South Africa: History through Art

The art of South Africa is fascinating. From colonial times to the present, South Africa has remained culturally and racial diverse; this diversity carried over into their art. Primitive cave paintings gave way to the colonialists' realistic approach, and modern paintings ultimately found profound influence from ancient cave art. Music in South Africa was not much different, traditional forms of music adopted new and diverse forms of music from around the world. To this day, popular and unique musical compositions stem from South Africa. The art is as diverse as the people. 

South Africa holds the richest collection of rock art in all of Africa. Some of the most profound ancient artwork is found in Drakensburg, where the old hunter gather tradition of the San Bushmen is revealed. 

All Images in Post: http://www.southafrica.info/about/arts/art.htm#.V0iE6UKqxkg

Ancient San Bushmen Cave Painting

This is profound when we consider that these paintings are approximately 4,000 years old. This means the San Bushmen occupied this region long before they were driven out by the colonialists who brought more modern, realistic art with them.

Colonialist Art: "Elephants Charging over Quartos Country" by  Thomas Baines

Artistic Progression: San Art Influences Modern Art

Interestingly, though colonialist brought new more realistic art to the region, it is the San cave art that has had the most far-reaching impact on South African art. Beautiful yet primitive, the cave paintings do more than just entertain and inspire peoples of today; they reveal much about South African history. In fact, it has been said that these paintings "represent the spiritual life of the San people. [They are] outstanding both in quality and diversity of subject…which sheds much light on their way of life and their beliefs. The authenticity of the paintings, and their shelter and cave settings, as a reflection of the beliefs of the San peoples, are without question."[1]

South Africa also has a rich heritage of intricate bead art. Much younger in its adoption, bead work reveals much about the dress and ornamentation of the region's past. Clearly, the people of the region had a liking of jewelry and personal ornamentation. Archaeologically speaking, this, coupled with the cave paintings, reveals that South Africa had a developed civilization prior to colonialism. Much like the cave paintings, beadwork has survived and is quite popular and influential beyond the borders of South Africa. Some beadwork is even considered fine jewelry and can carry very high prices in international markets. 

Traditional Bead Art.

Music too has revealed much about South African history. During the colonial period many different influences spread into South Africa. Many of the slaves in South Africa tried to recreate the instruments they had seen and heard, yet they were inadvertently creating their own new instruments. Furthermore, as missions became more prevalent in the region, gospel and choir music began to grow in popularity. The music of South Africa reveals much about the development and pain seen during the colonial period. To this day, music is a difficult but important industry in South Africa. Many internationally recognized bands of today have come from South Africa (e.g. Seether, Kongos, Soweto Gospel Choir). The popular music of today ranges from Gospel to heavy rock-n-roll. While today's music seems like a digression of topic, it is important to consider in light of the diverse South African past. South Africa's contemporary music is directly correlated with its past.

While the art of South Africa reveals much about its history, it reveals more about its current culture. As Dr. Joseph E. Harris says, "Although the early humans in Africa to a great extent were preoccupied with the bare necessities of physical survival, they also found time for aesthetic expression...All of these paintings and engravings not only attest to prehistoric Africans' artistic knowledge and style as well as their developments with durable paints, but in addition, valuable data are provided about their life, history, and their environment..."[2]

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[1]      http://www.southafrica.info/about/arts/art.htm#.V0iE6UKqxkg#ixzz49uHecZ00

[2]      Joseph E. Harris, Africa and Their History (NY: Meridian Books, 1998), 30-31.

References: 

"Arts and Culture: South African Art." South Africa Info: January 2014. (Accessed May 26, 2016).

"Arts and Culture: South African Music." South Africa Info: 2015. (Accessed May 26, 2016). http://www.southafrica.info/about/arts/music.htm#.V0jahEKqxkg 

Harris, Joseph E. Africa and Their History. NY: Meridian Books, 1998.