Students Explore South African Arts in Honor of Mathabane's Visit

Additional Links:
Upper School Students React to Mathabane's Message
Students Must Hassle with Passes for a Day

In many classes, students engaged in a variety of activities to place Mark Mathabane's story in cultural and historical context. Visual arts students have explored the traditional arts and crafts of South Africa. Using Vanishing Cultures of South Africa by Peter Magubasne, African Canvas by Margaret Courtney-Clarke, Speaking with Beads: Zulu Arts from Southern Africa by Jean Morris, Metaphors and Meaning of House: African Painted House Traditions and http://ww.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfrb/paintedhouses .htm as references, students have come to know the arts and culture of Mathabane's homeland.

When Mathabane visited the Upper School Art Gallery, he
was delighted by this brightly painted mural inspired by
Ndebele tribe's painted houses. He seemed surprised and
pleased to see this interpretation of artwork from the land
of his youth at CCES.

Upper School art teacher Susanne Abrams described the mural project depicted above. "The mural was mostly inspired by the Ndebele tribe's painted houses. Half of the students in the Art Fundamentals class participated in designing and painting the mural using acrylics on paper. Just like many of our plants and animals are disappearing, many primitive cultures are nearing extinction due to oppression such as aparthied. It is important to recognize the enormous cultural aspects that could be lost."

She continued, "Only half the class worked on the mural because of space considerations in the art room. Now I have the other half of the class painting a teepee to be used at the Lower School. Dee Butler said her first grade class could use it when the students study architecture, and Lower School art teacher Marilyn Wood is interested in using it at the end of the year as part of the school's art display. Other teachers may use it if they do a unit on native Americans."

Another project involved the creation of ceramic drums. The ceramic instruments were decorated using tribal motifs and interpretations, and covered with stretched goatskins.

The art gallery display in honor of Mathabane also includes a journal painting by Elizabeth Brown inspired by Kaffir Boy. A placard accompanying the brightly colored design reads: "Kaffir Boy is a book about a young African boy, and his troubles while growing up during the aparthied. I drew a figure that demonstrates an African person in everyday life."

Other African artifacts round out the gallery exhibition, which has given students a greater understanding of the cultural heritage that helped inform Mathabane's views.