Both African-American and Black South African artists have produced politically challenging work responding to the impact of segregation and apartheid. They have attempted to effect positive change. Artists such as Kevin Cole's "As We Speak" and Sam Nhlengethwa's "Another Turmoil in the Township" are very explicit in depicting real life events. Works such as Hargreaves Ntukwana's "Agony" and Virtis Hayes' "The Lynchers and Victims" display the agony, anguish and inhumanity that resulted from these two systems of human degradation. The title tells the story in Hayes work, whereas Ntukwana's work is direct and graphic in its' description of pain. In Ben Macala's early social paintings, the subject's eyes were closed as if to avert the horrors of apartheid; however, later semi-figurative works are more vibrant with images whose open eyes anticipate a new future. By contrast, Eli Kince projects, in "African Mask," an uncertain future where the history of the African American is haunted by a foreboding sense of extreme doubt. Willie Bester's "Anti-War Statement" depicts the ongoing conflict regarding the need to retaliate for aggressions and the subsequent concerns for future world peace. These art works document the dynamic relationship in contemporary art between visual vocabulary and socio-political issues. |
