The voice of emerging artists of South Africa

The foundations of fine art by black South African artists were laid by early pioneers. All of these early figures had produced artworks unprecedented in terms of the history of art by black South Africans. It was an art that was a response to the changing conditions of black experience, with an increase in Christian influence and pressure from a white controlled economy. Their art was also formed as a result of the influence of a western approach to art making, and the introduction of materials and techniques associated with the European tradition. These artists had had the opportunity to study both locally and abroad.

Some Artists of this Era are:

Gerard Sekoto

George Pemba

Gerard Bhengu

Peter Clarke

Ernest Mancoba

Gladys Mgudlandlu

Township Art

The label, Township Art, was coined originally in reference to the movement that blossomed in the black townships during the 1960s. Correctly, therefore it applies only to that historical phenomenon and the works of art that issued from it. Township art became a kind of hothouse, in which a generation of young black artists ripened.

The main identifying features of Township Art were its subject matter and its source. The artists involved were mainly residents of the black townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg; most students of the Polly Street Art Center; and their primary theme was the everyday life of the community in which they lived. Township Art was essentially concerned with the human situation. Conceived amid the daily hardships of existence in a deprived society, it testified to the spiritual resilience of the artists.

Historical context

In 1989 the Johannesburg Art gallery presented an exhibition of black South African artists to the public called: The neglected Tradition; towards a new history of South African art (1930-1988). During apartheid there was very little written about the art of black people. This was an important exhibition to change perceptions and to see a more represented history of South African art.