#south african sculptor

[sheltiechicago]

Daniel Popper’s Surreal Sculpture in the Mojave Desert

Rising from the sands of California's Mojave desert, a woman's face and hand cut a striking figure. The work of South African sculptor Daniel Popper, the mosaicked installation sits at the Mojave Moon Ranch in Joshua Tree. Designed to remind visitors of their spiritual place in the universe, the monumental sculpture is both surreal and serene.

[culmaer-sideblog]

¶

[mybeingthere]

South African artist and ceramic sculptor Simphiwe Mbunyuza (b 1989) creates masterful objects and vessels combining stoneware, leather, fabric and steel.

Mbunyuza’s richly textured, ceramic objects feature traditional African iconography and cultural symbols. Mbunyuza utilizes a coiling technique that has been employed by the Xhosa people for centuries. The Xhosa people are descendants of the Nguni, who migrated from central and northern Africa to settle in southern Africa. Embracing historical references and traditional forms, Mbunyuza crafts a story predicated upon the notion of sharing.

Mbunyuza creates a metaphorical sharing circles. Sculptures are arranged like women in the field surrounded by corn. The pots are representative of the woman and sisters working together. The pieces symbolize his female ancestors. The women traditionally did the field work while the men went to Johannesburg to work in the gold mines. Historically, peeled boiled corn was eaten communally as information was shared. The process of sharing the corn became a warm and welcoming pastime.

Mbunyuza’s forms have an earthy, magical quality. The warm light brown clay body wrapped in bold color with striking geometric lines and patterns evoke a sense of immediacy and the beginning of time; a place where the history of human beings began. Elegant and graphic, Mbunyuza’s forms and colors exemplify the timeless in contemporary art- a bridge to the past.

https://mindysolomon.com/.../simphiwe-mbunyuza-inkobe.../

[antonio-m]

“Male nude”, 1985 by Trevor Southey (1940–2015). South African-American painter, printmaker, sculptor and art teacher. Intaglio print.

[robertogreco]

I saw William Kentridge’s The Refusal of Time (2012) at SFMoMA in 2016 and went back several times to take friends there to see it too. Here’s an interview with him on the Louisiana Channel about the installation:

How can we get a hold of time with our body and mind? This question is the crux of South African artist William Kentridge’s immersive installation ’The Refusal of Time.’ Join the artist for a detailed tour of his pulsing, breathtaking work. ‘The Refusal of Time,’ 2012, is an immersive installation and a meditation on time, space and the complex legacies of colonialism and industry. A multi layered work packed to the brim with references - to early cinematic history, and the science and philosophy of time and images - the work combines visually seductive imagery, sculptural objects, megaphones and sound. ”It’s not a scientific lesson in time,” explains the artist. “But it uses the metaphors scientists use when they’re doing their deepest thinking about time.” Therefore references to Einstein’s theory of relativity and figures like black holes - “a space in which everything disappears, a way of talking about death” - feature throughout the work. Kentridge uses cinema as ”an artistic, mechanical and optical means of playing with time,” to show time materialized. Cinema can slow time down, replay it, hold it, run it backwards, and by employing these techniques of making time visible, the work shows time, and essentially the trudge of a human life, as “a series of predictable, unremarkable actions that continue until we are worn out.” But within that frame there are also refusals says Kentridge. “Those moments of coherence, of understanding and changing the world, which is the most we can hope for.” Fragmented and futile in its story telling, ‘The Refusal of Time’ also references the painful histories of colonial wars and anti-colonial revolts in the context of time. In the colonial era the imposition of European time in the colonies was a means of control, Kentridge explains. “The resistance towards time became a metaphor for other kinds of resistance towards other forms of political control.” “In the end” – the artist says polemically – ”the project isn’t really about time. It’s much more about to what extent do we escape our fate? To what extent are we heading towards our fate whether we like it or not? Can we change the world on our way or is this all illusory?” William Kentridge (b. 1955) is a South African filmmaker, draughtsman, and sculptor. He has produced both animation, set design and sculpture as directing operas at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, USA, and the Royal Opera House in London, UK. His work has been shown around the world, e.g. at dOKUMENTA 10, 11 and 13 Kassel, Germany, the 1999 Venice Biennial, Italy, the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA, the Louvre, Paris, France, and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark. Kentridge’s work is held in numerous private collections worldwide and he is the recipient of many prestigious awards such as the 1999 Carnegie Medal, the 2010 Kyoto Prize and the 2013 Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. William Kentridge's installation 'The Refusal of Time' is a collaboration with composer Philip Miller, filmmaker Catherine Meyburgh & Peter Galison, professor of the history of science and of physics at Harvard University. The work is part of the exhibition ’Thick Time’, at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 16 February – 18 June, 2017. William Kentridge’s installation is also part of the Louisiana Collection. This video also features extracts from 'Making Time', 2011, a film about the making of 'The Refusal of Time', filmed and edited by Catherine Meyburgh. William Kentridge was interviewed Christian Lund in the installation of ‘The Refusal of Time’, at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, in February 2017.

