Die invloed van primitivisme op die beeldende kunste met besondere verwysing na Suidelike Afrika

Abstract

Die terme “primitiewe kuns” primitivisme" en "die primitiewe" is eers omskryf veral om tot 'n begrip te kom van die houding van ons eie tyd teenoor die primitiewe. Daar is opgelet dat primitivisme meermale in die geskiedenis voorgekom het en dan onder verskillende name. Na aanleiding van 'n bespreking wat in 'n tydskrif vir antropologie verskyn het, is die term “primitief” deeglik ondersoek en is die antropologiese betekenis van die woord vergelyk met die van die kunsgeskiedenis. Hierna is gevind dat die primitivisme in die laat negentiende en begin twintigste eeu veral in vyf hoofgedaantes voorkom, hoewel daar bevind is dat primitivisme nie maklik aan 'n bepaalde tyd of skool gekoppel kan word nie. Voordat die vyf hoofrigtings waarop die primitivisme na vore gekom het omskryf is, is teruggegaan tot sover as die vyftiende eeu en vandaar deur tot in die negentiende eeu om die. eerste tekens van belangstelling in die primitiewe kortliks histories te omlyn. Waar daar in hierdie proef skrif veral op die primitiewe Afrika -kuns gekonsentreer word, is bevind dat belangstelling hierin eintlik hoofsaaklik eers aan die begin van die twintigste eeu 'n uitwerking op die beeldende kunste begin uitoefen het. Ander styl soorte wat as primitivisties gesien kan word en wat hul inspirasie uit ander dele en ander wêrelddele geput het, is genome, byvoorbeeld die orientalisme, die herlewing van die Italiaanse primitiewes en die invloed van die Middeleeue soos weerspieel in die kuns van die Nasareners en die Pre-Rafae liete. Later sien ons hierdie strominge oorgaan tot die Jugendstil en die Art Nouveau. Die eeste van die genoemde vyf hoofstrominge van primitivisme is die romantiserende primitivisme. Hier is veral aandag geskenk aan die kuns van Paul Gauguin, wat vir vele nie hom as prototipe van die verwerping van die moderne beskawing ter wille van 'n meer elementere lewenspatroon gedien het. Sy volgelinge, aanvanklik die Skool van PontAven, het belangrike aspekte van die primitivisme ontwikkel, byvoorbeeld die simbolisme van die Fauvisme, met 'n sterk klem op die emosionele krag van suiwer kleur. Tweedens noem ons die emosionele primitivisme wat aansluit by die Fauvisme maar wat veral as die Duitse Ekspressionisme ontplooi. Die uitdrukking van emosionele drif en drang is hier hoofsaak, maar lei ook tot 'n verinnerliking van die primitivisme. Ook vind ons by die Ekspressionisme 'n groter beklemtoning van die klassieke kuns van Afrika. Kandinsky, aanvanklik 'n ekspressionis, lei later die derde vorm van primitivisme in, naamlik die intellektuele primitivisme. Ons sien hoedat ook die primitiewe kuns van prehistoriese tye 'n neiging tot abstrahering toon wat as meer intellektueel beskou kan word. Ons let hierby kortliks op primitivistiese aspekte van Kubisme, van die sogenaamde naiewe skilders, en later op die sterker wordende intellektualisme soos dit voorkom in die werk van kunstenaars soos Modigliani en Mondrian. Vierdens noem ons die primitivisme van die onderbewuste, die poging om die verborge werkinge van die menslike gees bloot te lê. Uitgaande van Freud se psigoanalise lei dit tot 'n soektog na die primitiewe menslike drange. Hier kry ons dan veral die Surrealisme en die belangstelling in die irrasionele, ook die kinderlike, selfs die waansinnige. Vyfdens noem ons dan die meer eietydse pogings in die kuns om Tot ‘n nuwe, direkte benadering van die werklikheid en die daarstelling van 'n nuwe benadering tot die mite en die simbool deur te dring. Hierby sluit aan die mees kontemporêre stylrigtings. Laastens poog ons dan om die invloed van primitivisme in ons tyd, in Afrika en veral in Suid-Afrika te bepaal. Hierby omlyn ons kortliks die belangrikste kenmerke van klassieke Afrika-kuns en van primitiewe rotskuns, en word die invloed hiervan in die twintigste eeu geillustreer aan die hand van sekere kenmerke wat deur baie eeue veral in die rotskuns aangetre£ word. Ons kyk kortliks na die posisie van die swart kunstenaars in Afrika vandag, hoeveel hulle op tradisie voortbou en hoeveel hulle 'n eie rigting inslaan, aansluitend by aspekte van die Westerse beskawing. Dan poog ons om die hele primitivistiese stroming, soos dit eers in Europa ontplooi het, soos dit in Afrika deur die inboorlinge van vandag verwerk is, en soos dit by die wit en die swart kunstenaars van Suidelike Afrika saamvloei in ons eie kunstenaars se soektog na 'n eie identiteit, toe te pas op ons land se kuns. Hierby word enkele van ons bekendste Suid-Afrikaanse kunstenaars in meer besonderhede bespreek, en word die primitivisme as 'n nogsteeds geldige kunsrigting finaal toegepas.

