Thesis (Mphil (Visual Arts. Illustration))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / This thesis is a visual, sociolinguistic and cultural inquiry into the role of isiXhosa
picture books in contemporary South Africa. From the standpoint of an illustrator, I
examine several of these works arising out of a history that alienated many isiXhosa
readers and writers from their language. I examine factors that influence the design,
content and very notions of reading itself through the multiple languages offered by the
picture book format. I argue that these books occupy a problematic space where
production and consumption are affixed to paradigms of economics, language and
literacy incongruent with the lives of many isiXhosa-speaking readers. My overall
conclusion is that literacy and visual literacy are essential to developing an authentic
'reading culture'. Fostering a meaningful relationship with printed words and images is
critical to both the emerging reader and the emerging illustrator. In producing illustrations
for an isiXhosa narrative, I consider the shape of my own visual literacy through
mediations with drawing and writing, relating my activities to those of a child learning to
distinguish between pictures and words. The cross-over space where image/text
distinctions blur potentially invites new narrative expressions. The picture book is a
suitable format for expanding notions of vision and literacy, 'subverting' paradigms and
revealing the richness of contemporary African tales. I rest my fundamental premise on
an insistence for an increase of accessible, quality picture books in African languages
that stimulate the artistic and intellectual development of all readers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/2151 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Morris, Hannah |
| Contributors | Dietrich, Keith, University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Stellenbosch |
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