The Power of Art

Apartheid Art

South Africa was a society divided into colonizer and native, white and non-white, citizen and subject, employed and indentured, free and slave. The result was a fragmented national identity symbolized and implemented by the white minority government's policy of racial separation.

Countries & their Cultures Available at: http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/South-Africa.html [Accessed on 09/11/2011]

The subject of apartheid is a highly complex one; this was such a cruel and malicious time in history, a time where our inhumane dispositions really transpired. In my opinion, this was also a time that marked the ‘importance’ of culture, people felt so strongly attached to their culture which then resulted in them  enforcing rules to elude the possibility of cultural diversity. The white minority saw their culture as their identity and the thought of losing their identity was inconceivable, I will expand on this subject in later blogs.


The power of Art

Art became a vehicle for socio-political opinions; it was a way of transporting how the majority of people felt at this time, it was a way of liberating speech, and expressing culture - without anyone being directly persecuted. Everything that quantifies ones culture was snatched away from the oppressed people; they were fundamentally robbed of their identities, their beings, art gives us insight to this ordeal. To me, the beauty of art is that it can be interpreted differently by each individual; we are entitled our own opinion, this is significant in this time of coercion.

The Butcher Boys -Jane Alexandra

Available at: http://anarchistcoloringbook.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/the-butcher-boys/ [Accessed on 25/11/11]

This sculpture above was created by Jane Alexandra, a South African artist; she was seen as an artist that focused on portraying not only the political issues but the deep seated psychological difficulties South Africa faced. I studied her work and found this particular piece of work the most intensely moving, visually, I would say that it is very disturbing however intellectually I think it is ingenious. She creates life size sculptures so that when the viewer is confronted by this piece of art, they feel as though it is real. Alexander does a brilliant job in evoking emotions out of the viewer; even looking a picture of the sculpture gives me a sense of unease. The artwork represents the brutal dehumanizing reality of the apartheid era, the butcher boys look like animals - this represents the barbaric way people were treating each other at the time. Their mouths are forced closed; this resembles the absence of free expression of the oppressed people, the lifeless colour shows the intensity of their eradication from society, they are no longer human.

Jane Alexandra – Man with TV

This piece of art depicts the current situation in South Africa; the man represents the previously disadvantaged black man. The African man is given a suit which I take to be symbolic of authority but he is given little guidance. I get the feeling that he is rather misplaced in society, he doesn’t know what to do with his ‘power’ because he is only used to being powerless and immobilised. I can’t help but recognise that this ‘situation’ as a fairly current one. I spent 2months in Cape Town where I often saw this scenario, a black male in the city centre wearing a suit and tie but not quite fitting the role. I think it is because people find it very hard to break away from their demeaned sense of self. I don’t think giving someone a suit and a high paid job can really repair the inequalities of the past.

http://www.artthrob.co.za/01mar/images/alexander01a.jpg [Accessed on 25/11/11]




 

Gerard Sekoto: Song of the Pick

Gerark Sekoto became South Africa’s first black artists to have produced an artwork featured in a museum collection. The Johannesburg Art Gallery brought his ‘’Yellow Houses – Sophia town’’ in 1940. On the contrary, Sekoto had to pretend to be a cleaner in order to access the gallery and view the painting himself.

The art work represents slavery in South Africa, the alignment of the workers shows a loss of identification, they all look the same, there is no individuality and they are seen as merely labours. In the background we can see a white male who is telling them what to do; this clearly shows the white minority power. The scene created in this work of art is one in which I saw on a daily basis, what I found unusual was that everyone referred to their maids and workers as girl and boy. For example, garden boy or kitchen girl. When I first heard this I found is quite amusing and somewhat disconcerting, however once again over time I became accustomed to it. In my opinion, this artwork resembles the disillusionment of culture; it signifies an extensive loss of culture and individual expression.

http://myfundi.co.za/e/Gerard_Sekoto [Accessed on 09/11/11]

I think studying Jane Alexandra and Gerard Sekoto (to name the few) works allowed me to understand more about the apartheid era and its effects on South African culture. Art invited me into the core political dynamics that South Africa went through; this helped me understand the people and their culture. I studied art intensely for 4 years and I can say that without it, I would have had a reduced cultural understanding of South Africa.

