Art

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Study Guide
Term 3

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P.O. Box 15132 Lyttelton 0140 Tel.: 012 664 8552 Hotline: 082 561 0131

T/A

EDUCATION

Impak Onderwysdiens BK trading as Delta Education SA CK 2005/041089/23 139 Rivier Road Lyttelton 0157 Fax: 012 664 2618 or 012 664 2318 E-mail: info@deltaeducation.co.za

YSDIEN Sc
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Impak/Delta bied nie Kuns/Drama vir 2009 aan nie, eers vanaf 2010. Die volgende werk is dus nie gemodereer of geproeflees nie. Dit is die rou werk soos ontvang vanaf vakouteur. Impak/Delta aanvaar geen verantwoordelikheid vir enige foute nie. Indien u enige navrae het, moet dit asseblief direk aan vakouteur gerig word.

Impak/Delta does not offer Art/Drama for 2009, but only from 2010. The following work is not moderated or proof read. It is the original work from the subject author. Impak/Delta therefore does not accept any responsibility for any mistakes in the work. For any queries please contacted the subject author. VAKOUTEUR/SUBJECT AUTHOR Wendy Kleynhans info@mytutorcentre.co.za 083 245 2946

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Rorkes Drift The Rorkes Drift Art and Craft Centre got its name from the town in which it was situated. It was established in 1962 by the Peter and Ulla Gowinius, a Swedish missionary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Rorkes Drift in KwaZulu Natal. A Swedish Committee for the development of African art and craft was the engine behind the project. It was later moved to the Oskarsberg Mission in Rorkes Drift until its closure in 1980. A course in the Fine Arts, as well as sewing, pottery, weaving and textile printing workshops were on offer. In a time when black people had little or no access to training and education and the fine arts, this centre had far-reaching effects on arts and crafts in South Africa in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Students came from all over the country, and the times of political unrest caused for many discussions and inspiration for their art. All of the students completing the fine arts course offered by the centre went on to work at and influence all other art centres in South Africa. The artists from Rorkes Drift still hold exhibitions on a regular basis, both at home and overseas. The school had two main objectives to produce useful art, as well as to become self-substantial. As a result every piece of art produced was placed in an exhibition for sale. The first was held in 1962 in Sweden. Included on the list of other art centres spawned by the Rorkes Drift Art Centre are the University of Fort Hares Fine Arts Department, as well as Natals Ndaleni Art School. Although numerous artists received art training or extensive inspiration at the Rorkes Drift Art Centre, among them were John Muafangejo and Charles Nkosi. Azaria Mbatha received a scholarship from the Stockholm School of Art in 1965. During its existence, the Rorkes Drift Art Centre trained some 80 artists in total. It has since been reopened and all the artists share the studios where they can once again work together on projects and share ideas. Today 35 women and men are active in the different fields of work at the Art & Craft Centre. The largest activity is in the Weaving Department, which has been part of the Art & Craft Centre since the establishment in 1963, while the Textile Printing and the Ceramic studios extended the media of expression in 1968. Peder and Ulla Gowenius were sent to South Africa to work at the Ceza Mission Hospital, Zululand. Here they met Azaria Mbatha and Allina Khumalo (now Ndebele) both of whom were sent to Sweden for further studies. The purpose of its programme at this early stage was to prepare women students as art and craft advisors to work with patients in hospitals. Financially this was made possible through capital raised by an exhibition of traditional art and craft The Centre was able to provide for many of its financial needs. It appears that substantial profits generated by the weaving section paid for the running of the school, including the fine art department and the pottery and textile printing workshops.

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One of the major commissions received by the weavers workshop was a tapestry (3m x 5.5m) for the renovated Council Chambers of the Royal Society, London. Allina Ndebele, who had been a nurse at the Ceza Mission Hospital, started as an interpreter It is important to understand the Art and Craft Centre in terms of issues of gender. To a large extent almost exclusively one or other sex practised the different art forms: weaving by women, apart from some designs by men; fine art by men, apart from a few women; and the ceramic workshop in which both men and women worked, but where two approaches developed: Dinah Molefe, with a small group of women, continued the female tradition of making pottery by the coil method; while the men, under the guidance of Gordon Mbatha, used the kick-wheel. Edited from: RORKE'S DRIFT: "Empowering Prints" (Philippa Hobbs & Elisabeth Rankin) While the Polly Street Art School had been established on the outskirts of Soweto in 1952, there were few places were black people with an artistic talent could train and a place at the Rorke's Drift Art School became highly sough after. The signature developed at the school was to dominate South Africa's print style fusing European art methods with an African aesthetic. This was often totemic placing a strong emphasis on abstract forms and shapes, together with a strong interest in the human form, to communicate a discrete yet powerful political comment at a time when criticism of apartheid met with severe repercussions from the regime. A diversity of techniques were taught at the school ranging from etchings, screen prints to linocuts and famous names in recent South African art history, such as, Azaria Mbatha, John Muafangejo, Cyprian Shilakoe, Paul Sibisi, Dan Rakgoathe and many more. The aim of the school was to work towards self-sufficiency and so everything produced was for sale. This encouraged an active exhibitions programme and the first were initially held in Sweden at the Konstfackskolan in 1962 and 1963. The black and white prints, with their strong design and social comment, embodied a democratic ethos in that many copies of an image could be reproduced and sold at a reasonable price with greater economic potential. Linocuts were the preferred print medium of artists who trained at Rorke's Drift and this format is recognized as the signature of the art school. The etching press enabled the students to diversify from the early emphasis on linocuts to use dry point etching and aquatint methods, which allowed for a wider range of textural and tonal variations to be used in the artist's images. In 1971 an exhibition hall was built at the school and new markets for the work were established within South Africa. In the mid 70s new print techniques and photography were introduced resulting in experimentation with colour prints and a keener awareness of light and shadow in the black and white prints.