See also the page for the installation on Kentrige’s website and the page on the Louisiana Museum website.

[abwwia]

Bertina Lopes (Mozambique/Italy, 1924-2012) #botd

www.palianshow.wordpress.com/2022/05/22/bertina-lopes-1924-2012/

Bertina Lopes (July 11, 1924 – February 10, 2012) was a Mozambican-born, Italian painter and sculptor. Lopes' work displays a deep African sensibility with saturated colours and bold compositions of mask-like figures and geometric forms. She has been acknowledged for highlighting 'the social criticism and nationalistic fervour that influenced other Mozambican artists of her time'.

Lopes was born in Maputo (formerly known as Lourenço Marques), Mozambique, on July 11, 1924 to an African mother, whose family was locally known, and a Portuguese father, who was a fieldworker.

Lopes' work was influenced by multiple sources, including Mozambican art and Portuguese modernism. Between 1946 and 1956, she embraced the art of Western painters and South American graffiti artists.

Lopes’ work was also deeply influenced by the political events that affected her home country, in particular during the period that followed the independence and the civil war between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Much of Lopes' work featured African fairy tales and stories that relate to the political events occurring at the time of production. via Wikipedia

#Mozambique #italianartist #BertinaLopes #womensart #PalianShow #artistoftheday

[afrodytis]

"Thrive"

a 14-Ton sculpture, over 30 feet, crafted in glass-fiber reinforced concrete, that features live plants & an Archway you can walk through.

by ©️Daniel Popper | South-African Sculptor who creates interactive public art installations which are often monumental in scale.

Thrive, will be a permanent public installation at "Society Las Olas", a residential building in

📌 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA 🇺🇸

[reclaiming-spaces]

Esther Mahlangu's artistic style and cultural influence make her a unique artist. While it is difficult to find artists who share the exact combination of her distinctive Ndebele-inspired aesthetic and cultural context, there are artists whose work exhibits similarities or resonates with certain aspects of her art. Here are a few artists who explore themes of cultural heritage, vibrant colors, and geometric patterns, which may evoke a sense of affinity with Esther Mahlangu:

Nelson Mukhuba - A South African artist known for his colorful geometric patterns and contemporary interpretations of Venda culture.

Billie Zangewa - A South African artist who incorporates vibrant textiles, storytelling, and personal narratives to explore themes of identity and womanhood.

Firelei Báez - A Dominican-American artist whose work often involves intricate patterns, cultural references, and explorations of identity, memory, and history.

Wangechi Mutu - A Kenyan-American artist who combines collage, painting, and sculpture to explore themes of African identity, femininity, and cultural mythology.

El Anatsui - A Ghanaian sculptor renowned for his large-scale installations made from recycled materials, which resemble vibrant tapestries and evoke the traditions and history of West Africa.

Yinka Shonibare CBE - A British-Nigerian artist known for his use of African fabrics, vibrant colors, and historical references to explore themes of colonialism, globalization, and cultural identity.

While these artists may share certain resonances with Esther Mahlangu's work, it's important to note that each artist has their unique artistic voice and cultural context. They contribute to the rich diversity and ongoing dialogue within the contemporary art world, celebrating and exploring different aspects of cultural heritage, identity, and artistic expression.

