Project 2:

Hesther Levy's Work with the Kalahari Bushmen.

The aim of the trip was to visit a settlement of contemporary Bushmen artists in order to gather first hand research for a dissertation, which Hesther plans to write about the art of indigenous minorities in Southern Africa. Her report is reproduced below and provides a valuable in-sight into her work in Botswana.

Securewest International was pleased to provide sponsorship assistance to Hesther in her work with these African artists and trust that like Hesther, by raising awareness of these tribes their rich and colourful community maybe recognized and preserved.

Report from the Kalahari.

After a very long, hot journey South from Livingstone, Zambia, I arrived at the small village of D’Kar, 60km from the farming town of Ghanzi on the Western fringes of the desert.

The arts and crafts centre where I met and studied the artists and their work is a cluster of low wooden building and clay ‘rondavels’, with a missionary church in the centre of the settlement. There are 14 artists currently at work in D’Kar and range in age from about 20 years to 80; however it is difficult to know exactly as they are inclined to look much younger than they really are.

The aim of the artists is to earn a living out of their art in order to survive in the new world in which they have found themselves, whilst also keeping alive the knowledge of Bushmen tradition and culture. As I found during my stay however, these dual purposes are often conflicting; the artists must make money as they now live in a modern society and no longer have the means to live their old existence of hunting and gathering, but at the same time they do not want to lose integrity to tradition and their ancestors by becoming ‘westernised’.

The paintings themselves range in size and use vividly contrasting colours to depict stories that have been passed down through many generations, methods and ways of Bushmen life, and the plants and animals of the desert which have significant meaning. They are simplistic in design compared to our European ideas of ‘fine art’ and some could even be likened to the immature pictures of a child. However, these works are far more complex than mere ‘primitive’ experiments with modern materials. What emerged as the most important part of imagery in their painting is the meaning. As with the artists’ ancestors who painted scenes on rock thousands of years ago, they depict exclusively subjects associated with their own culture and the world immediately around them. The context however has changed; where the ancestors painted on rock to communicate with people of their own kind, contemporary Bushmen artists use similar imagery and modern materials to communicate the importance of their culture to the rest of humanity.

My Thanks.

Thankfully I am confident that the research material that I collected will be sufficient and a valuable foothold on which to base my dissertation. However during my stay I found it apparent that I should be as discreet and sensitive as possible because these people are not tourist attractions and are very susceptible to foreign influence and exploitation, as I was witness to first hand.

Conclusion.

Overall the experience and knowledge that I have brought away will stay with me for a very long time and I hope to do these proud yet dispossessed people justice in my thesis. I hope that by raising awareness of their dying culture and the valuable resources and history that will be lost, they might be given the opportunity to live as equals to the many other tribes and races who make up the rich and colourful community of Southern Africa.