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Nyanga
The artist brothers Patrick and Sydney Holo initiated the Nyanga Arts Centre in 1979 in the Nyanga township of Cape Town. It started off in an old farmhouse provided upon request from the Divisional Council, to serve the children of the surrounding townships. The centre suffered financially despite generous donations and was destroyed by vandalism in 1990. In 2004, under the guidance of a new committee, the centre was renovated and re-equipped for training. Classes were presented in graphics, glass blowing, pottery, terracotta sculpture and linocut. Today theatrical, literary and musical art classes are provided too. The centre participates in numerous exhibitions, including the National Gallery and the South African Association of Arts. Artscape also provides the opportunity for many of the students at Nyanga to be exposed to professional stage performances. Over the years hundreds of artists have passed through this artistic haven. The centre has since developed into a place where artists of local and international standing are able to showcase their talents, as well as provide for themselves a living in an area with an unemployment rate of as high as 70%. Projects have become farreaching and widened beyond art computer skills, entrepreneurship, computer skills and health issues are also dealt with. Billy Mandindi and Vehile Soha were two of the key artists trained by this centre.

CAP
The Community Arts Project (CAP) Art Centre in Cape Town was developed as a result of three influences. Art events in 17 Main Road Mowbray in 1976, the involvement of young people from the black townships to projects run by the UCT and the Michaelis School of Fine Art, as well as the creative drive of the city itself. Cap was originally run only by a committee when it was established in Mowbray in 1977. But later a director, Dimitri Fanourakis was appointed. Funding was mainly provided by donations in the early years of the centre. After this, members were recruited and fees payable. The centre was then run mostly by the members, who involved each other, taught and worked together. A wide variety of classes were provided. These included woodcarving, painting sculpture and weaving. Performing arts classes were also introduced in 1978. These included music, dance and drama. The centre played an active role in the struggle with printing posters and t-shirts for political purposes. The centre was closed in 1981 due to fire safety regulations but certainly the actual reason was political. Fortunately the centre could relocate and continue operating from an evacuated building in District Six. The Fine Arts flourished in the 1980s whereas the performing arts declined in status at the centre. In 1991 the entire staff was dismissed as a result of a lack of funds. Jacqui Nolte and Lucy Alexander dedicated themselves to the rebuilding of the centres operations. Since 1993, childrens classes have been replaced with adult classes and the centre now focuses on training adults to use the arts to generate income.Some of the artists who

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have benefited from this centre are Bongani Shange, Hamilton Budaza and Mpathi Gocini.

References
www.capegallery.co.za/patrick_holo_cv.htm www.artscape.co.za library.thinkquest.org/18799/time9.html wikipedia www.museums.org.za/cap/about/history1.html www.artzone.co.za/template_level2.asp?parentseq=6360 www.shawco.org/content/view/30/89/ www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/SAsite/exhtext.htm An Illustrated Dictionary of South African History http://www.dumisani.co.za/pages/rorke.html

John Muafengejo Themes and Subject matter

In the beginning, his only medium was linocuts in black ink. This single pallet medium both allowed and forced him to focus on his craft, which he refined to a very fine interplay between negative and positive space. During the 1970s John Muafengejo supplied the Art Centre with linocut prints done while he was a student at the Rorke's Drift Art School. From 1975 to 1990, Muafengejos prints increased in value from about R17, 50 to R6000. John Muafengejo proved his versatile talent with amazing sculpture and large colourful oil paintings. His unique artistic expression has remained unchanged. A very interesting aspect of his work is its expressionism, which is innate in traditional African art, but translated into the terms of the linocut medium, it results in images which often look very much like the most classical kind of Cjerman expressionism, though there are some differences in that Muafangejo is a bit more relaxed and humorous. All the works of Muafengejo is in the form of linocuts that are printed in black and white. The works are two-dimensional and he does not attempt to integrate Western perspective. He has a strong sense of pattern and design and fills the entire space of his artwork with figures. His works are not abstract, but figurative, still showing individual and unique representations. Many of his works have captions written on them, to explain his illustrations. His works can be divided into six main themes, which are the following: 1. Works dealing with everyday life. These works include day-to-day activities that people in rural communities traditionally occupy themselves with. All of these works have an anxious undertone.

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Figure 1: A Man Hunting an Eland (1974)

2.

Works dealing with historical events. An example of this is his Battle of Rorkes Drift, which is about a clash between British Invaders and Zulu in 1879.

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Figure 2: Battle of Rorkes Drift

3. 4.

Works that deal with his life as student and worker. Works that have Biblical themes. These represent Muafengejos own faith and each has a caption beneath them.

Figure 3: The Birth of Christ (1977)

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5. 6.

Works of political events. These had mostly to do with racial issues in South Africa. Autobiographical works. These are events, feelings and responses that Muafengejo experienced in his own life. An example of this is where Muafengejo shows his fathers kraal in a linocut: His father had 8 wives, 9 sons and 8 daughters. He owned 200 head of cattle and Bushmen that were working for him were living with his father in the kraal.

