, “The kind of film you’re gonna see twice. Somewhere between the analytical insight of Leon Schuster and the tremendous gut-wrenching humour of JM Coetzee.”

He’s also working on completing his series of Palimpsest paintings, which consist of layers upon layers of paint scratched over with text to reveal the works’ hidden histories. And then there’s Teasers, a collection of Internet fiction that deals with sex in Joburg. If possible he’d also like to work in monumental sculpture before he dies, preferably making something in concrete.

Whatever is next on the Kaganof horizon, you can be sure that it will be interesting (at least to the author) and dedicated to its creator’s belief in truth and beauty. “If a work doesn’t have an internal truth and logic that’s beautiful then I’m not interested.”

Who knows how long it will be before Aryan Kaganof resurfaces as yet another incarnation of himself?

In the meantime, South Africans can be glad that he’s devoting his energy to keeping the local underground scene refreshingly irreverent. And if you’re looking for something interesting to read, you could do worse than the sentimental, bittersweet playfulness of Uselessly. Whatever happens next, you can be sure that Aryan Kaganof will be playing the fool and telling the truth at a pool hall near you.

•Uselessly, Jacana, R135. The Shooting Gallery is at the Market Theatre until August 8