[manessha545]

Photo Above is.....Burle Marx's dramatic mosaic paving along Copacabana beach in Rio. Photograph source: Escritório Burle Marx

A Burlesque Marxist in Paris

The Brazilian Roberto Burle Marx was a modern day Renaissance man – painter, jeweller, poet, musician, sculptor, environmentalist, cook, set designer, plant hunter, landscape architect.

Of course, it is those last two activities which draw me to him. He was one of the finest modernist landscape designers, known for the scale and bravura of his designs, and for his championing of native Brazilian flora (which had been previously spurned as brush and scrub in comparison to the supposedly superior plants of Europe). Burle Marx, who died in 1994 aged 84, was also a master at creating fluid spaces that merged with buildings designed by Oscar Neimeyer and other modernist architects.

A Burlesque Marxist in Paris | a landscape lover's blog (wordpress.com)

Copacabana Beach

Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Copacabana Beach - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Copacabana is a bairro (neighbourhood) located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is most prominently known for its 4 km (2.5 miles) balneario beach, which is one of the most famous in the world.

The district was originally called Sacopenapã (translated from the Tupi language, it means "the way of the socós", the socós being a kind of bird) until the mid-18th century. It was renamed after the construction of a chapel holding a replica of the Virgen de Copacabana, the patron saint of Bolivia

Copacabana begins at Princesa Isabel Avenue and ends at Posto Seis (lifeguard watchtower Six). Beyond Copacabana, there are two small beaches: one, inside Fort Copacabana and the other, right after it: Diabo ("Devil") Beach. Arpoador beach, where surfers go after its perfect waves, comes next, followed by the famous borough of Ipanema. The area served as one of the four "Olympic Zones" during the 2016 Summer Olympics. According to Riotur, the Tourism Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro, there are 63 hotels and 10 hostels in Copacabana

Copacabana Beach in 1971

A view of the Copacabana beach from Sugarloaf Mountain

Copacabana at dusk

The Copacabana Palace Hotel

Fireworks during the celebrations of the New Year

Copacabana sea waters

Copacabana Beach during World Youth Day 2013.

Fireworks in Copacabana

New Year's Eve has been celebrated on Copacabana beach since the 1950s when cults of African origin such as Candomblé and Umbanda gathered in small groups dressed in white for ritual celebrations. The first fireworks display occurred in 1976, sponsored by a hotel on the waterfront and this has been repeated ever since. In the 1990s the city saw it as a great opportunity to promote the city and organized and expanded the event......

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - Wikipedia

[sheltiechicago]

In Paris, Zanele Muholi’s Bronze Sculptures Summon the Stories of Black Queer South Africans

All images © Zanele Muholi, courtesy of Paris + par Art Basel

[mybeingthere]

Neville Boden, South African/British 1929-1996.

Abstract sculptor in metal, draughtsman and teacher, born in Albert Town, South Africa, who learned many skills as a boilermaker. From 1958 studied under George Fullard at Chelsea School of Art and was later a Gregory Fellow at Leeds. Taught at London College of Printing, Chelsea, Camden School of Art, Central St Martin’s and Kingston. Had a solo show at Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1973, and was president of LG, 1973–8. In later life lived in La Indiana, Andalusia, Spain, but died in London. (Tate)

[blawoarts]

Artwork by Angus Taylor, South African Sculptor. IG: @angus_van_zyl_taylor angustaylor.co.za Angus Taylor: A Journey Through Monumental Sculpture and African Influence. Angus Van Zyl Taylor, a renowned South African sculptor, has captivated audiences with his powerful and monumental works. Born in Johannesburg in 1970, Taylor discovered his passion for sculpture at a young age, leading him to pursue a degree in Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria. Today, he is celebrated for his ability to transform materials like Belfast granite, red jasper, and bronze into breathtaking pieces that both challenge and inspire viewers. Taylor's connection to Africa runs deep, and the continent's rich cultural heritage has had a profound impact on his artistic vision. Drawing inspiration from the diverse landscapes, vibrant communities, and complex history of his home country, Taylor's sculptures serve as a testament to the beauty and resilience of the African spirit. In 1997, Taylor founded Dionysus Sculpture Works, a studio dedicated to casting his own work and nurturing the talents of emerging artists. Through this initiative, he has not only expanded his own artistic practice but also created a platform for young sculptors to explore their creativity and engage with the art world. Taylor's impressive body of work has led to numerous solo and group exhibitions, both within South Africa and on the international stage. His ability to capture the essence of the human experience through his sculptures has garnered praise from critics and art enthusiasts alike. Some of Taylor's most recent creations include a series of bronze figurative sculptures that showcase his mastery of form and emotion. These powerful pieces invite viewers to reflect on their own connections to the world around them, highlighting the importance of empathy and understanding in an increasingly complex global landscape. Follow us on Instagram, (X)Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, Tumblr and Facebook: @blawoarts www.blawo.art #blackart #africanart #africanamericanart #afrocarribeanart #blacksculpture #worldartsculpture #blawo #blackartintheworld

