Troubling Images

Liese van der Watt, Katharina Jörder, Lou-Marié Kruger, Jonathan D. Jansen, Peter Vale, Albert Grundlingh, Gary Baines, Theo Sonnekus, Michael Godby, Lize Robbroeck, Brenda Schmahmann, Freschi Federico

Description

Focusing on manifestations of Afrikaner nationalism in paintings, sculptures, monuments, buildings, cartoons, photographs, illustrations and exhibitions, Troubling Images offers a critical account of the role of art and visual culture in the construction of a unified Afrikaner imaginary, which helped secure hegemonic claims to the nation-state during South Africa’s apartheid years.
This insightful volume examines the implications of metaphors and styles deployed in visual culture, and considers how the design, production, collecting and commissioning of objects, images and architecture were informed by Afrikaner nationalist imperatives and ideals. While some chapters focus only on instances of adherence to Afrikaner nationalism, others consider articulations of dissent and criticism.
By ‘troubling’ these images: looking at them, teasing out their meanings, and connecting them to a political and social project that still has a major impact on the present moment, the authors engage with the ways in which an Afrikaner nationalist inheritance is understood and negotiated in contemporary South Africa. Troubling Images adds to current debates about the histories and ideological underpinnings of nationalism and is particularly relevant in the current context of globalism and diaspora, resurgent nationalisms and calls for decolonisation.
Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Trajectory and Dynamics of Afrikaner Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: An Overview – Albert Grundlingh

Part 1: Assent and Dissent through Fine Art and Architecture

Chapter 2 Afrikaner Nationalism and Other Settler Imaginaries at the 1936 Empire Exhibition – Lize van Robbroeck

Chapter 3 From Volksargitektuur to Boere Brazil:  Afrikaner Nationalism and the architectural imaginary of modernity, 1936-1966 – Federico Freschi

Chapter 4 Afrikaner Identity in Contemporary Visual Art: A Study in Hauntology – Theo Sonnekus

Part 2: Sculptures on University Campuses

Chapter 5 ‘It Is Not Even Past’: Dealing with Monuments and Memorials on Divided Campuses – Jonathan D. Jansen

Chapter 6 Knocking Jannie off his Pedestal: Two Creative Interventions to the Sculpture of J H Marais at Stellenbosch University – Brenda Schmahmann

Part 3: Photography, Identity and Nationhood

Chapter 7 Celebrating the Volk: Photographs of the Voortrekker Monument’s 1949 Inauguration by the State Information Office – Katharina Jörder

Chapter 8 Reframing David Goldblatt, Re-thinking Some Afrikaners ¬– Michael Godby and Liese van der Watt

Part 4: Deploying Mass Media and Popular Visual Culture

Chapter 9 The becoming girl: Anton van Wouw’s Noitjie van die Onderveld, Afrikaner Nationalism and the Construction of the Volksmoeder Discourse – Lou-Marié Kruger

Chapter 10 Cartoons, Intellectuals, and the Construction of Afrikaner Nationalism – Peter Vale

Chapter 11 Manifestations of Militarisation: Visual Narratives of the Border War in 1980s South African Print Culture – Gary Baines

Contributor biographies

Index

Sujets

• Social Science
• HISTORY
• Sociologie, société et politique
• África
• General officer
• Cultural studies
• History of Africa
• Anthropology
• General
• Africa
• Social
• Culture

Informations

• Publié par: WITS University Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781776144730
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Troubling Images
Troubling Images
Visual Culture and the Politics of Afrikaner Nationalism
Edited by Federico Freschi, Brenda Schmahmann and Lize Van Robbroeck
Published in South Africa by:
Wits University Press
1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Johannesburg 2001
www.witspress.co.za
Compilation Editors 2020
Chapters Individual contributors 2020
Published edition Wits University Press 2020
Images and figures Copyright holders
Cover image: Preparation of the CR Swart sculpture by Cigdem Aydemir for Plastic Histories , 2014. Photograph by Paul Mills.
First published 2020
http://dx.doi.org/10.18772/22020024716
978-1-77614-471-6 (Paperback)
978-1-77614-475-4 (Hardback)
978-1-77614-472-3 (Web PDF)
978-1-77614-473-0 (EPUB)
978-1-77614-474-7 (Mobi)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978.
All images remain the property of the copyright holders. The publishers gratefully acknowledge the publishers, institutions and individuals referenced in captions for the use of images. Every effort has been made to locate the original copyright holders of the images reproduced here; please contact Wits University Press in case of any omissions or errors.
Project manager: Elaine Williams
Copyeditor: Lynda Gilfillan
Proofreader: Lisa Compton
Indexer: Sanet le Roux
Cover design: Hothouse
Typesetter: MPS
Typeset in 11 point Crimson
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Troubling Images: An Introduction
Federico Freschi, Brenda Schmahmann and Lize van Robbroeck

