Author Archives: Nicholas Strauss

Nicholas Strauss

I did my final video on the role rugby had on Apartheid in South Africa. During the late 1900’s the South African rugby team was a symbol for equality within the country between the white and black South Africans.

The Art of South Africa

By: Nicholas Strauss

South Africa has a long and rich history of visual art created in the country. In fact, the oldest art in the world was discovered in a South Africa cave dating 75,000 years ago. The culture aspect of South Africa is a huge apart of what makes this beautiful country so unique.

The nomadic hunters of early Africa, the San Bushmen found a home in the caves of Africa and began using colors derived from plant and earth pigment to create beautiful pictures on cave walls. This began the long history of beautiful South African art that span till modern day. These pictures usually involved hunting or fighting other humans and accurately portray the complicated life of the nomads of Africa. The San people lived in caves for four millennia which gave a large sample size of beautiful art that defines the deep-rooted culture of old-Africa.

During the colonial era many artists in South Africa tried to focus on the “new world”. Many different artists, Pieter Hugo Naude, traveled the country to attempt to accurately portray the beautiful flora and fauna of the country for the people who lived back in the metropolis.

Apartheid was a troubling time for South African art, but it still gave way to many different art styles. While most black artists were ignored in this period of time, many white artists brought landscape painting and abstract art into South Africa. These artists not only made things that are undeniably beautiful, they also showed through their music their passion for their country in such troubling times.

South African art has a huge influence on many famous artists around the world as well. Famous artists like Walter Battiss have uses the rock art form the San Bushmen as the bases for his style of light, which he highlights in his book, Symbols Of Life. Cecil Skotnes was largely influenced by different woodcut African masks that were made in the colonial period. This influence allowed Skotnes to become a world-renowned artist by mixing African styles with European modernism.

South Africa does not only influence European artists though, the country has produced many of it’s own artists as well. Artists like Gerard Sekoto concentrated on depicting the real life South Africa and the struggles they faced. Through forceful expressionism Sekoto gave the truth about the area that he called home. Seketo’s painting, Yellow House, was the first work by a black artist to be bought by the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Sekoto was not the only one to have such a polarizing view in his work. Black artists such like Azaria Mbatha and John Muafangejo were also famous for their striking visuals and accurate portrayal of South Africa.

As apartheid became more and more repressive, many artists work became more and more polarizing. Artists Paul Stopforth began making a series of work focuses on police brutality and artists Robert Hodgins created art that turned South African leaders into ominous and sinister rulers of a corrupt country. While the entire country was in pain, that only brought out another side of South African art. Helen Sebidi created collages and pastels detailing her struggles as a human living in such a tough area and William Kentridge made drawings depicting the ironies of white South African life. During this time all this art was considered “resistant art”.

Without a doubt, no matter what the world throws at South Africa they will never stop making beautiful art. The vibrant culture of South Africa is the center of all of Africa and influences the rest of world with its artistic style while also providing the world with multiple artists that are unique to this vibrant and beautiful country. I was very familiar with South Africa before I began this study, but I had no idea how much of a cultural center it was for the entire country. So much art has come out of the country that it has to be considered one of the major art producers in the world.

African Studies Blog #1

Nelson Mandela…OBVIOUSLY

When it comes to overcoming adversity and becoming a champion for your race and country, look no further than the legendary Nelson Mandela. Mandela is the most influential man to ever come out of South Africa and achieved so many great things in his 90 plus years. Mandela overcame social discrimination, racism, poverty and inequality to become the first black democratic leader of South Africa in 1994.

In the mid 1900’s apartheid was in full swing in South Africa. There was a huge racial divide between the white and black citizens in South Africa set forth by the National Party. Because of this separation there was always a history of violence between the two political groups in South Africa, however help would soon be on the way.

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 and soon became very interested in law. In 1952 Mandela joined the Defiance Campaign protesting against the National Party and started calling for equality in South Africa. In 1961 Mandela was a leader in forming the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which was a militant force with a purpose of overthrowing the South African government. Because of this, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for being a terrorist.

Mandela suffered in jail for 27 years until in 1990 he was released and joined president F. W. de Klerk in abolishing apartheid and bringing piece to South Africa. In 1994, South Africa hosted its first multi-cultural election and its was an election that Mandela would go on to win. Mandela would become South Africa’s first black president in a time when not 20 years ago he was cast away as a terrorist.

Mandela’s 4 years in office were some of the most productive anyone has ever seen in a democracy. Mandela created a new constitution for South Africa, helped the country rise above human rights abuses, fought poverty and created a healthcare system. Even when Mandela refused to run for a second term he was still very active in the betterment of his country. He worked internationally as a political mediator between countries, for example the bombing trial between the UK and Libya. He even started a foundation to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Mandela’s impact on South Africa as a country is incomprehensible. As the hero of their history, he dragged South Africa out of the ignorant ashes of racism to the greener pastures of racial equality. One of my favorite things about Nelson Mandela is that he did not just stop there. He set up South Africa for success for many, many years to come. His legal background and political skills help South Africa become a real player in world politics and that’s not something you can measure in dollars.

Of all the things Mandela has accomplished the thing that makes me admire him the most is his constant ability to rise above the hate and bigotry. It amazes me to think of a man who is working so hard to better his people but also to be hailed as a terrorist. That takes a kind of patience and persistence that I did not think existed. When I saw the assignment for this blog I knew there was only one man I could write about, and for good reason. Every person who wants to make a difference should look at Nelson Mandela as a inspiration to make change in a world that seems so stagnant and set in it’s ways.

