Africa is populated by many different cultures. South Africa has changed artistically more than nearly any other nation in the country. South Africa was colonized by both the Netherlands and Great Britain and this heavily affected the history of the country’s art.
In South Africa, architectural styles varied heavily throughout the years. Traditional structures were often made out of clay, mud, and reeds. These structures would also frequently have details providing cultural and spiritual meaning on the building.
Some of the oldest forms of architecture in South Africa were created by indigenous tribes and nations of the area; three of which are the Zulu, Khoi-San, and Xhosa.
The Zulu nation’s traditional houses are emakhaya or circular huts usually constructed out of thatch, clay, reeds, and mud. The Khoi-San people created temporary homes out of woven reeds. Xhosa houses are similar to Zulu amakhya, featuring rounded walls made with clay, mud, and thatch.
The Zulu Beehive Hut or iQukwane is a spiritual building believed to have healing properties. These huts are woven together by large sticks and reeds similarly to a large basket.
While some nations and tribes have dissipated, the Zulu still reside in South Africa and hold true to their traditional forms of construction.
In the 1600s, the Dutch and English settlers brought their own architectural styles to South Africa. Styles such as Cape Dutch, British Victorian, and Edwardian became increasingly popular in not only architecture, but all forms of artwork around the country.
Cape Dutch architecture features whitewashed walls, curved or arched thatched roofs, and wooded windows. Victorian buildings involved very delicate details, high ceilings, and used many decorative elements that are made solely for ornamentation. There were many different architectural styles that passed through the country; however, these two lasted for centuries.
Africa’s land covers many different climates and environments, and its architecture reflects these regions. In hot, dry, desert-like climates, buildings may feature thick walls and smaller windows to block heat. In colder, moist climates, structures often necessitate natural light and ventilation.
Along with architectural art, paintings became a popular way for people to express themselves, and in many cases, to share the history and lives of their people.
In 1895, an art gallery was established in Cape Town featuring more than 100 works. Many of these paintings were created by European artists. During this time, it is unknown whether or not the more recently settled Europeans collaborated with the indigenous people before them. While the art can often appear to relate to each other, they did not pursue collaboration within the artistic community.
Many South African artists created works that reflected traditional values and stories of African people. Two artists from the early 1900s were Zizwezenyanga Qwabe and Gerard Benghu.
Zizwezenyanga Qwabe was born in the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was an active artist for nearly forty years, yet he was not a painter, but rather carved designs into wooden panels. His inspiration was drawn from traditional Zulu poetry and photography. He turned the stories of his people into elegant works of art.
Gerard Benghu grew up in a mission school which provided him a studio where he would paint realistic portraits of the lives and cultures of his people. He created pieces that depicted people and landscapes of South Africa, and his artwork helped to establish a cultural archive of rural African life.
Years later in the 1950s, South Africa became extremely segregated due to European settlers who repressed Black artists and suppressed their traditions, cultures, and voices.
However, despite this oppression, artists continued to create. Many of these newer pieces often showed humans in the background of their environment. Gerard Sekoto and George Pemba were two artists who shared the lives of their people in Sophiatown and District Six using bold colors and styles to protest against the drowning of African art and culture.
Despite the amount of colonization that affected South African cultures, the traditional artwork is still present to this day. The amount of different art styles throughout the country brings a new air of diversity around South Africa.
