|
|
||||
|
||||
In August 1981 an exhibition titled Things People Make was held in the Durban Art Gallery. It was the highlight of the Visual Arts contribution to the Durban Arts 1981 Festival. The exhibition was organised by a committee which included representatives from the African Art Centre and hadJill Addleson, the Director of the Durban Art Gallery, as chair.  ThembI Mchunu with her Group of Dolls at Things People Make 1981 The apt title of the exhibition was suggested by Andrew Verster: it was to be a people's exhibition, and it proved to be just that. The Durban Art Gallery was swamped with nearly 800 entries and the selectors decided that as few as possible of the work should be excluded. This was based on the premise that all the things people had made had been crafted with love and dedication. No artistic judgment was made, with works excluded only because of poor craftsmanship. Rorke's Drift Student Work An exhibition of Korke's Drift Student Work closely followed that of Paul Sibisi in June 1981. I am reminded by the invitation that all of these exhibitions were arranged under the name of the Institute of Race Relations. I find it difficult to imagine just how we found space to hold exhibitions - and many important exhibitions were held there - although I think by this time the Institute's library had moved across the passage in Guildhall Arcade and the area had been turned into a narrow gallery. I do remember disagreeing quite vociferously with a review of the Korke's Drift Student Work exhibition by Andrew Verster, which appeared in the Daily News. My letter to the newspaper disagrees with a comment that he had expected to see 'certain trends which echo what is happening in the rest of the world, an awareness of contemporary fashions...' I argued that until black artists could choose their art schools, for example technical art schools in cities, it might be difficult for them to broaden their artistic expression. I wrote:
As I look back to that period of the Rorke's Drift Art School, I could perhaps have argued that the experimentation he was looking for had in fact taken place in the early days of the school. For those early artists who had never had any art training, the discovery of the [inocut and etching processes were a new and enormous experiment. Hence the lively expression which was to receive such acclaim. In all, 772 'things' were exhibited by people ranging from professionally trained crafts people - weavers, jewellers, potters, textile printers and embroiderers - to hobbyists and African traditional basket weavers, potters, carvers and beadworkers. Only if there were really too many of the stencil designed petit point tapestries of The Laughing Cavalier or The Spanish Lady was some selection made, although I see from the catalogue that there were three 'Spanish Ladies'. The Anglo American de Beers Chairman's Fund made a donation enabling the organisers to bring Paul Smith, Director of the American Craft Museum in New York, to Durban to be the sole selector for awards. While there were'no official categories for awards, there was a distinction made between the work of people who had had formal art training and those who had not. In the case of the former. Lib Stewart received an award for her quilt, Andrew Verster and Marguerite Stephens for their tapestry. Olga Potgieter for jewellery and Juliette Armstrong for a ceramic. In the case of entries made by organisations on behalf of individual crafts people, awards were given to the organisations as well as to individual artists for particularly outstanding pieces. Paul Smith was impressed with the basket weavers' craft. The Vukani Association was awarded the biggest prize of R 1500. with R50 each going to 12 artists for outstanding work. It should be noted that Smith recognised the worth ofVukani baskets some time before they achieved the acclaim in South Africa that they have today. The Ndonyane Weaving Centre received R500 and R50 each for three tapestry artists, and Rorke's Drift Art and Craft won R500 and R50 each for two artists for their tapestries. Sharrow - a successful farm project initiated by Jean Baillie of Mooi River - received R250 with an award of R50 to the creator of a woven jacket. 'The Race Relations' Art Centre received R250 and R50 each was awarded to ThembiMchunu,TitoZungu, Miriam Mabanjwa, Alicia Mkhize and Gogo Mbatha. A number of people whose work was on this exhibition have since received considerable recognition. Among those with whom the African Art Centre has been directly associated are Bheki Myeni, whose carved bugs and insects and other major pieces are in the collections of most South African public galleries, Thembi Mchunu of the bead-cloth sculpture dolls. Tito Zungu, Thembeni HIambisa for her magnificent baskets and Rosa Ndawo for her tapestries. inhere was a wealth of creative crafts from all sectors of the community, and the integration of creativity from the people of KwaZulu-Natal was the kind of idea which was the original goal of the Institute. The exhibition attracted a record number of viewers to the Durban Art Gallery. Recollecting the exhibition 10 years later and relating it to the present debate in South Africa about the selection and criteria used by adjudicators of art exhibitions, the Things People Make exhibition may well have been a forerunner. To show something of the crafts of another area. a fine exhibition consisting of 32 pieces of Ndebele bead-work was shown at the African Art Centre in September 1981. The collection had been put together by Ina Perlman, then the secretary of the Transvaal Region of the Institute of Race Relations and subsequently the Director of Operation Hunger.  Paul Smith from the American Craft Museum in New York, at Things People Make 1981 Drought and forced removals had devastated people in KwaNdebele, and Perlman had started buying old and contemporary pieces through mission stations. It was sad that the valued possessions of the Ndebele people were being sold, but it was felt that the Institute would probably buy at fairer prices than commercial buyers, who were beginning to snap up this unique art form. Although a great deal has gone overseas, there are some excellent collections in South African museums and art galleries, the University of Witwatersrand Standard Bank Collection probably being the finest. The exhibition was a magnificent collection which included items of traditional ceremonial wear, some of which dated back to the 1930s and most of which were collectors pieces. People who bought from the exhibition have a valuable asset, aesthetically and financially, and Operation Hunger ploughed back practical help for the people. In September 1981 the Killie Campbell Museum displayed their contemporary collection of Black Art. It comprised 32 works, mainly graphics but with some sculpture. The art works were once again largely from Rorke's Drift, but there were some earlier artists of note, including Jabulani Ntuli - brother of the famous day scufptor - Gerard Bhengu, Eric Ngcobo and Sofomon Sedibane. |
