Will SA’s Marta Minujin please step forward

By Alec Hogg

Good to see a few dozen journalists showing solidarity with SABC colleagues standing against censorship. For both, it's better late than never. But you have to wonder whether taped-up mouths will have much impact. Breaking SA's cycle of blame requires something smarter. From everyone.

I'm not encouraging a South African equivalent of Mohamed "Basboosa" Bouazizi, the Tunisian whose self-combustion sparked Arab Spring. Far from it. Rather, something more subtle with equal impact. A big and bold gesture from a local Marta Minujin that can unite South Africans, reminding all of a precious Legacy.

Now 73, Minujin is an Argentinian artist who shot to global fame in 1983 after assembling a Parthenon structure from 30 000 banned books in downtown Buenos Aires. Her spectacular artistic gesture stood for three weeks with the books then distributed to a huge crowd.

It was a celebration of the ancient Greek symbol of democracy built from the ultimate symbol of free expression. An artistic reminder to a nation celebrating the end of a brutal dictatorship. A South African with Minujin-like genius would achieve more than a few banners of protest. She exists. Time for her to step forward.