Two varied exhibitions reflect the different approaches of the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the College of the Arts (COTA) towards teaching visual art, be it in textiles, creative expression, visual culture, advertising art or fashion.
Under the title ‘Fresh Art’, UNAM and the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN), presented the annual UNAM student visual art exhibition and fashion show, close on the heels of the annual Product Development Diploma Course Student exhibition presented by COTA, also at NAGN.
According to Harold Osborne, art as a form of education came into being during the Middle Ages and was given to apprentices in the workshops of their masters. The aim was simple and the method technical. The pupil, engaged at the age of about 10, was to learn his craft so well that he could assist his master, first in purely mechanical operations and later in the painting of complete pictures the master could sell as his own work. Only in the middle of the 16th century did a change in the concept of painting take place. Art was not regarded as a manual craft any more, but was seen as an intellectual discipline, together with the emergence of artists capable of making a learned and profound contribution to the thought of their time.
The first state-aided academy was founded in Rome in 1593. More academies were founded in France, Russia and England in the ensuing centuries, with the main aim being to train painters. Only at the beginning of the 19th century, with the establishment of the Gewerbeschule in Prussia and Bavaria, did art education acquire a different character. The Gewerbeschule was geared more to the needs of the industry, and was distinct from the academies of fine art. Broadly speaking, the tendency in the 20th century in schools of art was to reject all teaching methods that were based, as academic teaching was based, on the supposition that there was one true and great style, to which every student should aspire.
Today art is crucial for maintaining a balance between culture and commerce. For it to survive, the private sector is becoming increasingly involved in the funding of art and art education, especially in Africa where governments have other priorities.
Says Professor Hercules Viljoen, Head of the Visual and Performing Arts Department at UNAM, “Students need to be prepared for survival in the world out there, and take cognisance of the fact that very few students who finish their degree or diploma course will be able to make enough money by painting. Because there is no constant art education in schools throughout sub-Saharan Africa, it is crucial to establish mechanisms at college and university level to develop the potential of individual students and to give them the necessary skills and tools to be good artists, designers and teachers able to survive in the world out there. It should also be understood that the artist is the conscience and voice of society. Tulipamwe, the community outreach project organised by UNAM’s Visual Arts Department, is geared towards involving ordinary people in the creative process and giving local and visiting artists the opportunity to create work outside an organised environment.
The year-end art exhibitions of the College of the Arts and UNAM showed great promise for the future of art and art education in Namibia. From a visual aspect the COTA exhibition was curated with more imagination and had a certain fun element, whereas the UNAM exhibition was more structured. There was a good cross section of work in nearly all mediums, from painting, drawing, printmaking, graphic design, collage, mixed media, sculpture, furniture, wire, recycled materials, beads and textiles.
A visually fascinating installation was a path bordered by stones along which a procession of birds, fantasy creatures, dogs, spiders, lizards, dragons, butterflies and scorpions moved, all made from recycled materials. A UNAM 4th-year degree student used fabric in two different installations and then photographed them. A piece of fabric shaped like a flame in an environment of burnt earth and another piece floating in an oshana depicted the elements of fire and water. These two elements are deeply rooted in the tradition of the northern rural people.
A visually fascinating installation was a path bordered by stones along which a procession of birds, fantasy creatures, dogs, spiders, lizards, dragons, butterflies and scorpions moved, all made from recycled materials. A UNAM 4th-year degree student used fabric in two different installations and then photographed them. A piece of fabric shaped like a flame in an environment of burnt earth and another piece floating in an oshana depicted the elements of fire and water. These two elements are deeply rooted in the tradition of the northern rural people.
Traditional and social matters also played an important role in the work of other students. One COTA student used old metal, boxes, leather, sand, cloth and oil paint to create a mixed-media work en-titled ‘Africa’, depicting a shanty town that stretches into infinity, with a map of Africa thrust like a spear between the shacks.
A big oil painting with three lone figures approaching the viewer with their hands in their pockets gave a bleak picture of unemployment, further enhanced by the colour palette that the student used – a murky yellow, rust red, turquoise blue and a dirty lilac.
But all was not doom and gloom. Some students gave a light take on famous artists such as Paul Klee and some of his compatriots in three paintings entitled ‘Exploration of Colour’.
Under the theme 'The space beneath', students from the product-design class from COTA under the supervision of two German industrial-design students brought to Windhoek by p.art.ners berlin-windhoek had to design and produce items on which to sit and relax. The challenge was not to copy but to come up with their own idea. After the 1st- and 2nd-year students had developed their ideas on paper, they went off to the scrapyard to find the materials to build the pieces. The results were imaginative, fun, not always practical but definitely artistic. The two young Germans had also instructed designers to move away from the limited tourism market and develop products that would transport and represent the cultural identity of the local people.
One can only hope that the dedicated heads of the Visual Art Departments and lecturers at these two institutions will keep up the good work.