Tragically, he died of a heart attack at the age of 44. He was one of South Africa's most creative artists and one of the exponents of the linoprint technique in this country's printmaking history. Works from Rorkes Drift Art and Craft Centre

Figure 4: Ceramics

Figure 5: Geometric Carpet

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Figure 6: Tapestry

Reference:
www.sahistory.org.za/.../mid-eihties.htm

Polly Street
In the Apartheid years of South Africa, few black South Africans had access to government funded art education. As a result of the rage and pain built up during the years artists sought after new forms of art and expression. A handful did gain such an opportunity when the Polly Street Art Centre in Johannesburg was started by the Johannesburg City Council in 1952. It was an oasis for artists such as Durant Sihlali and Ezrom Legae. The centre provided a place to work, along with basic materials and guidance. The director, Cecil Skotnes, a South African printmaker, established the centre with the objective of encouraging the development of each artists own form of expression. He taught many different techniques, in a large variety of media and never trained them his personal style. The art produced was an urban mix that reflected both African and Western traditions. Some of the major artists whose work was influenced by the Polly Street Art Centre are Ephraim Ngatane, Sydney Khumalo, Welcome Koboka, Durant Sihlali and Ezrom Legae. Both Legae and Khumalo went on to become directors of the centre. The sold out sculpture exhibition by Khumalo was proof of the living that could be made by these talented artists. The centre has since become Sowetos Mofolo Art Centre. Sydney Khumalo Sydney Kumalo was born and grew up in Johannesburg. He studied under Cecil Skotnes at the Polly Street Art Centre from 1953, and with sculptor Edoardo Villa in 195859. He was employed as a teacher at Polly Street (and then the Jubilee Social
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Centre) in 1960, serving as an important influence on a generation of younger sculptors. His first solo exhibition took place in Johannesburg in 1962, and the following two years saw him exhibiting as part of the Amadlozi Group, founded by the dealer Egon Guenther, alongside Skotnes, Villa, Ezrom Legae and others. He was able to devote himself to art full-time from 1964. Kumalo would model his sculptures in terracotta, which was then cast in bronze. The bronzes illustrate Khumalos lifelong preoccupation with both the human form and that of the beast, the two often fused. His animals are mythical, slouching beasts whose limbs embody pent-up power, while his pregnant and seated women exhibit solidity in their forms, which tie them strongly to the earth.

Figure 7: Woman sitting

Figure 8: Horse

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Figure 9: Reptile

The Township Art Movement In the late 1960s and 1970s, apartheid reached what might be considered as the depths of violence. Black people had no political rights and few legal ones; they were forced to live in designated residential areas, forced to accept a degrading educational system, and subjected to constant surveillance and harassment with no legal recourse. Those seen as rebels, and often just people trying to live their lives, were imprisoned, tortured and murdered. Urban townships, the ghettos into which many Blacks were forced to live, became the home for despair but also for defiance, pride and powerful artistic expression. Township art, while strictly not a movement or a single style, has in common a powerful emotionality, a shift away from naturalism in order to express the emotions, and particular attention to Black experience. One of the only truly indigenous art forms emerging from South Africa, township art includes an unusual range of artists, from those with extensive training to those who are entirely self-taught, and from those with talent for innovative, powerful expression, to those who clumsily imitated or simply failed to translate their intentions into paint. Within this great range, some artists cry out for more focused attention. Bold expressionistic colours are used Rough brush stokes are often seen Scenes from townships regular

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Figure 10: G. Hinama, Unknown

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Term three Lesson Two

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Sam Nhlengethwa Sam Nhlengethwa is one of South Africa's foremost artists. Born in 1955, he studied at Rorkes Drift and the Johannesburg Art Foundation. Sam Nhlengethwa was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year award in 1994, the year South Africa held its first democratic elections and freedom was won for all its people. Nhlengethwa has successfully exhibited all over the world from Senegal to New York and Cologne. His work is largely figurative and he explores themes that are close to his heart such as the plight of mineworkers, jazz and the physical space of contemporary Africa.In his prints and paintings Sam Nhlengethwa uses overlays of techniques such as collage painting, drawing and photography. His fine sense of colour and form lend an abstract quality to his work. Sam Nhlenegthwa has been included in many contemporary South African art publications and his work can be found in leading South African and International collections. Artists Statement: "The title of this series is 'Glimpses of the Fifties and Sixties'. I have chosen to work in the style to which I have become accustomed (collage) and to also explore my printing via the photogravure process. I think one of the reasons I like this process is that it has an element of collage in it, but the process is more physically involved and delicate. It entails digitising an initial collage and working through at least five plates before even considering the trial print to be used for the series. I sourced material from the Drum magazine archives and I also looked through my own family albums. The use of my own archive was important because I wanted to reflect an intimacy and a familiarity that would make the images accessible. Looking through the albums I reminisced about growing up in my grandmother's house and how I always found the dining room with the wedding photograph so intriguing. I also recalled enjoying a softball match in Westonaria (a small mining community on the West Rand) amidst the many dompas and curfew laws. Today these images have now been revived in the music videos of Mafikizolo and the 'Stoned Cherry' fashion label. I think I'm lucky in the sense that I have used art as an outlet for the frustrations I encountered during this time. My visual expression through painting was therapeutic and has now been transformed into what I believe to be a historical retrospective". Sam Nhlengethwa, Exhibition press release 2004 A series of prints which are all the same size, printed by hand as colour photolithographs from pre-sensitised aluminium plates. The first image shows what the prints look like positioned on the paper; the images following it focus on the image and have been photographed without the paper edge of the print

