QUESTION 2: South African STYLE OF WORK MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUE artists influenced by African Stylized / abstracted Neat, smooth finish and the lack of tonal values and/or indigenous art forms TITLE: MESSAGE AND MEANING Walter Battiss, Symbols of Life, oil on canvas, undated. The title of the work tells the story behind the work. It also celebrates life and pays homage to the heritage of our first artists. SUBJECT AND DESCRIPTION This is an example of one of Battiss’ In this work there are also pictographs conceptual interpretations of what he and abstract shapes that cover the learned from rock art. In it he did not copy whole surface. It is a very linear work rock art, but created a personalised symbolic where figures representing people, system that tells about ideas about Battiss’ animals, reptiles and termites are life and spirituality. It is a typical work by stylized into simplified and original Battiss in its mystery and symbolism. shapes. The title provides a clue to possible meanings. A river divides the painting in two. It is the symbolic story of the river and the varied life that it sustains. The river is the magical or godlike power. The middle shape could also be seen as cross-section of an hill or the scales of reptiles. FORMAL ART ELEMENTS Battiss, at that stage, was very interested in Middle Eastern calligraphy and the shapes in the painting became free interpretations of this. The work is flat, decorative and the shapes are red-brown on a cream background, while the river is in ochre and brown. Silhouetted symbolic motifs are spread all over the white picture plane. The arrangement of these shapes is very controlled, leaving an even distance between each of them. A quarter from the bottom of the canvas a bold horizontal organic shape divides the evenly arranged symbols in two opposing sides. These motifs represent an organic version of some living being: people, jackals, elephants, insects, butterflies and antelope are some of the creatures that are recognizable. The work has an organic feeling because of the fact that it is not geometrically placed, which is a similarity to rock paintings. His use of earthy colours reinforces the connection with rock art.
QUESTION 2: South African artists influenced by African and/or indigenous art forms STYLE OF WORK Stylized / abstracted MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUE Neat, smooth finish and the lack of tonal values TITLE: Walter Battiss, Symbols of Life, oil on canvas, undated. MESSAGE AND MEANING The title of the work tells the story behind the work. It also celebrates life and pays homage to the heritage of our first artists. This is an example of one of Battiss’ conceptual interpretations of what he learned from rock art. In it he did not copy rock art, but created a personalised symbolic system that tells about Battiss’ ideas about life and spirituality. It is a typical work by Battiss in its mystery and symbolism. SUBJECT AND DESCRIPTION In this work there are also pictographs and abstract shapes that cover the whole surface. It is a very linear work where figures representing people, animals, reptiles and termites are stylized into simplified and original shapes. The title provides a clue to possible meanings. A river divides the painting in two. It is the symbolic story of the river and the varied life that it sustains. The river is the magical or godlike power. The middle shape could also be seen as cross-section of an or the scales of reptiles. FORMAL ART ELEMENTS Battiss, at that stage, was very interested in Middle Eastern calligraphy and the shapes in the painting became free interpretations of this. The work is flat, decorative and the shapes are red-brown on a cream background, while the river is in ochre and brown. Silhouetted symbolic motifs are spread all over the white picture plane. The arrangement of these shapes is very controlled, leaving an even distance between each of them. A quarter from the bottom of the canvas a bold horizontal organic shape divides the evenly arranged symbols in two opposing sides. These motifs represent an organic version of some living being: people, jackals, elephants, insects, butterflies and antelope are some of the creatures that are recognizable. The work has an organic feeling because of the fact that it is not geometrically placed, which is a similarity to rock paintings. His use of earthy colours reinforces the connection with rock art. hill
GRADE%2012%20VCS%20SUMMARIES.docx