A New culture

A New Culture – The rainbow nation

http://www.ezakwantu.com/Rainbow%20Nation.jpg [Accessed on 20/11/11]

Is this concept of a rainbow nation merely an illusion or in fact a dream that is yet to be fulfilled? How will a society fraught with the prejudice nature of its past become a truly democratic nation?  South Africa has had to undergo a huge cultural and political revolution and it’s certain to have an effect on the culture as a whole. The term ‘Rainbow Nation’ in some ways resembles a new culture, in which all cultures accept and appreciate their differences. In my opinion, this ‘Rainbow Nation’ is a whole other culture its self, a culture whereby the sub cultures of South Africa live together in harmony.

“It was through the nation state that we were being constituted as citizens of the world; but it is hard to see how this form of political identity could furnish motives as deep-seated as cultural ones.”(Eagleton 2000:61)

I think that this quote signifies the fact that a change of political law cannot suddenly change an innate cultural one. Cultural ‘laws’ can evolve into a mind-set which people find very difficult to change; it is a set of rigid views , morals and beliefs - the majority of which makes up a person’s culture. Most of the people in charge of the apartheid regime felt that there was absolutely nothing with this arrangement. They felt that it was the way things should be…

http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/rainbownation1.jpg [Accessed on 20/11/11]

The main question concerning the ‘New South Africa’ or the post-apartheid era is – How will South Africa, with such a deeply entrenched cultural & racial segregated past move forward into a liberated multi-cultural society? Is it entirely possible? I can’t help feel that previously oppressed people might seek revenge and there has been evidence of this. For example I remember getting back from school and watching the news, only to see groups of people striking over being overworked and underpaid. This was not a peaceful protest; this was a protest with underlying hate and retribution. My friend’s mother whom I was living with said that it was a glimpse of South Africa’s past. People were burning tyres in the middle of the roads, tipping rubbish bins out on to the street and fundamentally ruining their own land. At first found this appalling, how could they ruin their own streets? But the more I thought about the concept and imagined myself in the situation, the more I came to terms with it.

In my own experience of living in South Africa, I found that the farmers (Afrikaans people) found it a lot harder to comprehend my nationality; the assumption was that i was a South African ‘coloured’ (based purely on appearance) but as soon as I spoke with my English accent they became abruptly confused and couldn’t quite understand. After meeting many Afrikaans people I noticed that before I explained where I was from, I would be looked at quite inversely and it was only after many encounters that I realised what it was. Their preconception of me was so strong that I was automatically categorised and judged, I’d never had anyone look at me in that certain way before. Growing up in London helped me to accept people from various backgrounds and cultures, but in South Africa, things were a lot different.

I also had to get used to different phases that would be referred to as ‘racist comments’ anywhere else in the world, but in South Africa, they were in fact socially accepted. For example ‘’the blacks’’ or ‘’the whites’’ and even the word ‘’collored’’ being referred at to collored myself I found degrading. However surprisingly and over time I came to terms with the expression and began to refer to myself as coloured and even started used the phrase myself!

"Human relations cannot be peaceful, satisfactory, and happy until placed on the basis of mutual self-respect. The proper name for people, has thus become, in this period of crucial change and rapid reformation on a world scale, a vital factor in determining basic attitudes involving how, and even whether, people will continue to live together on this shrinking planet." - Richard B. Moore

Politics and culture are continuously changing in the expanding world we live in, but the linguistics hasn’t shifted to accommodate these changes. The post-apartheid South African state is thought-provoking; here we have a country bursting with potential if their pursuit for building a new nation becomes a reality. South Africa has one of the most stunning geographical landscapes followed by spectacular views and an all year round desirable climate. South African culture at its best is known for their hospitality and friendliness- contrary to their past. I think that over time people are beginning to view South Africa as a safe and pleasant place to visit. Well known events that take place such as the FIFA World Cup also contribute to the global perspective of South Africa. In my later blogs I will begin to explain how the events and media industry can help revolutionise the widespread view of a country.

http://www.africanholocaust.net/articles/SOUTH%20AFRICA%2010%20DAYS.htm [Accessed on 16/11/2011]

A Rainbow Nation

 In January 1991, Gordon Van De Merve (editor of military magazine) shot himself and his family, a letter was found by his neighbour explaining that he saw no future in ‘The New South Africa’ http://www.jstor.org/pss/2934900 [Accessed on 26/10/2011

This scenario clearly demonstrates how values and beliefs (culture) can be so strong. Apartheid was so culturally embedded and a change of legislation alone could never determine the transformation itself.  Although I was dismayed by this man’s actions, I can also say that he was somewhat brave and honest with what he did. Many people in South Africa still live with the deep animosity and secretly seek revenge, but they would not dare to take any action on how they felt unless it was some sort of mass verdict. People find it easier to express their emotions in large groups – protests etc. This is because it eliminates the chance of them being personally liable. So although I do not approve with Van De Merve’s naïve reaction to ‘the end of apartheid’ I can give him credit for his rectitude.

