Text in English with summaries and keywords in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / Presented in two volumes. Volume 2 contains colour photographs / Bibliography: (volume 1: leaves 181-219) / The history of South African ceramics of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
tends to be presented in a compartmentalised manner in that it focuses on the
leading exponents within genres and is limited to an investigation of the contexts
that have an immediate bearing on their oeuvres. The result is a fragmented (and
sometimes biased) view of the role players, circumstances, influences and
incentives that have come to define South African ceramics.
The thesis introduces key contributors who have hitherto been considered in
relation to crafts and fine art but whose work with ceramic materials places them
firmly within the ambit of South African ceramics. It also positions and evaluates
the roles of the formal and informal twentieth-century educational and training
agencies that, within the constraints of imposed political dogma, produced
ceramists who successfully challenged staid Western aesthetics. Particular
attention is given to how the black “traditional potters” exercised agency in
negotiating a contemporary (as opposed to an ethnographic) presence in which
they referenced the forms, meanings and values of “traditional pottery” to meet
the expectations of the collector’s market.
The thesis posits that the ceramists’ quest to claim an identity (or an
“indigeneity”) in the turbulent political era of the later twentieth century has
parallels with the intent and outcomes of African Modernism. African
Modernism, which arose in postcolonial countries, sought to challenge Western
binaries of art, craft, identity and presence and typically made use of hybridity to
that end. The same presence of hybridity is evident in twentieth-century South
African ceramics, which must be read as an engagement with a multi-cultural
society within which the ceramists sought to position themselves. The thesis
illustrates the progression of hybrid features from an initially crude and superficial
referencing of indigenous and African material culture to subjective translations
of that culture that are presented in innovative approaches. This theme is further
explored in relation to South African ceramics of the twenty-first century, and
evidence suggests that some of the ceramists’ oeuvres can now be considered
transcultural and even transnational.
The thesis, which is by its nature an enquiry that presents new or reassessed
evidence is neither a fully inclusive nor an absolutist revision of the history of
ceramics. / Die geskiedenis van Suid-Afrikaanse keramiekkuns van die twintigste en een-entwintigste eeu is geneig om op ʼn onderverdeelde wyse voorgehou te word, omdat
dit op die hoofeksponente in genres fokus en beperk is tot ʼn ondersoek na die
kontekste wat ʼn direkte uitwerking op hul oeuvres het. Die resultaat is ʼn
gefragmenteerde (en soms bevooroordeelde) beskouing van die rolspelers,
omstandighede, invloede en aansporings wat Suid-Afrikaanse keramiekkuns
definieer.
Die tesis stel sleutelbydraers bekend wat tot dusver met handwerk en beeldende
kuns verbind is, maar wie se werk met keramiekmateriale hulle sonder twyfel
binne die sfeer van Suid-Afrikaanse keramiekkuns plaas. Daarbenewens
posisioneer en evalueer die tesis die rolle van die formele en informele twintigsteeeuse opvoeding- en opleidingsagentskappe wat, binne die beperkings van
voorgeskrewe politieke dogma, keramiste opgelewer het wat oninspirerende
Westerse estetika suksesvol betwis het. Aandag word veral geskenk aan hoe die
swart “tradisionele pottebakkers” bemiddeling uitgeoefen het in die
verwesenliking van ʼn kontemporêre (teenoor ʼn etnografiese) teenwoordigheid
waarin hulle verwys het na die vorme, betekenisse en waardes van “tradisionele
pottebakkery” om aan die verwagtinge van die versamelaarsmark te voldoen.
Die tesis voer aan dat daar parallelle bestaan tussen die keramis se soeke om op ʼn
(inheemse) identiteit te kan aanspraak maak in die onstuimige politieke era van
die latere twintigste eeu, en die oogmerke en uitkomste van Afrika-modernisme.
Afrika-modernisme het in na-koloniale lande ontstaan en het beoog om Westerse
binêre pare van kuns, handwerk, identiteit en teenwoordigheid te betwis; om hierdie doel te bereik is hibridisme gewoonlik gebruik. Dieselfde teenwoordigheid
van hibridisme kan gesien word in Suid-Afrikaanse keramiekkuns van die
twintigste eeu, wat beskou moet word as ʼn gemoeidheid met ʼn multikulturele
samelewing waarin die keramiste hulself probeer posisioneer. Die tesis illustreer
die vooruitgang van hibriede eienskappe, van ʼn aanvanklik onafgewerkte en
oppervlakkige verwysing na inheemse en Afrika- materiële kultuur, na
subjektiewe interpretasies van daardie kultuur wat in innoverende benaderings
voorgehou word. Hierdie tema word verder ondersoek in verband met SuidAfrikaanse keramiekkuns van die een-en-twintigste eeu, en bewyse dui daarop dat
sommige van die keramiste se oeuvres nou as transkultureel en selfs as
transnasionaal beskou kan word.
