Browsing by Author "Delport, Peggy"
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- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation into the interrelationship between the formal means of collage and assemblage and the painted surface(1984) Siebert, Kim; Delport, PeggyThe work includes a variety of approaches varying from the use of images selected from the media and found objects to objects transformed or manufactured by the artist. A major formal concern is the integration of collage or assemblage with the painted surface. Subject matter is drawn from persona] preoccupations with biographical details, womanhood and social and historical context. The format and scale of the works vary and are determined by the content. The practical body of work is accompanied by a short dissertation which discusses the nature of the formal mode used and its relationship to the content of the work.
- ItemOpen AccessClaiming, breaking and creating : a visual response to the experience of constructed social and spatial constraints(2003) Qangule, Thembeka; Delport, Peggy; Langerman, FrithaMy personal experiences of patriarchal abusive behaviour have shaped and affected me. Two things in my formative schooling years marked the beginning of deep emotional disturbances in my life. Firstly, the vulnerability of being a female schoolgirl, constantly trapped in fear by threats of potentially abusive boys both within and without school premises. The 'old boys', as we would refer to them, instilled in me a negative attitude towards men that has affected me in later life. Secondly, my Sub A teacher who welcomed me with a 'klap' on my first day at school. This was followed by a long year of misery. I found myself going through a journey of broken emotions that resulted in years of aggressive behaviour, creating havoc in my family. This disturbing turbulence led me to seek internal liberation in order to analyse and deal with my emotional state. My health became affected by constant headaches and other stress related conditions. In addition to these formative experiences is my experience as a fine art student at the University of Fort Hare. Like many other black people in South Africa, I entered the field of fine art at a tertiary level with no prior art training. My early work was informed by social concerns and focused thematically on the upbringing of children in a safe and conducive environment. This idea emanated from what I observed and perceived as the submissiveness and subordination of women in my neighbourhood, either as mothers or as girlfriends. The failure for women to stand up to their authoritative, abusive husbands has detrimental effects on children. One of the reasons being that children ' ... attempt to protect a mother who is being attacked by a male companion or a husband, or they are emotionally damaged by witnessing violence and abuse' (hooks 2000: 72). Once I had obtained my undergraduate degree I enrolled at the University of Cape Town for an HDE (Higher Diploma in Education in pursuit of my career). That was a distressing experience. I constantly felt alienated from the tutorial group as I was the only black person in the art tutorial class. This was my first involvement with 'white establishment'. Language and culture, among other things, created a gap and a barrier between my classmates and myself and I discovered that this was the case with other black students also from Fort Hare. Unlike at Fort Hare, I could not easily approach lecturers at UCT to discuss problematic areas concerning my studies. At the time there was only one male black lecturer, who only came in for a section in the Psychology of Education course. Entering UCT felt for me like an act of trespass. I made up my mind that I would not allow myself to feel as if I was at UCT under protest. It is this approach that is the impetus for this dissertation.
- ItemOpen AccessShifting ground : an investigation into an aesthetic of change in the form of a cycle of mural paintings(2003) Spengler, Jonathan; Delport, Peggy
- ItemOpen AccessSkins, scars, blankets and blood : a pictorial response to the tensions and conflicts that arise from the representation and the practice of Ulwaluko in contemporary South Africa(2001) Sobopha, Mgcineni; Delport, PeggyUlwaluko (the subject of this study) is a Xhosa male initiation or rite of passage normally marked by elaborate ritual ceremonies and authenticated by circumcision. Human longing for ritual is deep, and in our contemporary culture is often frustrated. As an artist working in such an environment, my close association with these 'visible experiences' or contradictions in life has been the source and stimulus of my creative impulse. Ulwaluko is very close to me and an intensely personal aspect of my history and experience. It forms part of my identity and I ascertain very little distance between it and myself, if there can be any. It should be understood that this study is not an anthropological analysis of the Xhosa society and their cultural practices. Rather, it is a combination of autobiography and social commentary in which emphasis on first-hand experience is of primary importance for better understanding of the subject studied. This subjective experience also provides the basis, both conceptual and emotional, of the theoretical and creative process of this body of work. This project premises itself on the contentious issues around ulwaluko as practised by the Xhosa society, with particular reference to communities in Engcobo and Cape Town, and the tension in the creative work is rooted in the conflict and debate around this subject. An attempt is made to examine the impact of colonialism in the displacing and disrupting of this traditional Xhosa cultural practice. Basically, this study is a visual response to and an exploration of the tensions and conflicts that arise from the practice of ulwaluko and its representation in contemporary South Africa. And more important, it is a reflection of the struggle and the affirmation of the self in relation to my work as an artist. However, due to the complexity and sensitivity of this subject, I cannot generalise my understanding and experience of ulwaluko to be that of every Xhosa. The Xhosa people are not a homogeneous group as has been often perceived and discussed in various European discourses that are now under severe criticism by contemporary theorists such as Edward Said. It is a fact that people are different individuals, with dissimilar life experiences. Explaining other people's beliefs and feelings in an objective manner can seem to ignore or does not necessarily take into account, the personal value of emotions, of the joys and sorrows, and even of the transformation of the participants in the practice analysed. In recent years the practice and the visual representation of ulwaluko in South African society, by both 'insiders' and 'outsiders, has stirred concerns and provoked heated moral debates.