Collector still wants The Spear

2012-05-30 12:29

Johannesburg - The German collector who bought the painting depicting President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed wants the artwork, Goodman Gallery director Liza Essers said on Wednesday.

"The collector does want the painting in its defaced form," she confirmed during a media briefing at the gallery with the ANC.

The ANC and the gallery announced a settlement agreement on the controversial artwork by Brett Murray, who was "saddened" by the saga, said Essers.

The ruling party said it would not make sense to continue with a court case against The Spear painting.

"Indeed, we are no longer taking the Goodman Gallery to court. We are no longer taking City Press to court," said ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu.

Mthembu said now that a settlement had been reached, the court action in the South Gauteng High Court was no longer necessary.

"There is no need for us to continue taking City Press to court, or the Goodman Gallery to court. It would not make sense," said Mthembu.

Essers said the painting would not be displayed in the gallery because it had been defaced.

The settlement agreement with the ANC did not include an agreement on removing the picture from the Goodman Gallery's website.

However, she said the image would be taken down from the website at some point.

The ANC went to court to get the painting removed from the gallery, and also took the City Press to court because it had published a picture of the painting on its website.

Meanwhile, the Film and Publications Board was expected to decide by the end of the week on whether the painting should be classified.

- SAPA