scholarly journals Decolonising African vernacular rooted sculptures of selected contemporary Nigerian and South African artists

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sule James
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
South African ◽  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Formal Analysis ◽  
African Art ◽  
Indigenous Cultures ◽  
Art Practices

I am interested in a decolonial reading of African vernacular rooted sculptures of selected contemporary South African and Nigerian artists and compares them. Although vernacular arts were produced in indigenous or traditional African arts context, there are still several forms of vernacular art practices jostling for space with canonical modes in contemporary art in various African contexts. However, I argue that the contemporary representations of cultural imagery and symbols from indigenous cultures or urban areas in South Africa and Nigeria suggest a different mode of engagement, even though the term vernacular is used to narrate them as a rethink in narrating art practices. Therefore, my paper argues that even though contemporary artists from both countries continue to represent cultural imagery (vernacular) in their artworks, they are not a continuation of traditional African art. I adopt formal analysis, cultural history methodologies for the critical analysis of the works of two South African and two Nigerian artists that were purposively selected and compare the ideas that unfold from the interrogations for a wider continental understanding of contemporary issues and artistic trends.

scholarly journals CRITICAL DISCOURSE OF AFRICAN VERNACULAR ROOTED IMAGERIES IN PITIKA NTULI’S SCULPTURES

ARTis ON ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 140-151
Author(s):  
Sule Ameh James
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
South African ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Formal Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Political Events

My paper presents a critical discourse on African vernacular rooted imageries in the contemporary sculptures of Ntuli, the ideas they convey to viewers and how Africanness is indicated in each depiction produced between 2007 and 2016. I read Ntuli’s contemporary sculptures as African vernacular rooted because he appropriates in them cultural imageries from engagement with African contexts. Five images of his sculptures and installations were purposively selected for thematic and visual analysis. I adopt visual hermeneutics theory, formal analysis and cultural history methods for the reading of each work. The narrative reveals that Ntuli’s vernacular imageries reflects black South African men and a woman rooted in past and present socio-political events in South Africa. The thematic interpretations of the imageries reveal ideas on massacre not merely during apartheid but in post-apartheid South Africa, torture of victims detained without trial, anti-racialism and reflection on a historical hero from Zulu culture.

Ainslie, Bill (1934–1989)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
African Art ◽  
Art Programs ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Black Artists ◽  
The Social ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S

Born in 1934 in Bedford, Eastern Cape, South Africa, William (Bill) Stewart Ainslie was a painter and educator, and the founder of a number of visual art programs and workshops that countered discriminatory racial and educational policies in apartheid-era South Africa. These programs encouraged students to work in abstract and other modernist idioms not practiced in the country at the time. Until his untimely death at age 55, Ainslie melded his career as an artist with his vision of art as a means to combat apartheid. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ainslie fostered the only multiracial art programs in the country, culminating in a formal art school, the non-profit Johannesburg Art Foundation (1982). He helped found the Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) and the art schools Fuba Academy (1978), Funda Center (1983) (funda means "learn" in Xhosa), and the Alexandra Arts Centre (1986). The generation of modern African artists and educators trained at these institutions shaped the course of art after apartheid. Ainslie also organized short-term workshops, most notably the Thupelo Art Workshop (thupelo means "to teach by example" in Southern Sotho) in 1983. Thupelo linked local and international artists and focused on abstraction, a radical departure from the social realist style expected of politically engaged South African art of the 1980s.

DEATH ‘ON THE MOVE’: FUNERALS, ENTREPRENEURS AND THE RURAL–URBAN NEXUS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Africa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Lee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Funeral Directors ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Cultural Mediators ◽  
The Dead

