Criticism and censorship in the South African "alternative" Press with particular reference to the cartoons of Bauer and Zapiro (1985-1990)

Includes bibliography.Cartooning is an extremely heterogeneous practice whose genealogy can be traced back to caricature. This paper does not concern itself with the diversity that can be found in the cartoons of Derek Bauer and Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro), but rather chooses to focus on the potential of cartooning as a critical art practice. Given that the "flipside" of criticism is censorship, the effects of censorship on cartooning together with cartooning's response to censorship will also be examined. Cartoons published in the alternative press after the 1985 declaration of a State of Emergency, but preceding the unbanning of political organisations in February 1990, which comment directly on press or political censorship, as well as those which raise issues pertinent to censorship, provide the basis for examining the converse notions of criticism and censorship. Having said this it should also be stated at the outset that whilst this paper focuses on particular cartoons produced in specific historical circumstances, it is also intended that this paper will have broader implications for the development of a contemporary critical art practice. This paper proceeds from the premise that criticism and censorship are oppositional and antagonistic concepts which seldom appear alone. Criticism, particularly when expressed publicly and directed at specific interest groups (eg. a ruling elite) frequently evokes censorship, whilst censorship and repression in turn breed criticism and resistance

Locating Malangatana: decolonisation, aesthetics and the roles of an artist in a changing society

This thesis responds to the dearth of detailed studies of pioneering African modernists; and the need for fresh theoretical frameworks for the interpretation of their art. Building on recent scholarship that applies decolonisation as an epistemic framework, it argues that a productive decolonial discourse needs to consider concurrent forms of nationalism and cultural agency in both the anti/colonial and postcolonial periods. Central to this approach is an analysis of the aesthetic responses of artists to the experiences and legacies of colonialism. This thesis is grounded in a study of Malangatana Valente Ngwenya (1936-2011), Mozambique’s most celebrated artist. It draws substantially on archival material and rare publications, mostly in Portuguese. The artist’s career is located within changing social and political contexts, specifically the anti/colonial period, and the promise and collapse of the postcolonial revolutionary project, with the pervasive influence of the Cold War highlighted. Following the advent of globalisation, the artist’s role in normalising postcolonial relations with Portugal is foregrounded. Parallel to his contribution to Mozambican art and society, Malangatana features prominently in surveys of modern African art. The notion of the artist fulfilling divergent social roles at different points in time for evolving publics is linked to an analysis of his emergence as a composite cultural sign: autodidact; revolutionary; cultural ‘ambassador’; and global citizen. The artist’s decolonial aesthetics are positioned in relation to those of his pan-African peers, with four 6 themes elaborated: colonial assimilation; anti-colonial resistance; postcolonial dystopia; and the articulation of a new Mozambican identity. Key to this analysis is an elaboration of the concept of the polemic sign, initially proposed by Jean Duvignaud (1967), adapted here to interpret the artist’s predilection for composite visual signs that, in their ambivalence and often provocative significations, resist processes of definitive translation. It is argued that through a juxtaposition of disparate forms of signs, and the simultaneous deployment of semi-realist and narrative pictorial strategies, the artist develops a complex, eclectic and evocative aesthetic that requires critical and open-ended engagement. The thesis concludes with provocative questions regarding the extent to which the artist’s aesthetics reflect hegemonic national narratives, or act to unsettle these. of a new Mozambican identity. Key to this analysis is an elaboration of the concept of the polemic sign, initially proposed by Jean Duvignaud (1967), adapted here to interpret the artist’s predilection for composite visual signs that, in their ambivalence and often provocative significations, resist processes of definitive translation. It is argued that through a juxtaposition of disparate forms of signs, and the simultaneous deployment of semi-realist and narrative pictorial strategies, the artist develops a complex, eclectic and evocative aesthetic that requires critical and open-ended engagement. The thesis concludes with provocative questions regarding the extent to which the artist’s aesthetics reflect hegemonic national narratives, or act to unsettle these

Decolonizing Art Book Fairs : Publishing Practices from the South(s)

"Can we decolonize art book fairs? Can we decentralize knowledge and deconstruct privilege in our contexts? Decolonizing Art Book Fairs aims to rethink through the existing and speculative frameworks of organizational practice in the art book fairs. This workbook attempts to introduce new narratives and help deconstruct the frontiers between north(s) and south(s), putting an emphasis on practitioners and initiatives from the African continent and diaspora. A workbook with (primarily newly commissioned) texts and interviews." -- Publisher's website