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The parallel between jazz and Nhlengethwa's collage compositions becomes apparent when one looks at the work. The subject matter is that of musicians and the iconography constitutes a distorted figuration of cut-out fragments of trumpeters, saxophonists, trombonists and singers. The juxtaposition of disparate elements is unified by a pair of scissors and glue "The musicians series was inspired by the work I was doing based on the apartheid era of the fifties an sixties. I was paying tribute to the dedication and sacrifice of musicians who suffered untold misery under the apartheid system. It was also the era of the Sharpeville massacre and the forced removals of townships such as Sophiatown and District Six." Jazz was an important part of the township during this time. There were numerous jazz clubs and exciting groups such as the Bluenotes, Jazz Dazzlers, Jazz Ministers, Malombo and the Soul Jazzmen. Sam Nhlengethwa's collage compositions provide the viewer with an intimate glimpse of the township subculture. In the thirties this subculture revolved around the marabi music various ethnic characteristics. Marabi , which gave birth to such institutions as the "shebeen" and the "stokvel" houseparty. Marabi was therefore not only music but an urbanization passage which facilitated the transformation of communities from a rural orientation. Marabi provided patrons with an amalgam of entertainment in the form of music, food, a variety of intoxicants and the company of women at respective cost. Marabi did not differentiate between ethnic groups, it emphasised commonality. As they became more experienced these bands blended marabi rhythms with American swing creating a new form of African jazz.

Figure 1 OUTDOOR JAMMING web.uct.ac.za/org/cama/CAMA/

Tribute Series lithographs 2008 Sam Nhlengethwa is intrigued by people and their spaces "Throughout the years, all my pieces have dealt with the movement of people. I enjoy paying homage to people and places through my art". In this series of prints, the second in which he pays tribute to some of his visual art contemporaries, he salutes Dumile Feni, William Kentridge, Judith Mason, Marlene Dumas, Peter Clark and David Koloane. The first

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series honoured George Pemba, Dumisani Mabaso, Esta Mahlangu, Robert Hodgins and Gerard Sekoto. All these artists are South African and all of them have secured their place on the local and international art scene. By recreating the works of his contemporaries and role models and then placing them within a represented or imagined gallery space Nhlengethwa provides a new context in which to experience the work of these celebrated artists. The artist's work has been paired up with contemporary spaces and furniture that emphasise Nhlengethwa's understanding of the "mental space" of that particular artist, and then pulled together using Nhlengethwa's own distinctive style.

Figure 2 Tribute to Marlene Dumas Medium: Eight colour lithograph

Figure 3Tribute to William Kentridge Medium: Ten colour lithograph

MINE TRIP (1996)

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In early 1996, Sam Nhlengethwa visited a number of coal, diamond and gold mines in South Africa. He spent time underground, interacting with the miners who inspired him to do this series. Through these images Nhlengethwa seeks to give dignity to the frequently forgotten miners whose lives are spent unearthing the mineral wealth of South Africa. The Mine Trip original lithographs have been hand printed from stones and aluminium plates, sometimes with chine colle onto Arches and Somerset papers.

Figure 4 Ingolovane Single colour scratch lithograph with chin colle

Figure 5 The Blue Carraige Five colour lithograph

Reference: www.artprintsa.com/sam-nhlengethwa-03.html

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Term Three Lesson Three

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Gerard Sekoto (1913 1993)

Background
Jan Gerard Sekoto, who was born on 9 December 1913, is acknowledged as one of the most important artistic figures in the development of South African contemporary art. Sekoto spent his most formative years on the farm Wonderhoek in Middelburg where his father was posted by the Lutheran Church to their mission school there. He nurtured the memories of his rural childhood for the rest of his life. His art often depicted scenes from these rural settings. The love and security he was shown as a child were a source of solace and strength during the difficult years of his exile. Sekotos attraction to the contemporary lifestyle in the big cities prompted his move to Johannesburg in 1939, where lived in Sophiatown with his cousins. The paintings he painted at this time were in poster paints on brown paper while working on the floor of his cousins home. He met the painter Judith Gluckman at the Gainsborough Galleries in 1940, and she introduced him to all the aspects of painting with oil paints. All three areas were bulldozed in the fifties and sixties. In 1947 Sekoto left for Paris like many voluntary and involuntary exiles, He never returned to South Africa. France brought new inspiration and Sekoto re-worked many subjects and explored different themes, al characterized by a deep sense of humanity. Studies From 1934 to 1938, Sekoto taught at Khaiso Secondary School near Pietersburg. At Khaiso he became close to Louis Makenna, Nimrod Ndelele and Ernest Mancoba, who had graduated at Fort Hare University. This highly gifted and creative foursome enriched each others lives, and the intellectual and artistic life of the school. Sekotos interest in art was encouraged by Mancoba. In Paris he attended classes at the Academie de la Grande Chaumire and spent time in bistros drawing people.

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Subject Matter and Style

His earlier works depict the vibrancy and tensions of the townships during his formative years when he lived in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, District Six in Cape Town, and Eastwood, Pretoria before they were bulldozed by the apartheid government in the 1950s and 1960s. He drew his inspiration from his surroundings and depicted a wide range of subjects, ranging from women talking among themselves to washday scenes and workmen in teams. These works are extremely important for two reasons: they form a documentary record of places which were later obliterated under the apartheid regime, and they portray human conditions in a manner which shows the artist's empathy for human suffering. While living in Sophiatown Sekotos paintings mainly depicted the lifestyle and scenery of the township, often commenting on the social conditions and underlying mood of the community.

