Art Resistance and the Renaissance is portrayed throughout many facets of South African history. We have had a brief introduction through visits to the South African Jewish Museum that displayed cartoons drawn making a mockery of the Jews, especially those of societal importance. Following this tour we visited St. George’s Cathedral which has turned a section into a museum to display photography and a video screening that depicted the peace march having occurred in September 1989. Both of these museums shed light on how South African citizens fought for their own right, whether through physical art or speeches delivered to the public in resistance to the current laws in place. A few days after the tour of the museums we went to Robben Island Prison where we met Lionel Davis, also our tour guide. He permitted us into his perspective through the tour of the island, including Steve Biko’s prison quarters. He also allowed us to ask questions and reflect on just how harsh and unjust this prison was.
Lionel Davis – a former political prisoner at Robben Island – and his wife, Barbara challenged us to an art project of creating a drawing or painting that displayed some aspect of our view of resistance and renaissance. We began the assignment by writing out our thoughts on the aforementioned topic for 10 minutes without lifting our pencil. The purpose is to write any and all that comes to mind with no filter. Once we began the 10 minutes it passed quickly with everyone still writing his or her thoughts. Following this section of the exercise we were instructed to depict the resistance and renaissance of South Africa through art. They gave us examples of some symbols and their meaning but other than that we were on own. Having the written portion of the assignment to reflect back on gave us the opportunity to fully delve into the meaning we sought out in South Africa’s history.
Art is all based on interpretation and thus we each were able to display our own interpretation of what we had learned thus far. Seeing images and other forms of art are educational, but pairing with a hands-on approach makes the experience come full circle. Another moment when the students were able to be apart of the formation of historical art, was through Charlyn Dyers visit to our classroom earlier that morning. She got everyone involved through the interpretation of a play based on a family of the young son who came to riches and his struggle between staying connected with his family and his new life full of wealth. The trend of acting out plays in accordance for an outlet to their feelings after the ending of the apartheid. Charlyn Dyers described this as ‘escapers mode’.
Following our participation with Charlyn Dyers we attended and participated in a drum circle at ‘dizu plaatjies’. Each of us had our own drum to learn the beats of traditional African music. The tune was lively and upbeat, as we witness in the townships and through everyday life. South Africans are very proud of their culture and strength of the family and this can be depicted through the arts.