Faculty of Arts and Design
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Item The use of abstraction by Bill Ainslie and David Koloane(1999) Anderson, Vanessa; Starkey, Anthony RolandThe financial assistance of the Centre for Science Development (HSRC, South Africa) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the Centre for Science Development.Item A critical evaluation of cloth bead sculptures made by rural female artists in Kwazulu Natal (1970 to 1999)(2002) Khanyile, Isaac Nkosinathi; Starkey, Anthony RolandCloth bead sculptures are art objects made by female artists from cloth, beads, wood, wire and other materials that are stitched by hand. They are freestanding representations of the human figure, animals and inanimate objects and have traditionally been important ritual, as well as aesthetic, objects in Zulu communal life. The research for this dissertation was based on qualitative methods which brought together information from the women discussing their life and work. These discussions with individuals and groups looked at the women's own explanations of their work, including its traditional, ritual and communicative functions in rural Kwa Zulu Natal. They also discussed their experiences in selling their artwork in relation to the past discriminatory practices of apartheid South Africa, which was the context for their lives. From the 1970s some rural women brought some of these figures to Durban for sale in the streets to supplement their meagre resources. Later the African Art Centre became the main retail outlet for selling African Art and Craft and white people associated with it became the 'official' spokespersons and interpreters of such their art work. This had the consequence of depriving the rural women artists of their own voice. They were thus not able to give their own interpretation and explanation of their work. Interpretation of these sculptures in the dissertation has taken into account the traditional communicative role of bead figures and the symbolic function of colours, patterns and textures created by the beads and other materials. Cloth bead figures brought in for sale to local and international buyers always represented more than simple decorated figures to the artists themselves. Indeed these bead figures, like other works of art produced by black South Africans, became a vehicle for theItem The influence of the fine art market on the work produced by black artists (post 1994)(2009) Shibase, Thembalakhe; Roome, John WilliamThis paper explores the chronological relationship between the fine art market and the work produced by black South African artists since the emergence of a black urban class in the 1940s. It stems from the hypothesis that historically the art market had (and to some degree, still has) a major influence on the works produced by black artists in South Africa. In the introduction I contextualized the title of this dissertation by discussing the definitions of the terminology which feature therein. In Chapter One I have contextualized the study by looking at the historical background (the pre-1994) of South African art. I have specifically looked at how the socio-political conditions of that time influenced the work produced by black South African artists, hence the emergence of Township Art and Resistance Art. In Chapter Two I looked at the roles played by art institutions, galleries, and organizations in the stylistic developments made by black South African artists between the 1950s and 2000. The discussion of the influential role played by such informal institutions as Polly Street Art Centre, Jubilee Art Centre, the Johannesburg Art Foundation and many others on black artists forms a greater part of this chapter. Also included in this chapter is the discussion which examines the hypothesis that many black artists who do not have a formal academic background constitute a greater part of the informal art market. Tommy Motswai, Joseph Manana and Sibusiso Duma are examples of such artists and their work is discussed in depth. David Koloane, De Jager, Anitra Nettleton and other writers who have made literary contributions to South African art history, have been extensively cited and critically engaged in this chapter. iv In Chapter Three I discussed contemporary perceptions of the formal art sector, particularly in the post apartheid period. In this regard I looked at what defines mainstream or high art and how it differs from the marginal forms of art which are discussed in the preceding chapter. In this discussion I looked at the work of Sam Nhlengethwa, Colbert Mashile and my own work. In my discussion of their work I mapped out the characteristics of contemporary mainstream art, focussing primarily on 2-dimensional art.