Exhibitions
In 1945, Sekoto moved back to the Transvaal, to the black township of Eastwood in Pretoria. In 1946 and 1947 he held a number of successful exhibitions and began to make plans to move abroad. It was in 1947; just before the Afrikaner Nationalist party came to power, when Gerard Sekoto left South Africa for Paris.

Paris
His exile was heavily influenced by his perception of the lack of potential freedom and growth as an artist in South Africa. The social, economic, and cultural context at the time did not supply a fertile ground that would allow him to enrich his experience, and properly establish himself as an artist. When he arrived in Paris, Sekoto faced the hardships of adapting to another culture. He was confronted with the reality of a world where black and white people could coexist indifferently of each others race. With this began his realization that South Africa was a country conditioned by colonial racism. Paintings

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CYCLISTS IN SOPHIATOWN 1940-42 'I still had in mind to visit Cape Town which I imagined to be very different in ways of living from Johannesburg. I started to collect paintings for a show which would pay for my trip to Cape Town and to stay there for a while.

Figure 1: SELF-PORTRAIT 1946-47

'What you are reading from my expression is not fear, but mostly mistrust and deep agony about contradicting attitudes amongst people. I do not have a particular fear,

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but am looking into the future of our country with much anxiety, yet fully determined to live this life as everybody does - through using one's own personal walking sticks.'

http://www.oulitnet.co.za/newlitnet/images/kuns/sekoto_women_fields.jpg

Figure 2

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Figure 3: Dog drinking water 1972

Figure 4: Three men walking - ca 1940

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Figure 5: Going home - 1940

Figure 6: School girl, Sophiatown

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Figure 7: Figures in a shebeen

Reference:
http://images.artnet.com

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Term Three Lesson Four Gladys Mgudlandlu (1923 1979) Gladys Mgudlandlu, who died in 1979, has been described as the first African woman painter of note; certainly she was the first to exhibit in Cape Town, if not on the entire African continent. Born in the Eastern Cape in 1925, Mgudlandlu lived much of her life in semi- poverty, teaching by day, then burning the midnight oil till 2am in her tiny township home in Nyanga - literally for she had only a paraffin lamp to paint by. Mgudlandlu was a remarkable person, overcoming the obvious limitations of her circumstances to emerge as an artist of eminence. Mgudlandlu received minimal training and was virtually self-taught. As a child with a predilection for art, she fashioned her own pencils from stone - and her own dolls, pots and toys from the coloured clay of the region. As an artist, she followed no painting tradition, though art critics perceived in her work the bold primitivism of Rousseau, Chagall and Kandinsky. Mgudlandlu preferred however to describe herself as a "dreamer-imaginist", her work a chance mixture of expressionism and impressionism, her inspiration drawn from imagination and the memory of the rolling hills of Transkei. Originally concentrating on birds and landscapes, (her own people called her unontaka or bird lady) Mduglandlu later painted African figures, in keeping with the "changing trend of my imagination". Mgudlandlu was an impressive personality. She was not only an artist and writer of African folklore but an innovative and dedicated teacher. It is a tribute to her and an indication of the love and respect she inspired that to her community, she was always "Gladys the African Queen". Awards The Order of Ikhamanga in Silver Awarded to Gladys Mgudlandlu (1925 - 1979 ) forpioneering contribution to visual arts in South Africa Profile of Gladys Mgudlandlu

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Figure 1: Henri Rousseau: Tiger in Tropical Storm, http://www.penwith.co.uk/artofeurope/rousseau_surprised_tiger.jpg

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/rousseau/rousseau.femme-exotique.jpg

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Figure 2: Kadinsky Composition 7

http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/courses/gc/kandinsky.comp-7.jpg

Figure 3 Marc Chagall, Blue House http://www.geocities.com/sulawesiprince/russia/art_images/chagall-blue_house.jpg

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Term Three Lesson Five

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Helen Sebidi
Influences and Development of her Works Sebidi worked for a German woman artist for some time, and one day her employer did a painting of a woman with children. When Sebidi saw it, she felt a strong desire to paint also. The woman gave her a box of paints and Sebidi proceeded to paint some oil works on hardboard. These were of naturalistic rural scenes depicting traditional people working communally. After this she could not stop her desire to paint. in 1970 she met the Sowetan artist John Koenakeefe Mohl. Immediately there was a connection between the two, and Sebidi started studying informally with Mohl. Mohl helped her to come to terms with Western illusionism and taught her the technique of 'fine art.' She did not have to pay him, but returned his kindness by bringing him gifts. Mohl not only praised her work, but he framed it and arranged for Sebidi to exhibit at the 1977 'Artists Under the Sun' show in Joubert Park in Johannesburg. Her atmospheric rural scenes sold well to white purchasers, which is probably owing to the fact that she made no harsh social comment, but merely depicted the black peasantry at one with nature. Sebidi's grandmother died in 1981 and with the death of her uncle in 1983, she could now consider her own future. In 1985 she met Lucky Madlo Sibiya. On showing her work to him, he suggested that she break away from the familiar and develop new ideas. Sebidi agreed, saying that she needed criticism as well as praise of her work. in the same year she became involved with the Katlehong Art Centre in Germiston. There Sebidi used her knowledge of traditional clay forms and began making pottery and terra-cotta sculptures. Before his death in 1985, Mohl encouraged her to build up a collection for solo exhibition. Sebidi worked with this idea, both for her own sake and in memory of Mohl. In May 1986 she had an exhibition consisting of her paintings, pots and sculptures at the FUBA gallery in Johannesburg. She was the first black woman artist to hold a solo exhibition in South Africa. Also in 1986, Sebidi joined the Johannesburg Art Foundation. There, working with Bill Ainslie and Ilona Anderson, she began to discover endless new possibilities. Her breakthrough came when she discovered abstraction and the liberating technique of collage, with its element of surprise. Sebidi initially continued drawing figures at the studio: feet, hands and portraits. At the end of the year there were piles of her drawings on her carpet, and she wondered whether she could develop a work out of them. She told herself: "Now break all this in pieces and see what comes out." She started to produce large-scale expressionistic human forms which dominate the picture plane, creating compositions rich in meaning. People have always been Sebidi's focus and it is that love of people that makes her art non-judgmental. Her