 South Africa, which is also referred to as ‘the rainbow nation’ has one of the most complex and diverse culture in the world, it is so ethnically rich. However, their historical past has had a detrimental effect on how the world views the country as a whole, many people associate South Africa with crime, apartheid and poverty. Although these are still fairly current, they are far more in subtle than in the past or how the media tends to speculate.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--nyFW18AV20/Tjenc4GDpkI/AAAAAAAACyE/spOv_kVs-Bg/s1600/africa.png [Accessed on 26/10/2011]

The media and technology has an impact on how people view South Africa, sadly, the word Africa conjures up images of deprived people, AIDS, and devastation. Numerous people still view South Africa as a racist nation; this is because during apartheid the media revealed the dreadful events that took place during the apartheid era. The media also tends to focus on broadcasting and amplifying the bad news.

 http://downatthirdman.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/end-apartheid-now.jpg [Accessed on 9/11/11]

In 1990, the National Party Government lifted the ban on African National Congress and released Nelson Mandela; this date marks ‘the end of apartheid’ but a law conversion was nowhere near enough to transfigure the inexpressible psychological trauma the oppressed people had gone through. It was not enough to cover up the obvious anxieties surrounding the imminent transition of ‘power’ how on earth were such physically and mentally oppressed people able to suddenly rise up and become empowered? In my opinion, the only way this changeover will be possible is through education.

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/4030/PreviewComp/SuperStock_4030-4590.jpg [Accessed on 01/11/2011]

 

I spent 5 years of my life in South Africa, from ages 15 – 20, from being in an independent school in North London to suddenly finding myself in a private boarding school in Port Elizabeth. In the beginning it was a huge culture shock for me; I remember my fist lesson in Afrikaans, I didn’t even know the language existed and yet it was compulsory for everyone study, needless to say my first oral was horrific. Spending time in the boarding house allowed me to adjust to the societal changes, I made many friends and my residence became like home from home. After making friends I was able to sign out to their houses on the weekends, this allowed me to see different parts of the Eastern Cape.I think being in the boarding house somewhat restricted me into seeing other aspects of SA culture, the majority of pupils at my school were middle class white people of the same cultural background. After 3 years in the boarding house i moved to Jeffery’s bay with a close friend and her family where I got a profound insight into South African culture. I grew to love, appreciate and understand their way of life.

 

From my experience, South Africa had two realities, one in which rich (majority white) people live in huge houses, send their children to private school and usually have their own business. On the other hand of the spectrum you have poverty stricken shanty towns with people struggling to make a living and often result in begging. What shocked me most is that these two realities can be of such close proximity to each other and that the reality of the situation is evidently ignored. When I first noticed the apparent difference my heart went out to the all the unfortunate people, I would always reach into my pocket and give change; I knew this wouldn’t make much of a difference but it made me feel sincere. Conversely, towards the end of my time in South Africa I began to get accustomed to the situation, I suppose being confronted by this reality on a daily basis made me somewhat oblivious. It wasn’t that I purposely chose to ignore the situation, but an unconscious decision to disregard the obvious as a means of ‘sheltering’ myself to avoid getting emotionally drawn in.

Digital Futures

Will technology heighten the erosion of social relationships? Or will it enhance our ability to connect with others irrespective of geographic proximity and time. In my opinion, technology is a tool that we as humans use to improve everyday life. However, in modern times this tool begins to use us, control us, we are now depending on it.


Technology is somewhat a culture in its self, or at least it is becoming one.
 People become attached to their digital devices, how often do you leave home without taking a mobile phone? People spend hours on end looking at their TV screens, playing computer games and on their lap tops. This is dangerous to society, the essence of being is lost, we become attached to our digital gadgets and are sense of communication and awareness is absent. What will happen to the future generations if we do not put a stop to this now? The days where climbing trees and having picnics in the park are long gone, children are now glued to their digital devices. What will happen to society if our ability to communicate is forsaken? Will we become emotionless and disorientated? Thinking like a computer will rob us of our ability to be compassionate and empathetic to each other, technology works on an input and output system, it lacks sentiments.

