UP Journals (Univ. of Pretoria)
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Steven Cohen’s Golgotha as a cultural critique of capitalism
Get PDFSouth African performance artist Steven Cohen’s film Golgotha (2007-2009) is investigated with reference to twentieth-century French theorist Georges Bataille’s philosophical enquiry into the notion of expenditure as a critique of capitalism. This article examines the representation of excess in relation to the body, and makes specific reference to Cohen’s use of real human skulls as shoes as a cultural critique of capitalism. Bataille’s notion of expenditure, as it is developed in the first volume of The accursed share (1949), centres on the concept of excess: A society, he argues, reveals its structure most clearly in its treatment of its surplus energy. Bataille’s analysis of the necessity for luxury, on the one hand, and expenditure and sacrifice, on the other, is of particular relevance. With his performance in Golgotha, Cohen uses his art practice to deliver a critique of capitalist culture. Cohen’s visceral performance with real human skulls in the capitalist setting of New York’s Wall Street and Times Square combines references to death with references to materialistic excess. This article draws parallels between Bataille’s notion of expenditure and Cohen’s staging of his critique of capitalist excess
(Im)Materiality: on the matter of art
Get PDFSince art became self-consciously art, roughly in modern times, it has mattered literally in different modes and has come to ‘matter’ figuratively on divergent levels. In what follows, the ways in which art has come to matter physically are first explored in an attempt to uncover the heart of the matter, so to speak. After that the more theoretical analysis of why art ‘matters’ – why it has significance and what its significance may be – is examined. But firstly, and perhaps most obviously, art matters in its own materiality. In other words, it matters through the ‘stuff’ that it is made of or created from such as the bronze sculpture, the oil painting or the woven basket: through its materiality the art object exists physically in the world. I apply these arguments in this article to a discussion of artworks exhibited at the Visuality/Commentary exhibition organised in May 2008 by the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Pretoria as part of the centenary celebrations
Reflecting on the past, present and future role of the Design Education Forum of Southern Africa
Get PDFThis article reflects on the role played by the Design Education Forum of Southern Africa (DEFSA) over the past 18 years, particularly with regard to tertiary design education. It also presents projections on the future role of DEFSA based on current circumstances and expectations. The reflection is sectioned into three periods; past, present and future. The first period, described as the technikon phase, outlines the past history and liaison activities undertaken by DEFSA from its inception in 1991 to the announcement of the higher education institutional mergers in 2002. The second period reflects on the present, which is described as the higher education merger and restructuring phase as consideration is given to the impact of institutional mergers, the restructuring of the design education landscape, design programme offerings and the role that DEFSA fulfilled during this period. Lastly, the third period offers suggestions for future directions based on the expectations and challenges that are likely to impact on the future of DEFSA. The article thus aims to trace the original focus of DEFSA, its performance and its contribution to tertiary design education during the past 18 years in order to determine a future direction for the Forum. The underlying assumption is that DEFSA’s role and contributions are defined by the manner in which the Forum has addressed both challenges and expectations prevalent in the design education environment over the past 18 years
Aesthetics versus functionality: challenging dichotomies in information visualisation
Get PDFInformation visualisation is an increasingly prominent practice focussed on making large amounts of data more accessible through visual media. Furthermore, an increased interest in the aesthetic value of visualisations is evident in the emergence of a sub-category of visualisation known as “information aesthetics”, where visualisation is used in more artistic and experimental ways, with a strong focus on visual appeal. This aesthetic quality of certain information visualisations has attracted considerable debate and some traditional practitioners are concerned that “aesthetics” may detract from the functional or analytical goals of visualisation artifacts. This perceived divide between aesthetics and functionality may, however, result from two common misconceptions about “aesthetics” within design discourse. Firstly, “aesthetics” is often understood as an afterthought, or the superficial visual appeal considered after all other design decisions have been made. Secondly, “aesthetics” is often distrusted, with “decoration” seen as a sign of subjective interference with otherwise objective or neutral information transfer. This article explores various perspectives on the relationship between design aesthetics and functionality, proposing ways in which they may be more closely connected, specifically within an information visualisation context.
Wakanda rising: Black Panther and commodity production in the Disney universe
Get PDFThis article examines the superhero film Black Panther as a cultural commodity produced and distributed within an industrial capitalist system. The film has not only generated millions of dollars for the Disney Company, but has also stoked collective imaginations and energised the agency of audiences with its portrayal of the Afrofuturistic utopia, the kingdom of Wakanda, untouched by the ravages of colonialism and ruled by benevolent leaders endowed with superpowers. The film, is currently ranked first in terms of its lifetime gross revenues in the categories of comic book daptation and superhero film and is the most successful of the Marvel Cinematic Universe characters’ films so far. Black Panther’s many firsts in the superhero genre reflect its non-financial feats: first to feature an almost entirely Black cast; first top-grossing film with an almost entirely Black cast; and biggest debut for an African American director (Disney 2018a). I demonstrate that while Black Panther showcases the work of African American filmmakers, storytellers and artists, and recognises Afrofuturism narratives, the film is also a commodity that sustains the system that produced it. Recognising and establishing the connections between commodity, cultural production and economics also offers a chance to identify opportunities for counter-hegemonies and challenges to the systemic erasure of Afro-histories.