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constant use of the human form emphasizes that the people of South Africa have to be acknowledged. In May 1989 she was invited to visit and exhibit in Sweden, together with Cape Town artist Sue Williamson. While this exposure to international art was a significant experience, her work was not visibly affected by what she saw. "It's good for an artist to move around," she says, "but you can't be influenced by the images of people with whom you have not grown. You have to know yourself and you have to have your own images: it's the only way you can grow; it's what you are born for." Sebidi's greatest achievement came when she received the 1989 Standard Bank Young Artist Award. This was a tribute to her as "an artist of courage and vision," and "a woman of worth and insight." Response to the Socio-Political Situation Sebidi grew up in a racist South Africa and her life was shaped by the immediate confrontation of Apartheid. Colour controlled every aspect of personal, political and social life. South Africa's migrant labour system took men away from the rural life and forced women working in cities to send their children home to be raised by their grandparents. Thus her art cannot be assessed meaningfully unless she herself is contextualised within South African society. Sebidi's work is about being a black woman in South Africa and originates from personal experiences. She expresses her responses to the difference between rural and urban life. She feels that people are literally torn to pieces by the conflict and tension of the South African city. She describes the city as "a place with no laughter," and "where people don't look up to God anymore." She took these two worlds and brought them together by taking traditional black concepts of femininity and developing her own creativity within a Western-orientated art world. Seeing the lives of women in the townships spurred her on to create large paintings in a claustrophobic pictorial space. These fragmented works, consisting of disjointed body parts, are metaphors for the overcrowded townships because this is where violence and psychological tensions are created. This distortion of overlapping figures and animals that push and shove against each other in a struggle to survive, is a vision of Africa that is frightening. Her work clearly comes out of an unhealthy politicised society. Art historian Marion Arnold considers Sebidi as "a black woman artist whose evocative and powerful images are a product of life in South Africa in the late eighties." Sebidi herself would not say that her works are political: "I don't want to call things political because I think it's social - why should we call it political? What is political? I feel that anything that comes out of me is life." on being asked about the importance of art in her life, she responded: "My works show life, tradition, tears and happiness and show me the way I should go. I am creating the best in my own way."

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Sebidi's will to survive - overcoming self-pity - and her desire to succeed motivated her. She then achieved visibility as an artist because of this determination and positive personality.

Figure 1: Where is my home

Figure 2: Mangwano Ottshara Thipa Kabhaleng (1991),

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Figure 3 The Mask

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Term Three Lesson Art and propaganda / social commentary

Due to its nature, art has often served as propaganda or social commentary. Propaganda images are attempts to persuade us toward particular viewpoints or actions promoted by public or private institutions such as political parties, lobbyists, governments, or religious groups. The propaganda purpose may be one we approve of, such as World War II efforts to get women behind the war effort, as epitomized in Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter. It might also be a purpose we disapprove of. In either case, the power of visual images has frequently been used to persuade masses of people to accept beliefs, take action, or follow leaders. The artist as social commentator may simply make us more aware of the human condition as they perceives it, without suggesting particular action. All societies engage in propaganda. Propaganda is similar to marketing or advertising in many ways, particularly in the way messages are selectively formulated to emotionally engage the recipient. Some common propaganda devices are discussed below along with some examples on how they work and have been employed by artists. 1. Name-calling This involves the use of words to connect a person or idea to a negative concept. The aim is to make a person reject something without examining the evidence because of the negative associations attached to it. Examples of words include Terrorist, Nazi and Queer. 2. Glittering Generalities The opposite of name-calling, this involves the use of highly valued concepts and beliefs which attract general approval and acclaim. These are vague, emotionally attractive words like freedom, honour and love. This method works because these concepts/words mean different things to different people, while still having a positive implication. 3. Transfer This is a technique used to carry over the authority and approval of something you respect and revere to something the propagandist would have you accept. One does this by projecting the qualities of an entity, person or symbol to another through visual or mental association.

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This stimulates the recipient and makes him/her identify with recognized authorities. In the Transfer device, symbols are constantly used. The cross represents the Christian Church. The flag represents the nation. A dove represents peace. These symbols stir emotions. At their very sight, all the feelings we have with respect to church or nation are aroused in us. 4. Testimonial The aim of testimonial is to leverage the experience, authority and respect of a person and use it to endorse a product or cause. Testimonials appeal to emotions instead of logic because they generally provide weak justifications for the product or a cause of action. The Star said,, The President said, My doctor said, Our minister said 5. Plain Folks A technique whereby the propagandist positions him or herself as an average person just like the target audience, thereby demonstrating the ability to empathize and understand the concerns/feelings of the masses. One may perform ordinary actions or use language and mannerisms to reach the audience and cohere with their point of view. 6. Card Stacking A way of manipulating audience perceptions by emphasizing one side of an argument which reinforces your position, while repressing/minimizing dissenting opinions. An example of this articles/media events which compare and contrast the best possible scenarios with the worse examples. 7. Bandwagon The basic premise for the bandwagon technique is to suggest that since everyone is doing it, you should too. Its aim to persuade people to follow a general trend by reinforcing the human need to participate on the winning side. One can suggest to an audience that he or she will lose out by not moving with the rest of the crowd, thus preying on their insecurities and fears. Pay attention to the information you consume because careful observation over time will give you a deeper understanding of both societal relationships and the individual psyche.