[lboogie1906]

Thornton Dial (September 10, 1928 - January 25, 2016) a native Alabamian, was an artist and sculptor famous for yard show-influenced, mixed media pieces that used discarded everyday objects to symbolize the history and experience of African Americans in the South. While he did not belong to any formal school of art, he is considered to be one of the most important voices in the outsider art movement.

He was born near Emelle, Alabama. His mother, Mattie Bell, was an unwed teenager at the time and asked her grandmother to raise her child. At age 12, he dropped out of school. Even though he had made it through third grade, he could not read or write.

He moved to live with family in Bessemer, Alabama, and after working a series of odd jobs, found steady employment as a metalworker at the Pullman Standard Plant. He picked up cast-off objects and used them as materials to make what he just called “things,” practical and decorative items to sell around the neighborhood. He devoted his time to creating more and more sophisticated “things,” producing them and, in his words, “putting them out there for someone to like.”

His art caught the attention of Lonnie Holley, a Black folk artist who mostly made art and sculptures from found objects. Holley introduced his work to William Arnett, an Atlanta-based art collector with a special interest in the self-taught Black artists of the South. His work became a centerpiece of Arnett’s Souls Grown Deep Foundation. His artwork made its way first into local museum and gallery exhibits and renowned museums across the US.

His “Last Day of Martin Luther King” depicts King as a tiger, his symbol for the strength of Black people, made of mop strings. His sculpture “Lost Cows” was made from the bones of cattle he owned.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Smithsonian Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta all exhibit his works. Hard Truths, Dias, appeared in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Mint Museum, and the High Museum of Art. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 6.28

Beer Birthdays

Leo Ebert (1837)

John Schreihart (1842)

John Schneider (1849)

Peter Straub (1850)

Cornelia Corey (1956)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Mel Brooks; film director, comedian (1926)

John Cusack; actor (1966)

Felicia Day; actor, writer (1979)

Mary Stuart Masterson; actor (1966)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau; French philosopher, writer (1712)

Famous Birthdays

Heinrich Albert; German composer and poet (1604)

Eric Ambler; writer (1909)

Kathy Bates; actor (1948)

Don Baylor; baseball player & coach (1949)

Gil Bellows; actor (1967)

Jens Birkemose; Danish painter (1943)

George Booth; cartoonist (1926)

John Byner; comedian (1938)

Pete Candoli; jazz trumpeter (1923)

Giovanni della Casa, Italian author and poet (1503)

Claudia Chase; adult actress (1978)

Bruce Davison; actor (1946)

Rob Dyrdek; skateboarder & reality tv star (1974)

John Elway; Denver Broncos QB (1960)

A. A. Gill; Scottish author (1954)

Mark Helprin; writer (1947)

Patrick Hemingway; writer (1928)

Henry VIII; King of of England (1491)

John Inman; English actor (1935)

Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist and composer(1831)

Alice Krige; South African actress (1954)

Cristofano Malvezzi; Italian organist and composer (1547)

Ashley Montagu; anthropologist (1905)

Pat Morita; actor (1932)

Jimmy Mundy; saxophonist and composer (1907)

John Boyle O'Reilly; Irish-born poet, journalist and writer (1844)

Luigi Pirandello; Italian playwright (1867)

Aileen Quinn; actress and singer (1971)

Gilda Radner; comedian, actor (1946)

Richard Rodgers; composer (1902)

