I must start by
recognising and thanking the recognised support of colleague teachers, the HOD for
technical subjects, the HOD History Department and staff, the Watershed College
leadership and most importantly the parents, for enabling the tour. It was a
successful tour and repeats of such tours will not ever be a bore but an important
enrichment to those who share in them. The term ended on a high note for
the Art and Design students who were involved in the tour of art institutions in
Pretoria, South Africa. It was a safe journey to and fro Pretoria. We had no
complains with accommodation and meals provided. The stay in Pretoria was enjoyable
and incident free.
Our first art adventure was the tour of the revered Freedom Park on the outskirts
of Pretoria. Of significance to the students were the architectural designs of
the whole complex, and the role played by Art in recording history and the
various means used by art to communicate ideas and feelings. This event was
followed by a visit to Lesedi Cultural Village with village set ups for the
Zulu, Pedi, Venda, Basuthu and Xhosa cultures. Here, knowledge was gained from
the five cultures’ architectural designs and decorations, homestead designs,
designs of weapons and other, designs of traditional costumes and a lot of
crafts that represented the various cultures that constitute the Zansi Society.
One of the members that welcomed us proclaimed that the Ndebeles were the most
creative artists of Southern Africa. The proclamation is debatable, of course,
but the most important to me was the awareness of the existence of
art.
The tour of the Apartheid Museum followed. And, of great interest here was the portrait artist
and painter - Reshada Crouse, who was commissioned by the South African Media in 1990 to paint
how Nelson Mandela looked while he was still in prison. The several tries she made were on
display at the museum including the successful one. She did thirty-six paintings and it was said
she succeeded with the eighth try. It came to our knowledge that from the day Mandela was jailed
until his release, he was not photographed. Crouse had to study the last photographs of Mandela
(photographs taken just before he was jailed) to figure out Mandela’s most probable portrait
appearance while in prison. In this piece of history, it was revealed to us how important,
knowledge of the bone was, how it changes with age and how the flesh would be affected to
influence facial appearances.
Tshwane University of Technology was without its own surprises too. As a welcome gesture,
Irene, their representative, parcelled out to each one of us a sling bag containing a prospectus
and other college information. The college had a lot for us to learn. It was an eye opener to
the students about what art represents and what careers await them in the art community.
Glass-blowing, Fashion Design, Textile Design (that is from weaving to form cloth to decorating
the fabric), Jewellery Design, Graphic Design, Photography and Fine Art, were some of the art
that we had the privilege to witness.
The next in line was Pretoria Museum. Traditionally, Museums or Galleries are homes of Fine Art.
It is still rare to see utility art products displayed in these institutions. All the same, we
had the opportunity to view original works of the late Emma Stern – one of the greatest fine
artists to emerge in South Africa in the modern world. This was also the institution to provide
us with the richest and varied art experiences about styles, techniques, materials and media used
in art. We were rewarded with art magazines for the visit.
UNISA was our last port of call. Its state - of - the - art Art Gallery was the main attraction.
During my early years in the Art school, I was told by my teacher that Picasso-one of the
greatest artists in the world, was asked - What is art? His answer was- What is not art? My
four Art and Design students, Anesu and Sharon Madamombe, Samantha Timba and Divine Nyamurera
will not need any amount of persuasion from any source at this to belief that Art is knowledge;
that Art is science; that Art is technology; that Art is culture and that Art is LIFE. They
saw it with their own eyes; smelt it with their own noses; tasted it with their own tongues;
touched it with their own hands and heard it with their own ears! It was first-hand experience
for them and that is all one needs to interpret their own world.
Thank you once again for your support and encouragement. I shall always cherish the support and
hope that you will be able to uphold this support even for our bigger touring plans.
