Hi I'm artist Lillian Gray and I have a South African artist you simply have to meet
George Pemba!
George Pemba is an artist who defeated the stereotype that black people could
not become professional painters during the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
Pemba is often referred to as the Grandmaster of South African Art and is
internationally recognized as one of South Africa's greatest artists. His
paintings depict the conditions of people living in townships over six
decades. He provides us with a remarkable visual history of what he witnessed
through South Africa's transformation. Now why should we listen to George
Pemba's story and why should we pay attention - simply because it's quite
inspirational. There are a few things I'd like you to keep in mind when listening
to his story: first of all Pemba was exposed to very limited art training
that was fragmented throughout his life, and this was due to all the restrictions
Aparted implemented on black education. However whatever opportunity presented
itself Pemba grabbed it with both hands. Keeping
this in mind it is remarkable to see the amazing standard of his oeuvre. He was
not only a prolific artist but also highly skilled. His works can easily be
compared to international art movements and artists of the time. In his art we
can see the influences of German Expressionism, Realism and Impressionism.
Realism because he depicted society and his community in a warts-and-all
approach. Impressionism because he captured fleeting moments of daily life,
and Expressionism because often the emotion or the narrative is more
important than depicting everything in minor details. He also sometimes
distorts figures to aid the communication of emotion. Today he is seen as a pioneer
of Social Realism>
Little George Pemba was born in 1912 just outside PE in a town called Koster
village. From the get-go Pemba just had an affinity for art, he simply loved it.
He had a really cool dad that encouraged him to paint and draw and he even
allowed him to draw on the walls. He said to him "Pemba, please paint some beautiful
murals in our home?". His dad was super proud about his talent,
so he started telling everybody about how good Pemba was. One day his dad came
home with photos of his boss and said "Pemba my boss would like you to paint
him" and so Pemba started painting portraits and it was quite successful.
Pemba was so talented that in 1924 he won a Gray scholarship which would enable him
to receive a post-primary education. This is amazing for during Apartheid era.
Unfortunately something super, super sad happened, at the age of fourteen Pemba's
father passed away. Despite this hardship Pemba decided to
still follow his dream to become an artist. At the mere age of 16
Pemba was part of his first exhibition, it was held at the Feather Market Hall
in Port Elizabeth in 1928. In 1934 his appendix burst and Pemba was
taken to hospital. He had to stay in hospital for quite a while and while he
was there his art kept him busy. He started drawing and painting all the
doctors and nurses. They were so impressed with Pemba's skills that they
told the professor Ethel Smythe at Fort Hare about Pemba. Being a professor Ethel
had lots of books and he introduced Pemba to Rembrandt van Rijn, Valeska,
Impressionism and German Expressionism. He gave Pemba some direction in drawing
and taught him how to use watercolours. After school
Pemba decided to become a teacher and he studied a diploma in teaching at the
Lovedale Training College. Because it was really difficult to earn a living
during Apartheid for black people, he also had to find another job so he
started working at the Lovedale printing press. They realized he was
quite talented and said to him "Pemba don't you want to start painting and
doing all the illustrations for our books?". Pemba was a teacher for seven
years but unfortunately with the Bantu Education Act black teachers really
didn't earn a lot of money, so he had to take a new job as an administrator for
the government. In 1941 Pemba won a scholarship to go to Rhodes University
but it was a rather silly scholarship if you ask me, it was only for five months,
you have to realize normally you go to university for at least four years to
get a degree. But Pemba decided to use these five months to the best of his
ability and learn as much as he possibly could. Just outside the university there
was art courses run by this old man called Maurice van Essche. Now back then
it wasn't allowed for black people and white people to be in the same art class -
but Maurice allowed it. Maurice taught various students how to draw and paint.