Robert Xavier Rodríguez; classical composer (1946)

Frank Sherwood Rowland; chemist (1927)

Peter Paul Rubens; artist (1577)

Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker; German physicist & philosopher (1912)

John Wesley; founder of "Methodism" (1703)

August Zamoyski; Polish-French sculptor (1893)

[kickmag]

The New York African Film Festival Returns For 31st Year

Film at Lincoln Center and African Film Festival have announced the lineup for the 31st New York African Film Festival. The festival's mission is to feature filmmakers from the African diaspora. This year's theme is the Convergence Of Time and it explores the intersection of historical and contemporary roles played by individuals representing Africa and its diaspora in art. More than 50 films from more than 25 countries invite the audience to look at the meeting of past and current experimentalism transcending space and time. 

The festival's opening night showcases the North American premiere of Over The Bridge, Tolu Ajayi’s feature about corruption in Lagos as Folarin, a successful investment banker whose company is contracted by the government to oversee a high-profile project, searches for answers when the project goes awry, which leads him to a remote fishing village to put the pieces of the mystery together.

The Closing Night selection features the New York premiere of Dibakar Das Roy’s riveting and uproarious Dilli Dark, which shows the boundaries Nigerian MBA candidate Michael Okeke will push to succeed as he lives a double life as a student and drug dealer amidst the backdrop of India’s history of colonialism, racism, and xenophobia.

The festival will also host the North American premieres of Matthew Leutwyler’s Fight Like a Girl, depicting the true story of a young Congolese woman (Ama Qamata from the hit Netflix series Blood and Water) who finds liberation after joining an all-women’s boxing club in Goma, led by an ex-child-soldier coach; and Oyiza Adaba’s biographical documentary DELA: The Making of El Anatsui, which delves into the life of El Anatsui, the world-renowned sculptor from Ghana, and triumphantly acknowledges the importance of Africa’s rich artistic and cultural heritage.

Three festival features are U.S. premieres: Yajaira De La Espada’s documentary Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense, showcasing the life and empowering legacy of the founding father of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, and the recent presidency of Dr. John Pombe Magufuli; Clive Will’s Time Spent with Cats Is Never Wasted, a stark piece of slow-burning cinema featuring a small-town worker who finds success after selling a helicopter he made out of scrap and found objects, while having to fight off the local townsfolk who insist on a cut of the profits; and Perivi Katjavivi’s Under the Hanging Tree, a hard-boiled crime thriller following police officer Christina, as she seeks to uncover details of a murder on a German-owned farm in present-day Namibia, set against echoes of the country’s history of genocide.

Five features making their New York debut are: Damien Hauser’s After the Long Rains, a touching account of 10-year-old Aisha, who longs to become a fisher so she can travel to Europe, and befriends an alcoholic fisherman who promises to teach her; Uche Aguh’s musical romance Dynamite, which finds musician Kiki in an unhappy marriage with her husband/manager and beginning a whirlwind romance with a replacement bassist in her band; Osvalde Lewat’s documentary MK: Mandela’s Secret Army, the little-known story of the military avant-garde founded by global icon Nelson Mandela, screening for the 30th anniversary of South African Freedom Day; This Is Lagos, Kenneth Gyang’s dark comedy featuring aspiring rapper Stevo navigating the dangers of his criminal past after an escape from a heist goes wrong; and The Rhythm and the Blues, the true-life story of legendary bluesman Eddie Taylor and his fight against obscurity, industry corruption, and cultural appropriation, starring actor and musician Leon.

An exciting addition to this year’s festival is La Chapelle, Jean-Michel Tchissoukou’s surreal take on the relationship between Africa, Christianity, and colonialism. A classic feature shot in 1980s Congo, this enchantingly bizarre and bitingly funny satire leaves one questioning the relevance of space and time. 

Among many shorts premiering at NYAFF, not to be missed is Harold George’s Making Men. In a first for NYAFF, the screening of George’s film will be accompanied by a live dance performance from George and members of his dance troupe, as well as a discussion afterwards. A brilliant question of masculinity, visually probed via imagery of traditional customs, the film supplies modern questions with ancestral answers. Another, Love Taps, directed by Derrick Woodyard and executive produced by Spike Lee, offers another comment on masculinity, secrets, and family ties.