1 The Trajectory and Dynamics of Afrikaner Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: An Overview
Albert Grundlingh
PART ONE: ASSENT AND DISSENT THROUGH FINE ART AND ARCHITECTURE
2 Afrikaner Nationalism and Other Settler Imaginaries at the 1936 Empire Exhibition
Lize van Robbroeck
3 From Volksargitektuur to Boere Brazil: Afrikaner Nationalism and the Architectural Imaginary of Modernity, 1936-1966
Federico Freschi
4 Afrikaner Identity in Contemporary Visual Art: A Study in Hauntology
Theo Sonnekus
PART TWO: SCULPTURES ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES
5 It s Not Even Past : Dealing with Monuments and Memorials on Divided Campuses
Jonathan D Jansen
6 Knocking Jannie off his Pedestal: Two Creative Interventions to the Sculpture of JH Marais at Stellenbosch University
Brenda Schmahmann
PART THREE: PHOTOGRAPHY, IDENTITY AND NATIONHOOD
7 Celebrating the Volk: The 1949 Inauguration of the Voortrekker Monument in State Information Office Photographs
Katharina J rder
8 Reframing David Goldblatt, Re-thinking Some Afrikaners
Michael Godby and Liese van der Watt
PART FOUR: DEPLOYING MASS MEDIA AND POPULAR VISUAL CULTURE
9 Anton van Wouw s Noitjie van die Onderveld , Afrikaner Nationalism and the Construction of the Volksmoeder Discourse
Lou-Mari Kruger
10 Cartoonists, Intellectuals and the Construction of Afrikaner Nationalism
Peter Vale
11 Visual Narratives of the Border War in 1980s South African Print Culture
Gary Baines