Queering the soil: Reimagining landscape and identity in queer artistic practices in Cyprus: Challenging Legacies in Post-Colonial and Post-Socialist Notions of Place
No full textThis article concentrates on the work of artists who identify as queer in Cyprus, a place marked by colonialism, rival nationalisms and ethno-political division. More specifically, it examines the ways their work disrupts confining perceptions of nationhood, gender and sexuality that suppress difference and delimit identity in a conflict-ridden, ethnically divided society. These ideas are discussed in relation to the examples of Krista Papista, a Greek Cypriot visual artist, musician and performer, and Hasan Aksaygın, a Turkish Cypriot artist, whose work encompasses elements of painting, performance and installation. As I argue in this article, by calling forth interpretations of “queer” that go beyond the term’s common application as an adjective or a noun, these artists employ tactics of queer use. In so doing, they inscribe queer life and experiences into landscapes, traditions and symbols, as in “over” the soil, used here as a metaphor to point to those elements that are commonly invoked in delineating the physical and imaginary topos of the nation from which people identifying as queer are often excluded as non-conforming others. As such, they make space for an alternative topos to emerge, where expanded notions of gender, identity and belonging are cultivated away from established stereotypes and divisive, nationalist narratives
Special section editorial: Corporeality / Sensoriality / Materiality: Body-centered interpretations of South African art
No full textThis edited collection of articles deals with the body as it is presented, represented, performed, solicited and experienced through an encounter with art. In their different contributions, each author engages with the body as both a research tool and as a source of tacit knowledge. Their focus on the body in the production and reception of art has its roots in what have variously been referred to as the corporeal turn, the sensory turn, and the material turn. In what follows, and at the risk of generalising the nuances of these complex topics, I briefly sketch the premises of these “turns” and, in doing so, elaborate on the theoretical frameworks that underpin our articles
Embodied encounters with AntheA Delmotte’s performance of Return to Chaos: Corporeality / Sensoriality / Materiality: Body-centered interpretations of South African art
No full textThe theme of embodied engagement with art is explored in relation to the work Return to Chaos, which was created by South African visual artist AntheA Delmotte in 2017. Following a brief introduction to the artist and her works, my own embodied, sensual encounters with Return to Chaos are investigated in order to establish the usefulness, or not, of this way of looking. Delmotte’s oeuvre shows that she intertwines painting styles of carefully planned studio based realism with deep trance-state public performance paintings that usually result in relatively unplanned abstract artworks. The latter painting performances are often conducted to the accompaniment of live music. Sound, and the presence of co-performing musicians, play an important role for Delmotte while delving into her subconscious to find colour and imagery that best expresses her emotions at any particular moment while deep trance-state painting. This article goes on to explore the possibility that Delmotte’s incremental creation of artworks such as Return to Chaos give insight into colour synaesthesia and cymatic effects in action, and that this artwork shows visible manifestation of deep trance-state feelings embodied by her in response to the music at that particular moment in time. Finally, it is suggested that enrichment offered by analysis of artworks arising from full bodied encounters be extended to include investigations into embodied acts performed by artists as they explore and express their ideas
“Speak to a community audience”: The Staffrider illustrations of Mzwakhe (Muziwakhe Nhlabatsi) 1979-1987
Get PDFThe South African literary and arts magazine Staffrider (1978-1993) is known for its Black Consciousness stance and the contribution it made in the struggle against apartheid. From its inception the magazine contained illustrations, photographs, artwork and graphics alongside prose, poetry, plays, essays and reports, and for nearly a decade illustrations signed by ‘Mzwakhe’ appeared frequently. Mzwakhe, the pen-name of Muziwakhe Nhlabatsi, contributed a sizeable number of illustrations to accompany the writing of several notable South African authors. This article offers a discussion of his illustrative contribution to Staffrider in the period from 1979 to 1987 in the context of Black Consciousness as a counter to hegemonic apartheid discourse. I discuss Black Consciousness and the ‘Black Consciousness Aesthetic’ (Hill 2018) in relation to his illustrations, point out the reciprocal relationship between his educational work for the South African Committee for Higher Education (SACHED) and his cartoons and comics for Staffrider and describe his portraits and the influence of African masks on his work. Staffrider presented the opportunity for a counter discourse to the official apartheid narratives to be published (Manase 2005:70) and I argue that Nhlabatsi contributed to this counter discourse through his illustrations which visualised Black Consciousness in a variety of styles and techniques and the humanity, beauty and dignity with which he rendered most of his subjects
Material worlds: Domestic objects and the question of auto/biography in contemporary art: Hitting home: representations of the domestic milieu in feminist art
No full textAt the turn of the twenty-first century, due to the expansion of postcolonial consciousness, artists identified as “non-western” gained a new visibility in the Euro-American art world that was far from unproblematic. Installations and multimedia practices revolving around domestic space and daily objects were internationally celebrated as a novel source for reflections on the notion of home. Based on the assumption that artists’ lived experiences of migration, separation, or loss made their use of the domestic inherently transgressive, these disparate works were framed as autobiographical or self-representational. With this, the institutional landscape seemed to undergo a total transformation in reevaluating the use of personal materials in art practices. Dismissed as confessional or narcissistic when articulated as a key critical strategy by feminist Euro-American artists just a decade earlier, it was precisely this personal and domestic quality that seemed to be seen as valuable and relevant in the context of an art world with newfound pretensions of inclusion and globalisation. Focusing on Ishiuchi Miyako\u27s work Mother’s 2000-2005: Traces of the Future as a case study, I argue that the reasons behind this notable shift were twofold: first, the shift in artistic language, from the political explicitness of earlier feminist artworks to the use of material subtlety and conceptual ambivalence, allowed for these works to travel well from national to international exhibitions; at the same time, the use of personal and domestic objects seemed to justify their framing through biographical narratives that, in turn, served to comfortably categorise them, while also offering grounds for viewer engagement