ABSTRACTThis article primarily concerns the intersection of the changing management of death with the problems and possibilities presented by the growing mobility of the African, and specifically Xhosa-speaking, population in South Africa from the latter half of the twentieth century to the present day. I am interested in how shifts in the practices and beliefs around death are mediated by individuals, households and businesses who have an historical affinity towards movement, particularly across what has been called the ‘rural–urban nexus’. In what ways has this more mobile orientation influenced the perception of rites and responsibilities surrounding death? And how have more mobile ‘ways of dying’ in turn created new subjectivities and new ways in which to imagine relations between the living and the dead? I argue that African funeral directors based in Cape Town and the rural areas of the Eastern Cape – a steadily more numerous and prominent group of entrepreneurs – are well-placed to shape these processes, through their role as cultural mediators and technological innovators, and their particular emphasis on maintaining a flow of bodies (both dead and alive) between rural and urban areas. I focus on two aspects of contemporary South African funerals – embalming and exhumations – that are suggestive of how the migration dynamic, and the continuing demands from mobile mourners for innovations via the funeral industry, have encouraged new perceptions of and relations to the dead body.

scholarly journals Hepatitis B and HIV co-infection in South Africa: Just treat it!

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia S Firnhaber ◽  
Prue Ive
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Viral Hepatitis ◽  
South African ◽  
Surface Antigen ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Care Management ◽  
Concomitant Medications ◽  
Serum Aminotransferases

There are an estimated 350 million hepatitis B carriers worldwide. The prevalence of mono-infection with hepatitis B in South Africa has been estimated at approximately 10% for the rural population and 1% in urban areas. The transmission routes of hepatitis B and HIV are similar, but hepatitis B is more efficient. Co-infection with HIV and hepatitis B is therefore not unusual. Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of HIV/HBV co-infection (using HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) as a marker for HBV) in South Africa ranges from 4.8% to 17%, depending on the population studied.The guidelines for the South African HIV Comprehensive Care, Management and Treatment (CCMT) programme do not include viral hepatitis studies. Hepatitis B serology is usually done only if serum aminotransferases are evaluated in the absence of another known cause (e.g. tuberculosis and concomitant medications). The clinical sequelae of HIV/HBV co-infection are multiple and can cause an increase in morbidity and mortality. Awareness of HBV/HIV co-infection with appropriate diagnosis and management is imperative for improved care of our HIV patients.

scholarly journals Deciphering Dangerousness: A Critical Analysis of Section 286A and B of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Windell Nortje ◽  
Abraham Hamman ◽  
Chesne Albertus
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Crime Rate ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Criminal History ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Crime ◽  
High Crime Rate

The violent nature of some crimes and the high crime rate in South Africa reflect the fact that some offenders constitute a real threat to the security of communities. It is understandable, therefore, that the state seeks to protect its citizens through preventive measures. Although South Africa has certain legal provisions on its statutory books, it seems that the declaration of persons as dangerous criminals is under-utilised. South African legislation dealing with the declaration of dangerous criminals can be improved by borrowing some traits of the Canadian legislation. Such features include the restriction of courts' discretion and the provision of concrete and more detailed guidelines on the nature of the offences for which the provision can be applied. The courts could also take into account the type of criminal history of the offender which would merit the declaration of a dangerous criminal. It is also important that the extent of the violence in an offence should be thoroughly defined in court. Courts need to balance their wide discretion on the matter with the provisions in the Act in order to protect the community against dangerous criminals.

scholarly journals Book Review: Standing Items: critical pedagogies in South African art, design and architecture, edited by Brenden Gray, Shashi Cullinan Cook, Tariq Toffa and Amie Soudien

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Nan Catherine O'Sullivan ◽  
David Hakaraia
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
African Art ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
Critical Pedagogies ◽  
Art Design

In this review of Standing Items: critical pedagogies in South African art, design and architecture, edited by Brenden Gray, Shashi Cullinan Cook, Tariq Toffa and Amie Soudien, book reviewers Nan O’Sullivan and David Hakaraia explain how this book casts light on discussion points, awkward conversations, skewed demographics and pathways to radical change in these disciplines in South Africa.   Keywords: Critical pedagogies, South Africa, Book review, Art design and architectureHow to cite this article:O’Sullivan, N.C. & Hakaraia, D. 2020. Book review: Standing Items: critical pedagogies in South African art, design and architecture, edited by Brenden Gray, Shashi Cullinan Cook, Tariq Toffa and Amie Soudien. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South. 4(2): 244-247. https://doi.org/10.36615/sotls.v4i2.150.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Legal Recognition for Child-Headed Households: An Evaluation of the Emerging South African Framework