Contributor Biographies
Index
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The scholarly editors of this volume are deeply grateful to the staff of Wits University Press for their support and encouragement throughout the 2017 to 2020 period in which Troubling Images moved from concept to reality. We are also grateful to Elaine Williams, whom the press appointed as project manager, and Lynda Gilfillan, who edited the text. We thank the peer reviewers of the volume for their insightful comments and conscientious engagement with each contribution.
Books on visual culture can be expensive to produce because they necessitate the inclusion of reproductions of images. We are deeply grateful to Stellenbosch University s Publications Fund for a grant that enabled the inclusion of a generous number of full-colour reproductions. We are also indebted to the National Research Foundation for supplementary funding needed for publication costs as well as scholarly events planned to accompany and follow the launch of the book. Please note, however, that any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed here are those of the various authors of Troubling Images , and the NRF accepts no liability in this regard.
List of Illustrations
Figure 0.1. National Women s Monument in Bloemfontein, 1913.
Figure 0.2. The Taalmonument [Language Monument] in Paarl, 1975.
Figure 0.3. Intervention to Anton van Wouw s Marthinus Theunis Steyn , 1929, at the University of the Free State, August 2018.
Figure 0.4. View from the east of the intervention to Anton van Wouw s Marthinus Theunis Steyn , 1929, at the University of the Free State, August 2018.
Figure 2.1. Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, View of Louis Trichardt , 1932.
Figure 2.2. Arthur Lismer, Quebec Village , 1926.
Figure 2.3. Alexis Preller, Native Study (Mapogges) , 1936.
Figure 3.1. Gerhard Moerdijk, Merensky Library, 1937, University of Pretoria.
Figure 3.2. H ellmut Stauch, the Meat Board Building (now NIPILAR House), Pretoria, 1950.
Figure 3.3. Johan de Ridder, Conservatoire of Music, North-West University campus, Potchefstroom, 1960.
Figure 3.4. Manfred Hermer, Johannesburg Civic Theatre, Johannesburg, 1962.
Figure 3.5. Meiring and Naud , Transvaal Provincial Administration Building, Pretoria, 1962.
Figure 3.6. Alexis Preller, Die Ontdekking [The Discovery], 1962.
Figure 3.7. Armando Baldinelli, Bantoe-Afrika [Bantu Africa] , 1962, Transvaal Provincial Administration Building, Pretoria.
Figure 4.1. Henk Serfontein, Urban Tension I, 2012.
Figure 4.2. Mea Ox, Taal [Language] I (detail), 2012.
Figure 4.3. Jaco Sieberhagen, Studie in Grys en Swart, n Moeder van die Nasie [Study in Grey and Black, a Mother of the Nation], 2012.
Figure 4.4. Hentie van der Merwe, Liewe Heksie [Dear Little Witch], 2015.
Figure 4.5. Marieke Kruger, Verklarings [Confessions] III , 2012.
Figure 5.1. Anton van Wouw, Marthinus Theunis Steyn, 1929, University of the Free State.
Figure 5.2. Diagram illustrating changes in design of the University of the Free State coat of arms.
Figure 5.3. Willie Bester, Bull Rider , 2010, University of the Free State.
Figure 5.4. Johann Moolman , CR Swart , 1991, University of the Free State.
Figure 5.5. Preparation of the CR Swart sculpture by Cigdem Aydemir for Plastic Histories, 2014.
Figure 6.1. Coert Steynberg, JH Marais , 1950, University of Stellenbosch.
Figure 6.2. Nicolene Burger, Flight, 2016. Addition of wooden sculpture and performance at Coert Steyberg, Jan Marais , 1950, at Stellenbosch University.
Figure 6.3. Nicolene Burger s wooden sculpture from the Flight performance outside the Visual Art Department, Stellenbosch University, February 2017.
Figure 6.4. Ledelle Moe, Isabelle Mertz et al., Intersection , 2016, Stellenbosch University.
Figure 6.5. Details of the following bronze plaques included in Intersection : The Humble Park Bench by Este Skein; Role of Tape by Brad Jackson; A Message from Stellenbosch by Charles Palm; Shit by Stephanie Pereira; Pulling the Plug by Chelsea Young.
Figure 7.1. Double page from Die Gelofte , c 1950, 10-11: A QUARTER OF A MILLION ATTEND DEDICATION CEREMONY .
Figure 7.2. Double page from Die Gelofte , c 1950, 32-33, right page: ENSEMB LE FOR TRAVELLING .
Figure 7.3. Double page from Die Gelofte , c 1950, 30-31, right page: AROUND THE CAMPFIRE .
Figure 7.4. Double page from Die Gelofte , c 1950, 36-37, left page: THE HON. DR. D. F. MALAN .
Figure 7.5. Double page from Die Gelofte , c 1950, 50-51, left page: OX-WAGON WHEEL TABLEAU .
Figure 8.1. David Goldblatt, The Pensioner with his Wife and a portrait of her first husband, 1962 .
Figure 8.2. David Goldblatt, Oom At Geel, 1965 .
Figure 8.3. David Goldblatt, Wedding on a farm, 1966 .
Figure 8.4. David Goldblatt, Ouma Hester Mostert from Die Hel .
Figure 8.5. David Goldblatt, Fred Stiglingh, retired civil servant with his wife and family, 1966 .
Figure 9.1. Anton van Wouw, Noitjie van die Onderveld, 1900.
Figure 9.2. Anton van Wouw, central figurative group, National Women s Monument, Bloemfontein, 1913.
Figure 9.3. The female delegates from Natal , photograph by Otto Husemeyer in Die Brandwag , 1 September 1915.
Figure 10.1. Cartoon by TO Honiball in Die Burger , 16 February 1951.
Figure 10.2. Cartoon by TO Honiball in Die Burger , 9 October 1954.
Figure 10.3. Cartoon by TO Honiball in Die Burger , 12 March 1955.
Figure 10.4. Cartoon by TO Honiball in Die Burger , 4 October 1960.
Figure 10.5. Cartoon by TO Honiball in Die Burger , 1 June (?) 1960.
Figure 11.1. Cover illustration by Gerhard Marx of Andrew McCallaghan s Jampie Gaan Grens Toe, 1983.
Figure 11.2. Illustration by Gerhard Marx of Jampie moulding a machine gun from plasticine, in Andrew McCallaghan s Jampie Gaan Grens Toe , 1983.
Figure 11.3. Four covers of Grensvegter , which commenced production in October 1972.
Figure 11.4. G rensvegter about to throw a hand grenade.
Figure 11.5. Typical final frame in Grensvegter .
Troubling Images: An Introduction
FEDERICO FRESCHI, BRENDA SCHMAHMANN AND LIZE VAN ROBBROECK
In the conclusion of his book Banal Nationalism , Michael Billig writes, If the future remains uncertain, we know the past history of nationalism. And that should be sufficient to encourage a habit of watchful suspicion (Billig 1995 , 177). This warning has perhaps never been truer or more relevant than in the second decade of the new millennium, which has been characterised by a marked turn towards right-wing populism and nationalism. The list of resurgent nationalisms declaring themselves in exclusionary ethnic, cultural or religious terms is long and growing. Obvious examples include the United States President Donald Trump s soci