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.