NYAFF will present an “Art & Activism” Town Hall at The Africa Center on Thursday, May 2, at 6:00pm, featuring artists Christian Nyampeta, Adama Delphine Fawundu, and Taiwo Aloba, moderated by cultural anthropologist, curator, and scholar Paulette Young.

This year’s Master Class presented by AFF will feature veteran independent filmmaker Ngozi Onwurah, who will discuss the craft of utilizing cinema as a tool for unmasking the dynamics of the socioeconomic status quo. The event takes place in the Amphitheater at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center with tickets available through africanfilmny.org.

“A litany for past suns labeled rituals / A star lit any and all possible futures,” a digital art exhibit of the work of Zainab Aliyu, will run in the Amphitheater at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center May 9–14 beginning 30 minutes before the first NYAFF screening of the day. The exhibit is inspired by Nikki Giovanni’s “A Litany for Peppe” (1970) and Audre Lorde’s “A Litany for Survival” (1978), two poems written years apart, yet converging thematically through time. As the title suggests, the piece is structured as a litany, a repetitive and rhythmic form often used in ceremonial settings. In this context, Aliyu’s litany serves as a call to action for her communities to alchemize their shared histories toward shared futures.

Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 11 at noon ET. Ticket prices are $17 for the general public; $14 for students, seniors, and persons with disabilities; and $12 for FLC Members. See more and save with a 3+ Film Package ($15 for general public; $12 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $10 for FLC Members), the $99 All-Access Pass, or the $79 Student All-Access Pass. Contact info@africanfilmny.org for information about attending the Opening Night Party.

The festival continues at Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem from April 17 to 19 and culminates at Brooklyn Academy of Music under the name Film Africa from May 24 to May 30 during Dance Africa.

The programs of AFF are made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York Community Trust, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Bradley Family Foundation, Domenico Paulon Foundation, NYC & Company, French Cultural Services, Manhattan Portage, Black Hawk Imports, Essentia Water, South African Consulate General, National Film and Video Foundation, and Motion Picture Enterprises.

For more information, visit filmlinc.org and follow @filmlinc on X and Instagram.

More information about AFF can be found on the Web at www.africanfilmny.org. You can follow AFF at @africanfilmfest on X and Instagram.

[ahopkins1965]

COVID-19 naming

ADD ARTICLE DESCRIPTION

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease and virus were sometimes called "coronavirus", "Wuhan coronavirus", or "Wuhan pneumonia".

In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) tentatively named it "2019-nCoV", short for "2019 Novel Coronavirus", or "2019 Novel Coronavirus Acute Respiratory Disease". This naming was based on the organization's 2015 guidelines for naming novel viruses and diseases, avoiding the use of geographic locations (such as Wuhan), in part to prevent social stigma. A similar structure has also been used by the AP when referring to virus variants, for example, referring to it as the "Delta variant" rather than the "South African variant".

On 11 February 2020, the WHO named the disease COVID-19 (short for coronavirus disease 2019). That same day, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) formally announced it had named the causative virus as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) based upon its genetic similarity to the 2003 SARS-CoV. The separation between the disease and the causative virus is based on the same nomenclature policies that separate AIDS and the virus which causes it, HIV.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that CO stands for coronavirus, VI for virus, and D stands for disease, while 19 stands for the year, 2019, that the outbreak was first detected. As such, there has never been a "COVID-1" or any other "COVID-" series disease with a number below 19.

Chinese virus

From January to March 2020, US President Donald Trump repeatedly described the virus as the "Chinese virus". In March 2020, the president claimed to have abandoned the term, telling Fox News "we shouldn't make any more of a big deal out of it". On March 18 and 19, 2020, Trump twice defended using the term "Chinese virus" amid instances of bigotry against Asians in the United States. Trump referred to it as "the China Virus" at least as late as January 2021.

This description was also used by members of the Spanish far-right political party Vox, especially by its leader Santiago Abascal in March 2020.

CCP virus

The Epoch Times has reportedly funded right-wing groups promoting the use of the term "CCP virus" to lay blame on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for the pandemic. Chinese-born New Zealand sculptor Chen Weiming created a 20-foot statue in Liberty Sculpture Park in Yermo, California, depicting Chinese leader and CCP general secretary Xi Jinping with spike proteins as his hair, naming it "CCP virus".

