South African Art

The earliest origins of South African art are cave paintings and hieroglyphics of the early bushmen. These provide the first historical records before the people created written records. The early hunter-gatherers often resided in caves in the mountains of Drakensberg.

The cave paintings and carvings represent the spiritual life and beliefs of the San Bushmen. 

As time went on, colonial art developed that portrayed the world around the around the artists with more detail. The beauty of South African landscape and animals provided an excellent subject matter for the detail of this new art style. The picture below is an example of the more detailed works of this time period.

In more recent eras, art became a medium for the release of emotion. For instance, during the Apartheid in very recent history, artists portrayed their emotion through their works. The piece below for example, uses tranquil colors as a way to seek peace through artistic expression. He also symbolically reveals the emptiness of the land by portraying picturesque landscape, with no people or seeming use of the land. The art of this time period reveals the seeming emptiness of people’s souls. Similar to the American civil war and civil rights movement, South Africa endured a time of tremendous racial tension and hatred throughout the Apartheid. Only very recently has healing begun in the nation between the different people groups. Art has always served as a medium for emotion and the emotion of the different eras is easily seen in the tension and idealism in certain pieces of art throughout the ages.

Art has helped South Africans to find healing and create a world, even if just on paper, where things work in harmony and unity. For many, it provides hope of what may one day be the true reality of this beautiful country. 

Works Cited
"History of South Africa." : South African Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015.