Die tesis, wat in wese ʼn ondersoek is wat nuwe of hersiende bewyse voorhou, is
nóg ʼn ten volle inklusiewe nóg ʼn absolutistiese hersiening van die geskiedenis
van keramiekkuns. / Umlando weseramiki yaseNingizimu Afrika kwikhulu leminyaka lamashumi
amabili namashumi amabili nanye uvamise ukwethulwa ngendlela ehlukaniswe
ngezigaba ngokuthi igxile phezu kwezingcweti ezihola phambili ngaphakathi
komkhakha wezinhlobo kanti lokhu kugxile kuphela kuphenyo lwezizinda
ezinomthintela osheshayo phezu kwemisebenzi yonke yalezo zingcweti.
Umphumela ukhombisa umbono owehlukene (kanti ngesinye isikhathi umbono
owencike kwingxenye eyodwa) wabadlalindima, wezimo, wemithelela kanye
neziphembeleli ezichaza iseramiki eNingizimu Afrika.
Ithesisi yethula abagaleli abasemqoka ukufika manje okudala benakiwe mayelana
nemisebenzi yobuciko kanye nemisetshenzana yobuciko obuncane kodwa
imisebenzi yayo yomatheriyali weseramiki ibabeka ngaphakathi komkhakha
wezeseramiki eNingizimu Afrika. Lokhu kuphinde futhi kuhlole izindima
zezinhlaka zemfundo nezoqeqesho ezihlelekile nezingahlelekile, lezo
ngaphaklathi kwezihibhe zohlelo olumatasa lwepolitiki, lukhiqize osolwazi
bezeseramiki abaphonsele inselele ngempumelelo osolwazi bezobuhle
beNtshonalanga. Kugxilwe kakhulu kwindlela ababumbi bendabuko abamnyama
“traditional potters” abasebenzisa ngayo ubummeli uma bexoxisana ukubonakala
emsebenzini wesikhathi samanje (njengoba lokhu kuphambene ne-ethinigrafi)
lapho baye bariferensa izindlela, izincazelo kanye nezinga lobugugu bobuciko
bendabuko bokubumba ukufeza izinhloso ezilindelwe zemakethe yabaqoqi
bomsebenzi wobuciko.
Ithesisi iyasho ukuthi impokophelo yosolwazi bezeseramiki yokuzitholela uphawu oluchaza ubunjalo babo (or an “indigeneity”) esikhathini esibucayi sezepolitiki
sekhulu leminyaka yamashumi amabili inezimpawu ezifanayo ngenhloso kanye
nemiphumela yohlelo lwesimanjemanje sase-Afrika African Modernism. Uhlelo
lwe-African Modernism, oluqhamuka kumazwe avele ngemuva kombuso
wobukoloni, luphonsela inselele yezinhlelo zobuciko, yesithombe sobuciko kanye
nobukhona bobuciko kanti ikakhulukazi bukhandwe ngobuciko bokuhlanganisa
izinhlobo (hybridity) ezahlukile. Ubukhona bohlelo lokusebenzisa izinhlaka
ezahlukile lwe-hybridity lubonakala kwimisebenzi yeseramiki yesenshuwari
yamashumi amabili yaseNingizimu Afrika, okufanele ifundwe njengomsebenzi
ohlanganiswe ndawonye nomphakathi wamasiko amaningi, kanti ngalo msebenzi
ababumbi beseramiki bafuna ukuziphakamisa ngawo. Ithesisi ikhombisa
intuthuko yezimpawu wumsebenzi oyingxubevange (hybrid) ovela kwindlela
yokureferensa eluhlaza neyobuciko bamaqhinga bosiko lwendabuko lomatheriyeli
wase-Afrika ukuphawula ngemisebenzi ehunyushiwe yalolo siko eyethulwe
ngezindlela ezinamaqhinga amasha. Lesi sihloko siqhubekela phambili
nokuhlolwa mayelana nohlelo lweseramiki eNingizimu Afrika kwisenshuwari
yamashumi amabili, kanti ubufakazi buyasho ukuthi eminye imisebenzi yosolwazi
bobuciko beseramiki ingathathwa njengemisebenzi ekhombisa ukushintsha
amasiko kanye nokushintsha kwesizwe.
Ithesisi, ngokwemvelo yayo ingumbuzo owethula ubufakazi obusha noma
ubufakazi obubuyekeziwe, le thesis ayiwona umsebenzi oxuba konke futhi
ayikona ukubuyekezwa kwangempela komlando weseramiki. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / D. Phil. (Art)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/27015 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Watt, Ronald |
| Contributors | Van Haute, Bernadette |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (volume 1: xxiv, 219 leaves; volume 2: 97 leaves; color photographs), application/pdf |
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