Blog #4

By: Nick Strauss

From a distance the colonization of North America and Africa couldn’t be more different, however when looking more closely they have more similarities than you would think. Both the North American and African natives suffered great casualties by the Europeans and since then have been constantly at battle for their own culture. The African natives battled valiantly for their land, but much like the Native Americans were tragically forced out of their homes. The destruction of both the Native American and African cultures are two black spots on our races morally wrong both groups of Europeans seemed to do it for different reasons. Most British came to the Americas in the 16^th century avoiding religious persecution, while it seemed as though the European states in the 19^th century were in a competition for Africa’s raw materials and land.

In the 1500’s most European religions were being heavily persecuted and had no true home to grow their beliefs. The discovery of the New World gave them the opportunity to not only escape prosecution, but also the opportunity to spread their religion. The Puritans left Great Britain for the Massachusetts Bay and the Catholics laid claim to Maryland. This began a constant struggle between the native Americans tribes who lived there and the European colonists who attempted to lay claim to the land. Unfortunately the Europeans superior technology gave way to one of the most brutal genocides in history. It’s interesting to point out how, which was once a safe haven for persecuted religious groups, American colonists had such racism towards the natives.

In the late 1800’s the major European countries were all competing for superiority in the political playground. The new “in” item to have at that time was a colony in Africa, because of it’s rich materials. New colonies from Britain, France Germany Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Spain were popping up all over Africa. Also industrialization caused the economies to drop in Europe, making these countries really need Africa’s resources. The Native Africans however, didn’t seem too happy about giving up all their gold and diamonds. Starting in the early 1900’s, many different African societies used military force to try and protect their land. Much like the Native Americans, the European militaries just had too much manpower and superior weapons. The African militaries fought most of the time guerilla style using their knowledge of the area to their advantage, but alas these great cultures were over run by the power and economic advantages of the European rule. Throughout the African colonization there has also been a consistent feeling of racism between the Africans and Europeans. Many of the Europeans looked down upon the black skin of the native Africans, which played a large part in the violent conflicts between the two parties.

On the surface, the colonization of North America and Africa seem to be pretty different. North Americans wanted to escape religious persecution and Europeans moved to Africa to try and save their economies. But, if they got to these countries in such different ways, why do was there so much violence. Because the one main thing they share in common is very volatile. The difference of race place a large role in history and most of this conflict has a large part to do with the dissimilarity of their skin. While it’s not a good thing, race is the number one issue when it comes to any colonization.

I’m proud that I live in a time period that we can look back on our past actions and admit that we were wrong. What we did to the Native Americans and the Africans is so fundamentally wrong it makes me sick to think about. The fact that a human was once treated as a slave was a sad era in our history. As citizens of the world we must look back at these events like the colonization and insalivation of the Americans and Africa and learn from them. We cannot change what has happened, but we can try our hardest to make sure it never happens again.

Don’t Underestimate South Africa

Nick Strauss

Thinking of going on a family vacation? Sick of the same boring vacations every year? Well cancel your tickets for that Florida timeshare and come to South Africa! I know what you may be thinking, “Africa? I don’t want to go see the Sahara in 120 degree weather!” Well don’t worry, South Africa is the southern most tip of Africa and has 1,739 miles in coastline! Go get your beach on in some of the worlds most beautiful beaches!

Camps Bay in Camp Town is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Africa!

If you are more of a city person, one of the most exotic, beautiful and unique cities in the world is Cape Town, which is on the most southern tip of Africa.

To truly experience all the culture of South Africa, it is a necessity to spend a couple nights in the cultural center of this beautiful county, Johannesburg. There you will find everything from vibrant music to fantastic shopping. Many people think that Africa is lacking big urban cities, but those people are missing out on one of the worlds best! The city is filled with fantastic museums about the countries rich history, enough markets to spend your entire retirement fund, and enough concerts and events to keep you jumping all the way through the night!

The Apartheid Museum is a chilling museum showing the county’s dark past. Through film, text and audio exhibits will help you realize the struggles that these shockingly resilient people have gone through. While you may have reserves to spend an afternoon in this museum, I promise you that you will be grateful that you went.

Now don’t worry, if you’re still looking for that safari fix, South Africa can still help you with that. South Africa has over 22 national parks, and is wild renown for its safari excursions. If it catches your fancy, you can hire a tour guide to give you a tour of the amazing South African wildlife and expansive geography.

If you’re brave enough you can visit one of the many Rhino Game reserves throughout the country.

South Africa is filled with a abundant number of rivers and lakes that flow into beautiful mountain waterfalls. Taking kayak tours with the hippos in these rivers is a common occurrence! Waterfalls like this one are peppered all throughout South Africa (Tugela Falls)

The climate in South Africa varies very differently by the region, but all of the country tends to have late thunderstorms that dissipate quickly in the afternoon, which gives the whole region the unique African smell. The Western Cape tends to have weather much akin to the Mediterranean. (sounds nice!)

If you’re into hiking, South Africa has more than enough mountains to quench your desire. Mountain Mofadi has 3 different reachable peaks at 11,319 ft. The Eastern Cape alone has over 1,143 different peaks to be explored. All together the entire country has over 5 thousand peaks!

As a society we tend to put Africa in a box; just deserts and conflict. This type of thinking is preventing people from visiting the most beautiful country in the world. South Africa is rich in culture with an amazing and storied past. Along with its culture, South Africa also has one of the most unique lands in the world, as it contains beautiful beaches and great mountains. The southern tip of Africa should, by no means, be overlooked when thinking about a new exotic trip.