Stylization

Stylization of the term has varied since the virus's and disease's discovery. The World Health Organization (WHO) stylizes the disease as COVID-19 with all letters capitalized and many other organizations have followed their lead. The AP Stylebook, Chicago Manual of Style, and the Modern Language Association (MLA) have styled it similarly. Several observers have noted the importance of proper stylization, despite the seeming ridiculousness of worrying over such matters "at a time like this" (during the early days of the pandemic), recalling the confusion and prejudice which resulted from unclear or inconsistent naming as was the case with AIDS (which was called GRID/HTLV-III/LAV at various times) and non-A, non-B Hepatitis. They have also pointed out that future researchers will benefit from consistency when reviewing past data and research.

However, stylization as "Covid-19" has become common as well. Numerous news sources including The New York Times, CNN, Politico, The Wall Street Journal, NBCNews have presented the term with a capital C but all other letters as lower case. As a result, use of "Covid-19" has become commonplace and even the accepted standard in some cases. Use of "Covid-19" in news sources from the United Kingdom like The Guardian has also been the norm since most British newspapers only capitalize an entire acronym if the acronym is typically spelled out like "B-B-C" or "N-H-S" while acronyms which are pronounced as words, like "Nasa" or "Unicef" have their first letter capitalized and all subsequent letters lowercase.

While COVID-19 refers to the disease and SARS-CoV-2 refers to the virus which causes it, referring to the "COVID-19 virus" has been accepted. Reference to SARS-CoV-2 as "the coronavirus" has become somewhat accepted despite such use implying that there is only one coronavirus species. Similarly, use of "COVID" for the disease (if the first rendered as COVID-19) has been tolerated. Use of "the Coronavirus" to refer to the COVID-19 pandemic which began in December 2019 has also been accepted. Although such use does not specify the year or which coronavirus-related disease is being referred to, given its all-encompassing impact at the time, such references have been deemed justifiable. Use of "the" when referring to the disease, virus, or 2019 pandemic has been quite varied with some requiring use of "the" while others have not. The Oxford English Dictionary noted that "the" is typically not used when referring to the disease, COVID-19, but is not uncommon when referring to the virus.

Reference to the virus and/or the disease as "corona", "the corona", and "the rona" has also arisen in various parts of the world.

Colloquial names



2022-09-13 phylogenetic tree of life of COVID-19 using the PANGO nomenclature; only a few of these variants have come to public notice

Numerous mutations and variants of SARS-CoV-2 have acquired colloquial vis-à-vis scientific labels for ease of pronunciation and usage, both in the lab and to some extent in mass media. The nomenclature draws from the corpus of mythology (both Greek and Scandinavian and astronomy.

Public messaging has been a concern given that these elements of popular reportage can be at variance with the Greek alphabet nomenclature established by the WHO; other schemes have been proposed.

Variants

Arcturus (XBB.1.16) was named on social media after the star; Kraken (XBB.1.5), Cerberus (BQ.1.1), Typhon (BQ.1), and Gryphon (XBB) were coined by evolutionary biologist T. Ryan Gregory (from his own personal nomenclature of mythical creatures); whereas Pelican, Quail, and Mockingbird (variants of 20I/501Y.V1), have not gained wider usage. The BA.2.86 variant was named 'pirola' (sic) by a group of scientists on social media in late 2023, and was brought to public attention by an August edition of the Wall Street Journal. (Inasmuch as the World Health Organization has suggested using astronomy for its plethora of names, the Twitter user @JPWeiland suggested the obscure Jovian asteroid 1082 Pirola "for its uniqueness" and the possibility of shifting the nomenclaure to Pi or Rho if needed.)

Mutations

Nicknames have also arisen for mutations such as Nelly (N501Y), Doug (and Douglas) (D614G), and even Eeek (E484K), initially meant as convenient labels in University of Bern lab discourse.

See also

Virus classification

References

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Shi Zhengli

Chinese researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology

COVID-19 pandemic

Pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2

Virus that causes COVID-19

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