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Posters can be a very beautiful form of propaganda, Nelson Mandela in the introduction to Images of Defiance. A sampling of anti-apartheid posters.

In August 1950, South African women marched against laws which required all blacks to register for and carry identity passes outside tribal trust areas. Art and apartheid The apartheid years of South African history (1948-1994) saw a great diversity in South African art, ranging from landscape painting to abstract art. There was a fiercely local sense of what it meant to be an artist in this country during troubled times. Sometimes South African art seemed to float above the political issues of the day; at other times it tackled them with vigour and insight. Works created during the apartheid era by black artists is often referred to as propaganda or protest art. The imagery reflects the consciousness of a people. The art became the weapon of empowerment; the voice for those who were not allowed
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to speak without fear of prosecution. These brilliant and powerful works of art serve as historic documents on the black experience. "Man with Horse" by Ben Macala, pastel on paper, 40x92

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Term Three Lesson Seven

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Art Nouveau (1890-1914)

Art Nouveau, otherwise known as New Art, explores a new style in the visual arts and architecture and developed in Europe and North America at the end of the nineteenth century. At its height, Art Nouveau was an intensive attempt to create an international style based on decoration. Art Nouveau was in many ways a response to the Industrial Revolution. Some artists welcomed technological progress and embraced the artistic potential of new materials such as cast iron. Others criticized the poor quality of mass-produced machine-made goods and aimed to promote the decorative arts to the level of fine art by applying the highest standards of craftsmanship and design to everyday objects. Art Nouveau designers also believed that all the arts should work in harmony to create a "total work of art," or Gesamtkunstwerk. Art Nouveau can be seen in buildings, furniture, textiles, clothes, interior design and jewellery. Art Nouveau was more than a mere style. It was a way of thinking about modern society and new production methods. It was an attempt to redefine the meaning and nature of the work of art. From that time on, it was the duty of art not to overlook any everyday object, no matter how utilitarian it might be. This approach was considered completely new and revolutionary, thus the New Art Because of typical flat, decorative patterns used in all art forms, Art Nouveau obtained a nickname 'the noodle style' in French, 'Le style nouilles'. Art Nouveau emphasized handcrafting as opposed to machine manufacturing, the use of new materials. Although curving lines characterize Art Nouveau, right-angled forms are also typical, especially as the style was practiced in Scotland and in Austria. Typical for this style was artistic application of modern industrial techniques and modern materials (unmasked iron in architecture for example). Making this a m ore expensive art form Principal subjects are lavish birds and flowers and insects. Abstract lines and shapes are used widely as a filling for recognizable subject matter. Purposeful elimination of three-dimensions is often applied through reduced shading. Art Nouveau artefacts are beautiful objects of art, but not necessarily very functional. In design Art Nouveau was characterized by:

Writhing plant forms: Curved depiction of leaves and flowers, often in the form of vines. These might also be described as foliate forms, with sinuous lines, and non-geometric, "whiplash" curves. Flat, decorative patterns, intertwined organic forms of stems or flowers Design is asymmetrical

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Art Nouveau elsewhere

"In France, despite Guimard's famous glass and iron Metro designs, the movement was best expressed in the applied arts, especially the glassware of Lalique (1860-1945) and Galle (1846-1904). In Belgium, the style was promoted through the Societe des Vingts (Les Vingt) established in 1884, and including Ensor as well as the more characteristically Art Nouveau architects Horta and Van de Velde in its members. In Spain the style was concentrated in the eccentric hands of Gaudi in Barcelona. In Vienna, architects like Wagner, Hoffmann and Olbrich, and artists such as Klimt gathered to promote the style through the Secessionist magazine Ver Sacrum. In Germany, the movement split between the decorative tendencies of Otto Eckman (1865-1902) and the Pan magazine, and the streamlined design of Behrens. In America architects like Sullivan and Wright were influenced by European ideas but conceived Art Nouveau in different terms, whilst designers like Tiffany enthusiastically embraced the movement.

Examples of Art Nouveau in design

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Figure 1: Hotel Van Eetvelde

The Hotel van Eetvelde in Brussels was designed in 1898 by Victor Horta, undoubtedly the key European Art Nouveau architect. Horta found a new style that gave the best expression to his ideas. His skill is demonstrated in his ability to slip his domestic designs into narrow constricted sites. The interiors become of great importance as centres of light, which filter through the domes and skylightsusually in the centre of the building. The Hotel van Eetvelde is an example of the way Horta handled the situation and used it to highlight the imposing staircase, which leads up to the first-floor reception rooms."