"The more distracted we become, the less able we are to experience the subtlest, most distinctly human forms of empathy, compassion, and emotion." – Nicholas Carr

 Technology allows us to ‘save’ memories, we can retrieve information whenever we need it, but what happens to our natural ability to remember if we do not use it? The calculator shattered our mental arithmetic, the spellchecker ruined our capability to spell correctly, e mail has dismissed our letter writing and texting has stunted our expression. Research has shown that the internet and use of search engines has made us lazy, it has degraded our mental ability. When we rely on the internet as an external memory source, we store less in our brain – this has a negative effect on our quality of thoughts and analysis.

http://sictindia.org/attachments/Image/ghostface.jpg [Accessed on 01/11/2011]






Betsy Sparrow and her colleagues at Columbia University conducted various experiments, the result was that if people know they can find information out by using technology (internet) they will memorize less of the information and more of how to find the information.  http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/fac-bios/SparrowB/faculty.html [Accessed on 23.0.2011]

Every time we recall a memory we are re processing and editing it, therefore the memory is not fixed, it is always changing. The positive aspect here is that Technology can be used to capture the correct information; our memories may be out of date or incorrect. It allows us to store facts that make history, to accumulate information for future generations.

"We are drowning in data while starving for wisdom" - E.O. Wilson's

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/15/internet-brain-neuroscience-debate [Accessed on 05.10.11]

The above quote raises many questions, is technology enlightening and allowing us to grow, or diminishing and setting us personal limitations? The general outlook is that technology gives rise to an ‘interconnected’ world in which communication, intelligence and information is made accessible. On the contrary, is technology – the internet, isolating individuals and giving people a false sense of identity and making people dependant on social mefia?

The World Wide Web opens up a sphere of information, but the line between fact and fiction is somewhat blurred. There is too much information ‘out there’ and it is impossible to control, this is somewhat liberating but it is also dangerous to our discretion. The internet allows people to share their views on things, whether it is politics or simply a product/service, it gives us a voice.

The Internet makes information readily available to anyone, access to libraries or to an education is no longer required; people are able to do their own research by the click of a mouse.

As we are drained of our “inner repertory of dense cultural inheritance,” Foreman concluded, we risk turning into “‘pancake people’—spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.” – -Richard Foreman

Technology influences our sense of distance, because it enables communication to happen at a high speed across the globe. This can be an advantage in the sense that we now do not have to travel or write letters to keep in contact; but in my opinion, it is a type of illusion. Let me use Facebook as an example, it has become a world phenomenon and people are spending the majority of their time online. A person may have hundreds of ‘friends’ on Facebook but when you ‘communicate’ online, you are essentially alone. Technology can also be seen as dehumanising, our senses are constantly being stimulated by technology; for example, television has the power to evoke emotions, alter our thinking and manipulate our minds. The great spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle argues that television has the ability to programme our minds; states that whilst watching television our minds our unconscious and we are no long thinking but absorbing information, this is why the advertising industry pays so much money to place adverts on TV, so that they can hack into our unconscious minds.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=creativity&um=1 [Accessed on 17.10.11]

Technology is changing the way learn, think and live, it is essentially shaping our lives and will have huge impact on the future. Technology also has an impact on culture and is somewhat a culture its self; this quote describes the changes taking place over the centuries.

‘’19th century culture was defined by the novel, 20th century by the cinema, the culture of the 21st century will be defined by the interface’’ - Aaron Koblin

Does this assumption mean that the future lies in digital media? And that personal communication will become obsolete?


I disagree, we need to use and not be used by technology, and yes it will have a positive impact on our lives but only if we find the correct balance between virtual reality and reality its self. The most successful events industries find this balance; they use technology as a means of marketing and data collection. They use creativity to unleash market potential by designing promotional material, websites and generating innovative ideas for the event. An events company will also use culture in order to identify and attract their audience; this can be done by creating themes, specific music genres and by culturally branding the event. The industry is concerned with stimulating the senses in order to create an experience; it focuses on engaging people in a personal way to create memories and experiences, people want to feel a part of something, and events have the power to do this.

Is there a link between Culture and Creativity?

