M.A. (Fine Arts) / The predominant artistic motif in the art of Irma Stern is the fecale figure. Stern prefers certain "types" of females in her art - that of young girls, of adolescents, of female workers, of nudes, of brides, of mature women and of mothers. This dissertation aims to show that these different motifs are not isolated, but rather interrelated to elicit a holistic symbolic syntax in the art of Stern. The symbolic relevance is extended with regard to her personalized world and with regard to the world around her. In Chapter 1 the female figure is analysed in terms of its forma7 qualities and the types of motifs in the art of Stern are juxtaposed with the characteristic types of motif preferred by the German Expressionists. It is noted that the female figure in the art of Stern is closely associated with the cultivation of the land - so much so that a cycle emerges which includes such activities as planting, bearing fruit and harvestirg. Other motifs such as young girls, adolescents and mature women indicate a cycle in the physiological as well as psychic development of the female. In Chapter 2 the symbolic meaning of the motifs is discussed in terms of the cultivation cycle of the land and the cycle tracing the deveThpment of the female. A corollary is also established between the female's role in the cultivation of the land and the female's own development. Chapter 3 examines the symbolic relevance of the art of Stern in terms of her ontogenetic development as human being in relation to society and in terms of the phylogenetic development of society itself. The relevance of the female principle in the art of Stern is evauated in terms of the above approach in the final chapter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:13823 |
| Date | 30 July 2015 |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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