Figure 2: Victor Horta, staircase in Hotel van eetvelde, 1895

The staircase in the Hotel Van Eetvelde, is especially a good example of art nouveau. Each part functions as a living whole/ Furniture drapery folds, veining in the lavish stone panelling, and the patterning of the door mouldings join with real plants
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to provide graceful counterpoints for the metallic tendrils that curl around the railing and posts, the delicate metal tracery that fills the glass dome, and the floral and leave motifs that spread across the of the fabric panels of the screen. (Different angle)

Figure 3:Casa Mila Detail

Figure 4: Casa mIla Detail

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Figure 5: Casa Mila Exterior

Gaudi was a master who invented many new structuaral techniques that facilitated the actual constructions of his visions. His apartment house, Casa Mila is a wondrously free-form mass wrapped around a street corner. Lacy iron railings enliven the swelling curves of the cut stone faade, while dormer windows peep from the rolling tiled roof, which is capped by fantastically writhing chimneys that poke energetically into the air above. The rough surfaces of the stonewall suggest naturally worn rock. The entrance portals look like eroded sea caves. Gaudi felt that each building was a symbolically living thing,

Reference:
http://www.golem-baukeramik.de/eng/index. http://uitbase.aub.nl/gfx/content/Hermitage http://free-stainedglasspatterns.com/2artnouveaucircle http://www.corianderstainedglass.co.uk Test Your Knowledge 1. Why were some of the Art Nouveau artists against the industrial revolution and how did they react to it? (3) They criticized the poor quality of mass-produced machine-made goods and aimed to promote the decorative arts to the level of fine art by applying the highest standards of craftsmanship and design to everyday objects.
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2. Describe the characteristics of art nouveau and elaborate on each.

(5)

Writhing plant forms: Curved depiction of leaves and flowers, often in the form of vines. These might also be described as foliate forms, with sinuous lines, and non-geometric, "whiplash" curves. Flat, decorative patterns, intertwined organic forms of stems or flowers often 2D Design is asymmetrical 3. Describe one building or artwork that fits in to this style. (Not one from this lesson) Learners are to describe any other one not Casa Mila and hotel eetvelde. 4. Describe the Art nouveau Qualities in this painting by Gustav Klimt, Death and Life. (4)

5. Answer should include the following words in paragraph form Patterning Textured two-dimensional design Feeling of sensual fantasies Intertwined images of infancy

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Term Three Lesson Eight

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Art Deco (1910-1939)

This period occurred roughly between the two World Wars, or from 1920 to 1939. The Art Deco period affected architecture, but all of the fine and applied arts. Furniture, sculpture, clothing, jewellery, and graphic design were all influenced. If one is looking for an appropriate word to describe overall Art Deco as a design style, 'Speed' would be the best word for it. "During the Great Depression, a second Art Deco period, buildings usually have very little ornamentation and have a very flat, machine-like look. In fact, Art Deco was influenced by the modern art movements of Cubism, Futurism, and Constructivism; however, it also took some ideas from the ancient geometrical design styles, such as Egypt, and Persia. Art Deco designers use stepped forms, rounded corners, triple- striped decorative elements and black decoration quite a lot. The most important thing is that they are all in geometrical order, and simple formats. With the increasing of machine power, Art Deco also used machine- like materials. Art Deco began as the Modernist follow-up style on Art Nouveau but more simplified and closer to mass production. The main elements of Art Deco architecture were its non-structural decorative elements and its focus on modernity. It is characterized by the use of crisp, symmetrical geometric forms. New York skyscrapers The Chrysler building and Empire State Building were examples of 1930s-era of Art Deco style in architecture., designed by architect William Van Alen, is considered to be one of the world's great Art Deco buildings.

Figure 1: City Hall

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Figure 2: Crysler Building

Figure 3: Crysler Building

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Figure 4: Four Seasons Hotel

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Term Three Lesson Nine

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Bauhaus
By Adapted from Klaus Labuttis of www.famous-classics.com In 1919, an architect by the name of Walter Gropius would join a small group of men to lead a new school by the name of the Bauhaus Institute. It would be at the Bauhaus institute that he would begin teaching the philosophy design should be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. The German Bauhaus Movement had an important impact on the development of Design and Architecture in the twentieth century. It was truly avant-garde in its techniques and ideas. The Bauhaus teachers were highly influential people. Artists such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Lszl Moholy-Nagy taught alongside architects and designers such as Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. They believed that students should be able to exercise different disciplines, from graphics to architecture. Every student needed a combined practical and theoretical education, which at the time was quite revolutionary. The aim was to produce work that unified intellectual, practical and aesthetic concerns through artistic endeavour and the exploitation of new technologies. All this should lead to a successful integration of design theory with the industrial process. The New Way of Living The impact of the horrible experiences in the First World War, poverty and inflation created a new consciousness, which influenced strongly Design, Architecture and Art. The Bauhaus reacted to this social change by creating an aesthetic relevance to the requirements of the time. The Bauhaus Design showed simplicity with emphasis on straight edges and smooth, slim forms. The rooms were sparsely furnished, but filled with hygienic freshness. Superfluous features were taboo. Shining steel was discovered as a material for furniture. The aim was to take advantage of the possibilities of mass production to achieve a style of design that was both functional and aesthetic. Objects were to be designed to have "simplicity, multiplicity, economical use of space, material, time and money which looks as modern as anything in production today. A principle of the Bauhaus was to serve the development of contemporary housing, from the most basic household equipment to the complete house. Characteristics:

Bauhaus architecture is a great style of architecture for: Those who prefer minimalism as well as function or style. The Bauhaus believed less is more. Buildings constructed from the Bauhaus design are always cubic in shape.

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They feature four flat sides as well as flat rooftops. The colours of the typical Bauhaus building are generally black, white, and grey or sometimes beige - however an owner can change the colour if desired.

Figure 1: Sweet House, Le Corbusier

Figure 2: Farnsworth house, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Reference: http://buildings.suite101.com www.famous-classics.com

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