In my opinion, there is direct link between culture and creativity because people create their own culture which then influenced other people of that culture. We can identify different cultures in today’s world by shared beliefs, languages and rituals to name the few; people create culture in order to enhance their emotional connection with others and their environment, it gives them a sense of identity and purpose. Creativity is the driving force behind culture; people of the same culture tend to like the same category of music, art, literature and so on.  Creativity is shaped and stimulated by our surroundings, the culture we live in. Here we can identify that creativity and culture have a direct link and effect on each other; without creativity, there would be no culture, and vice versa.

Available at: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=creativity&um=1 [Accessed on 17.10.11]

 Creativity unleashes the ability to think beyond the conventional norms, and allows us to use our imaginations in different ways. Creativity is strongly associated with divergent thinking, the ability to think out of the box, but a thought alone is not enough. Innovation is the process whereby a person begins to develop the creative idea and bring it to life and the ‘success’ of the idea is measured by the value of final product or service.

http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/_wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/creativityletters.jpg  [Accessed on 11/.10.11]

Modern education systems teach people to think and work logically in conventional manor, however to move forward we need a fresh understanding and outlook on intelligence. We think about the world in through our senses and the experience we gain through using these senses. The world is full of creative inventions such as music, art, and design. All of the creativity we see in today’s world ascended from an innovative thought, which once acted on then expanded into reality. Creativity is thus applied imagination.


 The rapid growth and advancement of technology has an impact on the way execute creativity, it has introduced another dimension of creativity, the ability to use technology to project out mental ideas. For example using computer programmes to design visual images, cameras to capture moments, archives to store our findings. However, technology could either amplify creativity or aggravate it by making us lethargic and unable to think without using a search engine.

‘’The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science’’ – Albert Einstein

The Different Theories of Intelligence - Howard Gardener

In modern society ‘creative’ people can be viewed as ‘drop outs’ because creativity and intelligence are seen as opposite ends of the spectrum, for example, the arts and science. I think is a misconception because in fact, creativity stems from human intelligence *1 some people may be more gifted in certain areas of creativity but we all possess the ability to be creative. Education is directly associated with the economy, it focuses on preparing individuals for capitalist machine and as a result, most non-academic and creative subjects are seen as non-valuable. The rationalist tradition creates a barrier between intellect and creativity, in my opinion and through conducted research; this is in fact a distorted view.

"Intelligence is a bio psychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture" – Howard Gardener

The theory of multiple intelligences is a model that differentiates intelligences and places them in categories; this theory was proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983. This model was created in order to allow people to understand what they were best at and harness there intellectual ability; it allowed people to understand how their mind worked. Gardener split intelligence into eight sections.

Logical-mathematic: This area is to do with logic and problem solving, it is the ability to mentally process problems and equations; before Gardener created the MI theory this type of intelligence was considered the most valued intellectual ability in which Western culture classed as essential.

Spatial Intelligence is our ability to comprehend images and shapes in three dimensions, people with a high spatial intelligence are usually very good at puzzles, art and design. It is the art of visualisation.

The essential elements of bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence are the control of ones bodily motions, with this type of intelligence people can use their ‘muscle memory’ to use their body as a tool, i.e. preforming arts. It is also to do with the ability to handle objects skilfully and adapt the ability to train muscles so some responses become like reflexes.

Musical intelligence is the capacity to recognise different sounds and also create music by manipulation of the sounds, rhythms and tones. They are highly sensitive towards sounds and can understand how they work together to create melodies. Interpersonal skills is to do with interaction with other human beings, people who score high in this area are often extroverts. These people often excel in the work place because of their ability to empathise and connect with other people, they tend to work in groups and enjoy verbal communication. Intrapersonal is the opposite, these people are often introverted and work better alone, they have a good understanding of themselves and how they work. Naturalistic is to do with our surroundings, the ability to relate to nature.
http://www.howardgardner.com/ [Accessed on 11/10/11]

http://www.psfk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/creativity_indsutry_creative_art_psfk.jpg [Accessed on 11/10/11]

Culture plays a role in nurturing these intelligences; some cultures place a high value on the ability to perform certain tasks and therefore ensure that people become highly skilled in those areas. Cultural surroundings aids in shaping people, it assists in developing certain areas of intelligence.
Gardener’s theory gives a broader understanding of intelligence; it shows that everyone is intelligent in their own way if their learning environment is suited to their ability. Although there is no scientific evidence to support his theory, I think it is helpful in the sense that we can use his theory to identify and enhance our own intelligences.