Bruce Murray Arnott - Into the Megatext

Bruce Murray Arnott: Into the Megatext provides the first comprehensive overview of one of South Africa’s most significant sculptors. His influence as an artist, scholar, designer, curator, and educator runs deep; intuited through the work of many of South Africa’s leading contemporary scholars and practitioners in the visual arts. Through an intrinsic understanding of the human condition, and the balancing of the intellect with creative endeavour, Arnott bridges continents, space, and time. This is reflected in the monumental scope of references embedded in his work, and in his view that "All sculptures are 'points of entry' into the great sculptural megatext." Similarly inspired by history, mythology, psychology, philosophy, education, ecology, and sustainable design, this publication serves as one such point of entry. It includes contributions by a range of authors who delve into different aspects of Arnott’s life’s work; a selection of Arnott’s own writings, chosen to represent the breadth and depth of his oeuvre; a chronological catalogue of Arnott’s sculptures from 1961 to 2018; and a visual timeline that contextualises his long and multi-faceted career.