This article presents a reading of South African artist Willem Boshoff’s installation Writing that fell off
the wall (1997) to illustrate how he used his material to expose colonialism and apartheid as inhuman
ideologies. Adorno’s views on materiality serves as a theoretical framework. According to Adorno
history is sedimented in the artist’s material and form elements. He distinguished between the Inhalt
(material content) and Gehalt (social truth content) in artworks. Adorno claims that works of art do
not explicitly need to have a historical content because they exercise their critique through the way
in which they configure material that already contains history. The artwork’s meaning is revealed
through the dialectical relation between the Inhalt and the Gehalt. I argue that Boshoff exposed
the bankrupt ideologies of colonialism and apartheid by conceptually scattering ideologically laden
concepts in eight different and previously “superior” languages during colonialism and apartheid, on
the floor.
Hierdie artikel bied ‘n interpretasie van die Suid-Afrikaanse kunstenaar Willem Boshoff se installasie,
Writing that fell off the wall (1997) om te illustreer hoe hy sy materiaal gebruik om kolonialisme
en apartheid te ontmasker as onmenslike ideologieë. Adorno se beskouinge oor materialiteit dien
as ‘n teoretiese raamwerk. Volgens Adorno is geskiedenis gesedimenteer in die kunstenaar se
materaal en vormelemente. Hy onderskei tussen die Inhalt (materiaalinhoud) en Gehalt (sosiale
waarheidsinhoud) in kunswerke. Adorno stel dat kunswerke nie eksplisiete historiese inhoud hoef
te bevat nie, omdat kunswerke hul kritiek uitspreek deur die manier waarop die materiaal waarvan
die kunswerk gemaak is, reeds geskiedenis bevat. Die kunswerk se betekenis word geopenbaar deur
die dialektiese verhouding tussen die Inhalt en die Gehalt. Ek argumenteer dat Boshoff die bankrot
ideologieë kolonialisme en apartheid ontmasker deur konseptueel ideologies-gelade konsepte in agt
verskillende voormalige “superieure” tale gedurende kolonialisme en apartheid, op die vloer te strooi.
