S.African Art

[Doldrum]

I just saw a pamphlet of Mancoba's retrospective recently held in
Jo'Burg(I think it was Jo'Burg). What I found very interesting, though, is
that the non-representational work I saw did not have a particular style
to it which distinguished it as African, or South African. I thought that
it was more Fauve and Dada. I guess this makes sense since he libed in
Europe at the time when these movements were a fad.
So, if non-representational work is supposed to portray the temperament
and spirituality of the artist, and since these constitutions of the
artist are clearly linked to his environmrnt, then why does this
environment not manifest itself in the finished non-representational,
narrative free work. It, therefore, seems that Mancoba's works exist in a
vacuum when compared to those of S.A's more traditional artists.
To cut a along story short, I have a gripe against S.A'can
contemporary/modern art.

Doldrum