In this article I will try to answer two basic questions concerning a selection of representative South
African monuments erected by different groups adhering to various ideologies. Firstly, what truths
and values did patrons and designers intend to express in the Rhodes Memorial (Cape Town), the
Afrikaans Language Monument (Paarl), the Women's Monument (Bloemfontein), the Voortrekker
Monument (Pretoria), the Samora Machel Monument (Mbuzini), the Heroes' Monument (Durban)
and Freedom Park (Pretoria)? Secondly, how did their meaning change over time on various issues
such as gender, language, ethics, site, historiographry, the dialectics between different monuments,
the problematics of heroism, as well as ethnic difference, especially when viewed from a postcolonial
vantage point? However, the notions of "truth" and "values" in the ideological context of monuments
are ambiguous, as can be ascertained from a brief survey of the methodologies applied and conclusions
drawn by researchers representing those disciplines that most often deal with the subject matter
of monuments. These are: art history, architectural history, cultural history, history, postcolonial studies,
and occasionally also practitioners of other disciplines such as philosophy and anthropology.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1000805 |
| Date | 20 December 2007 |
| Creators | Mare, EM |
| Publisher | South African Journal of Art History |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | South African Journal of Art History |
| Relation | South African Journal of Art History |
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