Much like a multi-headed dragon surfacing from an underwater spin-cycle fellatio session with Poseidon, the Chinese are continuously cropping up these days.
South African designer Kevin Friedman believes cheap imitations of South African craft made in China and India are allowing a more accessible introduction for sometimes reticent locals to traditions that have previously been viewed — perhaps because of the socio-political baggage — with a measure of disdain: “Three plastic imitations of Zulu beer pots in a row make a comfortable introduction to local craft,” he says.
“Zulu shapes and designs are also less challenging — in many ways less African — so they provide a gentler introduction to South African craft. They are, obviously, much cheaper if they’re from China,” says Friedman, who has expertise in interior decor and has been working in the craft field since 1985.
“Once you get used to living with crafts of a high quality, it becomes addictive. It is also an educational journey — to learn to distinguish what is handmade, to learn about quality and design originality,” he says about a renewed awareness of Southern African craft in local interior decor trends. An awareness that has also led to reinterpretation of function with, for example, traditional beaded skirts, worn at reed ceremonies, now appearing on lounge walls.
Professor Phyllis Zungu from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s school of isiZulu studies also believes that there has been a resurgence in black urban youth identifying with their traditional past, which has resulted in a melding of a more urban fashion aesthetic with traditional accessories like earrings and necklaces.
While Friedman believes there has been a recent slump in the market because the stronger rand has impacted on the disposable budgets of tourists, he does stress that the “potential for the industry is still in its infancy”. Both the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Arts and Culture have shown keener interest in the development of crafting in South Africa, prioritising skills development as a form of poverty alleviation and cultural continuity.
“How much [the craft industry] is currently worth is an absolute unknown because much of it occurs in the informal sector, but it has been estimated to be the third-highest job provider in the country behind agriculture and the government,” says Wendy Goldblatt, coordinator of the FNB Craft Now Exhibition.
Yet, to a certain extent, the commodification of culture has impacted on the authenticity of products that are now being made to order, usually for foreign and local sourcers who are introducing design aesthetics from Europe and South America.
The weekly bead market, held every Friday morning at the bottom of Victoria Street in Durban, reflects this shift. Shembe women congregate with their beaded jewellery, hats and other artifacts, usually attracting other street traders and marketers from Johannesburg, Durban and people sourcing for overseas boutiques and shops.
Many pre-order bulk with specific design and colour requests: “There are six colours traditionally used by Zulu women: black, blue, white, green, yellow and red, but with demand, there has been a shift to add colours such as brown, pink, gold and avocado,” says Zungu.
Zungu believes that the impact is positive, that there is a level of “assimilation” involved in Zulu beading, stressing that beading is a dynamic craft, which, even when passed down from mother to daughter, does carry a degree of aesthetic shifting.
Zulu colour schemes and their meanings do feature largely in the various rituals associated with the culture, especially in the courtship dances between young people: “If a boy is given a white artefact by a girl, it means that he has fallen for a virgin, because white symbolises purity. Or if a girl gives a boy a black skin- hide skirt with beads, it means she is ready to become a makothi, she is ready for marriage,” says Zungu.
Yet there is a thin line between assimilation and imitation. Leocradia Mkhulise is a 64-year-old crafter who feels she is doing something original: Using textiles and beads to create shawls with images of African people, and she is hoping to do a range of football players by the time the Fifa World Cup comes around in 2010.
“I got the idea after taking part in the exchange programmes between India and South Africa. It is what they are doing in India but no one is doing it here,” says Mkhulise.
Friedman says that many of our “traditions” actually come from a history of copying: “When South Africa was in isolation [during apartheid] we didn’t get international product, so we became great copiers. For a long time design has had no value in South Africa.”
But that is changing, especially with the profound pricing differentiation between “craft/craft” and “art/craft”. The former being the more mass produced stuff “on the side of the road”, the latter a “piece with intrinsic value because of its design originality and uniqueness”, says Friedman.
Goldblatt says the lines between art and craft are blurred and that “it is a differentiation we don’t really make anymore”, but does cite the Johannesburg Art Gallery’s buying of craft pieces for exhibition as an example of the growing awareness of craft’s artistic merits: “A few years ago, that would never have happened,” she says, adding that the FNB Craft Now Exhibition recently held workshops for crafters that revolved around setting up gallery exhibitions.
Of concern to Zungu and many crafters is not that foreign fashionistas are tapping into Zulu jewellery devoid of messages, or that cultural exchange sometimes translates into design imitation, but the price discrepancies between a grassroots market like Victoria Street, a local urban curio shop or flea market and an overseas boutique: “You will get that in a market for R10. The government needs to come in and do something about that,” says Zungu, pointing to an R80 necklace in a curio shop at Durban International airport. Both Zungu and Friedman agree that production skills, especially in areas like KwaZulu-Natal, already exist, but what is now needed is a focus on business skills like marketing to help stop the exploitation of crafters.
Originality recognised
The winners of the sixth FNB Craft Now Exhibition awards were announced on Thursday night at the opening of the Craft Now Exhibition at the KZNSA Gallery in Durban.
Angeline Bonisiwe Masuko won first prize for her two baskets hand-woven with natural dyes; London School of Furniture graduate Yda Walt’s lino and screen-printed images on felt with hand stitching, Downtown, won second prize; while Karen Suskin came third with her Lobola Mantle, a cloak created from handmade and industrial felt, cow hair, porcelain and wooden beads. The New Signature Award went to Neliswe Nxumalo for her red embroidered umbrella.
The Craft Now Exhibition runs at the KZNSA Gallery until August 13. An auction, which will include 20 of the best pieces on exhibition, including the winning entries, will be held in Johannesburg in mid-August.