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Noel Zaal ◽  
Meda Couzens
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Recognition ◽  
Aids Pandemic ◽  
Best Interests Standard

AbstractThis article evaluates legislation developed in South Africa for the legal recognition and support of child-headed households. It provides an explanation and critical analysis of new statutory provisions. We show that in a developing country with AIDS pandemic challenges and limited resources such as South Africa reasons in favour of formal legal recognition outweigh those against. We demonstrate, however, that in order to meet the best interests standard it is essential to base recognition on household viability. Our analysis indicates that, although the South African provisions are groundbreaking and of considerable value as an example for other countries, there are some deficiencies which may compromise their effectiveness. Amendments and supplementary wording are proposed.

scholarly journals Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan O'Sullivan ◽  
David Hakaraia
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
The South ◽  
African Art ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Critical Pedagogies ◽  
Art Design

In this review of Standing Items: critical pedagogies in South African art, design and architecture, edited by Brenden Gray, Shashi Cullinan Cook, Tariq Toffa and Amie Soudien, book reviewers Nan O’Sullivan and David Hakaraia explain how this book casts light on discussion points, awkward conversations, skewed demographics and pathways to radical change in these disciplines in South Africa.

scholarly journals "We Never Did Return": Migration, Materiality and Time in Penny Siopis' Post-Apartheid Art

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 45-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison K. Young
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Contemporary Art ◽  
Return Migration ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Medium Specificity ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Related Object

This article explores “migration” as both theme and operation in two works by the South African artist Penny Siopis, each created in the year 1997: the artist’s first film, My Lovely Day, and a related object installation entitled Reconnaissance (1900-1997). In each work, Siopis traces the course of her grandmother’s emigration from Europe to Africa through a variety of found, collected, or inherited components that bore witness to the longue durée of imperialism and Apartheid. Mediating between national, cultural, and familial narratives, these works are inherently archaeological in nature, and allowed viewers at the time to reflect on the multiple entangled histories that comprised the post-Apartheid condition. The late nineties in South Africa were defined by the conclusion of Apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and two major biennale exhibitions of contemporary art. The decade thusly saw a stream of collective efforts to both unearth the past and envision the future, marking a time of great cultural, artistic, political, and discursive transition. Mapping questions of medium-specificity and affect over this larger context, I investigate Siopis’ use and manipulation of historical traces as well as notions of contemporaneity and temporality in her art.

scholarly journals Three new Drosophilidae species records for South Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liana I. De Araujo ◽  
Minette Karsten ◽  
John S. Terblanche
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
South African ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Drosophila Ananassae ◽  
Coi Gene ◽  
Home Garden ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Background: Data on the current species diversity from the Drosophilidae family in South Africa is limited or outdated.Objectives: Using haphazard, limited trapping for a different study, we serendipitously report on and document Drosophilidae species in two distinct regions (representing a sub-tropical and a Mediterranean climate region) of South Africa.Method: Drosophilidae were trapped using mixed fruit and mushroom traps around urban areas in two climatically distinct regions of South Africa. The flies were identified using standard barcoding (Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit I [COI] gene sequence) and, in some cases, additional identification from a taxonomical expert using morphological traits. Species were checked against literature, online resources and a previously compiled library of South African Drosophilidae to determine whether they were new records.Results: Thirteen species were readily collected and identified. Of these, three species (Drosophila ananassae, Drosophila nasuta and Zaprionus taronus) have not been reported previously in South Africa. One of the species (Z. taronus) was captured in a home garden, while the other two species were captured in an urban-agricultural region with a sub-tropical climate.Conclusions: From our limited serendipitous sampling, three new species records have been found in sub-tropical climates in South Africa. With more comprehensive, systematic sampling, a better understanding of the South African Drosophilidae composition, and thus the detection of alien or invasive species, can be pursued. Baseline data for understanding spatio-temporal patterns of native biodiversity, or for informing management actions in the case of alien or invasive species, are currently inadequate for this group in the region.

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