Revamped and relit by University Estates, Idomeneo once again draws all eyes as visitors drive up the hill towards the Theo van Wijk Building
For the first time in a quarter of a century, the rainbow lights of Idomeneo coruscated over the Muckleneuk Campus as dusk fell on 15 October 2012.
Created by the English artist Keith Grant, and situated on the southern side of the Theo van Wijk Building, the sculpture was presented to Unisa on permanent loan at a ceremony in April 1974 by Dr Anton Rupert, chairperson of the then Rembrandt Tobacco Corporation. It was named after the mythical Cretan king and the overture to Mozart’s opera by the same name was played after the presentation.
At first a feature of the campus at night, Idomeneo gradually fell into disrepair until very few people remembered its full brilliance. A chance remark, however, by Archive Services Manager Marié Coetzee to Gardens and Grounds Manager Christine Hartdegen on the significance of this beautiful piece of Unisa heritage led to an extensive renovation project under the auspices of University Estates that saw Idomeneo restored to its former lustre.
The kinetic abstract sculpture consists of a pedestal on which a hydraulically activated hemisphere of coloured perspex panels both rotates horizontally and tilts vertically. Two revolving discs throw out coloured light as the bowl moves.
Hartdegen says that she hopes that Idomeneo will be celebrated and preserved as a valuable Unisa heritage asset for generations to come. “Heritage resources, such as Idomeneo, are precious, non-renewable, finite, and irreplaceable, and must therefore be protected.”
Hartdegen went on to say that exceptional universities are those that provide high quality and desirable environments that are locally distinct, yet globally acceptable. “In other words, a sense of place becomes distinguishing for a world-class status. Unisa’s cultural heritage and physical heritage create such a sense of place. Key assets from the university’s past provide the makings, in cultural terms, of a world-class African university of excellence.”
Israel Mogomotsi, Acting Executive Director of University Estates, is confident that the challenge and reward of renovating this kinetic sculpture is of immense value. “Since the inception of the project, University Estates has acknowledged that Idomeneo is part of our institutional history and fundamental to our institutional identity, as it speaks to our firm belief in the power that is embedded in education. It is my hope that the whole Unisa community will take pride in the light of knowledge that we shine into the African sky, giving expression to our vision to serve humanity through education.”
Unisa heritage asset, institutional artefact, and campus feature, but is it art? Curator of the Unisa Art Gallery, Bongani Mkhonza, explains why Idomeneo could take its place in Unisa’s art collection. “For an artist like Keith Grant to create an artwork that depends on movement for its effects and to produce light back in 1974 was cutting edge and innovative. But for an institution like Unisa to install such an unconventional work of art was visionary.
 The original installation of Idomeneo in 1974 |
 The original installation of Idomeneo in 1974 |
“Although we acknowledge that so-called kinetic art started with art movements like the Dadaist and Constructivist around the 1910s and took its centre stage in Paris in 1955 with the Le Mouvement art exhibition at Galerie Denise René, in 1974 it was not a tradition in South Africa to acquire such a work of art. Public sculptures were normally made of rigid bronze as statues. In my opinion, this vision is the same vision that leads the Unisa Art Collection to continue amassing contemporary cutting-edge artworks. Although Keith Grant’s Idomeneo is not yet itemised under the Unisa Art Collection register, researching the possibility of including it in the collection will be a good academic exercise.”
Speaking at its original installation, then Principal and Vice-Chancellor Theo van Wijk described Idomeneo as a symbol of the institution, a radiance that was at once both spotlight and beacon, searching for and enticing all those who would gain by studying through distance education at the university. Nearly forty years later, Idomeneo again shines with the same glittering promise, inviting students across the country and the continent to experience the people’s university that is Unisa.