The terms “primitive art", "primitivism" and "the primitive" has been defined initially in order to understand, primarily, the attitude of our time towards the primitive. We have noted that primitivism has occurred several times in the past and then under different names. With reference to a discussion which appeared in a journal for anthropology the term "primitive" was investigated thoroughly, and the anthropological connotation of the word was compared to its usage in history of art. Consequently it was found that primitivism, in the late nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, manifested itself in five major forms, although it is found that primitivism could not be linked easily to a specific period or school. Before defining the five major forms in which primitivism manifested itself, we have gone back to as far as the fifteenth century and from there through to the nineteenth century to sketch briefly, in the historical sense, the first signs of interest in the primitive. Where, in this thesis, we are concentrating mainly on the primitive African art, it was found that interest in this art began to have an influence on the visual arts only at the beginning of the twentieth century. Other styles which can be regarded as primitivistic and which derived their inspiration from other centuries and other parts of the world, has been mentioned, for instance orientalism, the rebirth of the Italian primitives and the influence of the Middle Ages as reflected in the art of the Nazarenes and the Pre-Raphaelites. Later we see these movements evolving into the Jugendstil and into Art Nouveau.

The first of the five major movements of primitivism mentioned is romantic primitivism. Here special attention was given to the art of Paul Gauguin who, for many of those coming after him, stood as the prototype of man rejecting modern civilisation for the sake of a more elementary pattern of living. His followers, initially the School of Pont-Aven, developed important aspects of primitivism, for instance Symbolism and Fauvism, which stressed the emotional power of pure colour. Secondly we mentioned emotional primitivism, linked to Fauvism but which developed mainly as German Expressionism. The expression of emotional passion and urgency is here of prime importance, but leads also to the spiritualising of primitivism. We now also find in Expressionism greater stress being laid upon the classical art of Africa. Kandinsky, originally an expressionist, later introduced our third type of primitivism, namely intellectual primitivism. We see how even the primitive art of prehistoric times shows a tendency towards abstraction which can be seen as being more intellectual in approach. We examined briefly the primitivistic aspects of Cubism, of that of the so called naive artists, and then noticed the growing intellectualism in the work of certain artists such as Modigliani and Mondrian. In the fourth instance we investigated the primitivism of the subconscious, the attempt to reveal the hidden activities of the human mind. Using Freud's psychoanalysis as a point of departure this movement leads to a search for man's primitive urges. The most important movement here is Surrealism and the interest in the irrational, also in the childlike, even in the in sane . The fifth section deals with the more contemporary attempts in the arts to penetrate to a new direct approach to reality and to establish a new approach to the myth and the symbol. Finally we attempted to determine the influence of primitivism in our time, in Africa , and especially in South Africa. In this context we outlined briefly the major characteristics of classical African art and of primitive rock art, and illustrated the influence thereof in the twentieth

century by means of certain characteristics which have been peculiar to these art forms, especially to rock art, through many centuries. We took a brief look at the position of Black artists in Africa today, to what extent they have built on tradition or have followed an individual Direction, taking into account certain aspects of Western civilisation. Finally we attempted to apply the whole primitivistic movement to the art of our country: initially as it developed in Europe, then as it was digested by the natives of the Africa of today, and finally as it merged through the White and the Black artists of Southern Africa in their search for an individual identity. In this context a number of our well-known South African artists were discussed in greater detail, and primitivism was shown as an art form which still retains its validity in our time.