Posted by Daneilia Dwyer
The arts have been a fascinating aspect of South African culture that we have encountered while here. In 3 weeks, we’ve become acquainted with important figures in South African art and theater. These figures have included Kurt Egelhoff, Adam Small, and James Matthews. Through the words of James Matthews, one is moved with empathy for the isolation and injustices he suffered as a political prisoner. Through artworks displayed in Constitution Hill, one aches for the plight of HIV/AIDS survivors who lost their children to their deadly sickness. These experiences stir up a consciousness of the power that each person’s internal reflection can have on those who surround them; as we discussed in class, it is when we live as our authentic selves that we empower others to do the same. For these artists, authenticity coupled with inspired creativity resulted in art forms that empowered others. In Matthew’s time, it empowered them in the fight against apartheid. In Egelhoff’s time, it is towards finding, reconciling and retaining an identity in danger of being lost. Art, thus, can be a powerful and unyielding tool of political expression. It speaks when the voices of the oppressed, the downcast and the invisible go unheard and can empower others through its unspoken and revelatory power. South African poet, James Matthews wrote the following words while imprisoned in Victor Verster Maximum Security Prison in 1976:
How shall I write of dawn and butterflies when the people are maimed and shackled?
Just one week prior, we had met this renowned poet and political prisoner, James Matthews, and his words and poetry have struck a chord with me. As he share with us, it is the duty of art/ poetry to incite change and to expose and criticize the political happenings of our day.” In Matthew’s day, the governing system of South Africa was segregationist, repressive and demonstratively forceful; one that incited an artistic and powerful political voice in rebuttal. His long term imprisonment brought him through periods of immense loneliness but it was in this state of solitary existence that Matthews also wrote words that inspired a generation to protest; these words, written by a man who himself was downcast, became a beacon of inspiration to the downcast South African people who fought towards liberation in a time when oppressive governance yielded little ground to their grievances. Art, thus, is a political tool in that can incite others to action. In the words of Zande Mda, “the relationship between politics and (art), as far as I am concerned, in the South African context… are inseparable. And I can see why. Walking into the isolation cells of Number four prison at Constitution Hill, as on Robben Island, I realized the immense mental fortitude it takes to retain an unbroken will in order to uphold political protest in the midst of imprisonment. And for those who did not create art out of their experiences, many gained strength from existing artistry such as Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s 1937 I’m explaining a few things in which he writes,
And you’ll ask: why doesn’t his poetry
speak of dreams and leaves
and the great volcanoes of his native land?
Come and see the blood in the streets.
Come and see
the blood in the streets.
Come and see the blood
In the streets!
Art thus, is a political tool that transcends boundaries, even geo- and socio-political ones. Neruda’s words inspired artistry and the political protest through art of Dumile Feni whose 1977 work, Passionately Muled uses his words as her inspiration while living under apartheid. Another great example and one of Mandela’s known sources of strength was the poem, Invictus by William Ernest Henley, it reads:
…In the fell clutch off circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed…
it matters not how strait the gate
how charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul
Sources
Henley, William E. “Life and Death (Echoes).” Book of Verses. N.p.: n.p., 1888. N. pag. Print.
Mda, Zakes. “Introduction: An Overview of Theater in South Africa.” Introduction. Four Plays. N.p.: Vivlia, 1996. Vi-Xxiv. Web.
Matthews, James. Pass the Meatballs Jones. Vol. 1. N.p.: BLAC, 1977. Print.
Neruda, Pablo. “I’m Explaining a Few Things.” Spain in Our Hearts. Vol. 1. N.p.: n.p., 1937. N. pag. Print.