It was at these art lessons Pemba's life changed dramatically,
he met the amazing Gerard Sekoto. Gerard Sekoto was a really great South
African artist. He encouraged Pemba to be a full-time artist and he said to him
"you know what George, you really need to stop with watercolours, I think it's time
that you move on to oil painting" you see oil painting was much more robust and
could be preserved forever where watercolours were finicky and difficult
to keep clean and frame. He also gave Pemba some great
advice about his art, he said "you need to pay more attention to your immediate
surroundings as subject matter". Pemba took all of this advice to heart: he
switched to oils and decided to be a full-time artist; he jumped into taxis
and travelled to Johannesburg, Durban Kwazulu-natal, Umtata, Basutoland -
painting portraits of the indigenous people he met in the different regions.
You have to realize that being an artist in Apartheid South Africa was no joke
but being a black artist in Apartheid South Africa was way way way harder.
Pemba had to earn extra income so he started a spaza shop at his house with
his wife Gabby. Guess what happened next, when Pemba
entered the May Esther Bedford Art Competition and he won first prize,
his previous mentor Gerard Sekoto received second prize. I think this is
amazing. As artists we have to encourage each other and as an art teacher
I believe my students should one day be better than what I am. In 1959 Pemba also
started making satirical cartoons. The first one was published in the ANC
newspaper Isizwe, released in June 1959. Pemba was also a writer and he produced at least
two staged plays, he also painted various scenes from his plays. With all his hard
work Pemba was given an honorary master's degree in arts by the
University of Fort Hare. Although Pemba is not seen as a protest artist today his
art career was affected by the struggle. But his biggest contribution was that he
made people see what life was like for black people under Apartheid rule in the
townships. His representation of Township life has been described as unpretentious
and honest, displaying an understanding of humanity. Today he is a respected
watercolour and oil artist. Now let's look at some recognition
Pemba has received for an art career that spanned almost over six decades.
You have to remember that the majority of this career was spent during the
Apartheid rule. Pemba could only really become a successful artist and
gain recognition once Apartheid started falling and Mandela was free. The
esteemed Everard Read Gallery held an exhibition of Pemba artworks to honour
him for his 80th birthday. A book about Pemba's life and art was released named
Against All Odds. Unfortunately Pemba passed away in 2001
and couldn't enjoy other recognitions he received. Posthumously the South African
government awarded him The Order of Ikhamanga. A documentary was made of the
artists life and for his hundredth anniversary the South African post
office released a set of ten commemorative stamps featuring some of
'Pemba's best-known artwork.
Now we need to look at the characteristics of Pemba's artworks. We
need to ask ourselves - what did he paint, where did he paint, how did he paint,
and why. Let's start with the what. Pemba is known for painting portrait paintings of
individuals or in groups, landscapes, references to religious topics, and
commentary on political and social circumstances. Where did he paint?
Although Pemba travelled to various regions to depict people from all over
South Africa, he concentrated on depicting the life in the township New
Brighton, where he spent most of his life. How did he paint, what was his painting
style? Initially Pemba painted in watercolours, which was a relatively
cheap medium. In his watercolor works the colour use is soft and seductive but when
he began painting with oil his style changed. In both his watercolour and oil
paintings he shows a strong feeling for form.
He creates forms which are solid by using simplified planes.
He loves using contrasting lines - just look at their dramatic yellow light on
this purple skin tone. This brings me to Pemba's use of colour, sometimes he plays
with contrasting colours such as the complementary blue and orange, red and
green, yellow and purple. His use of colour is bold and sometimes he uses
impasto brushstrokes. Now, let's talk about the why, what was the purpose of
Pemba's artwork? To draw attention to the daily lives of black people in Apartheid
South Africa. He depicts the uncertainties and the contradictions
that were part of life in South Africa at the time. His work includes themes
such as joy, fear, loss, the experience of a daily life, cultural traditions, Human
Rights, politics, and religious commentary. His work is inclusive of the human
condition through representing his personal experiences.
Let's discuss two of Pemba's famous artworks. I would like to begin with this
one: New Brighton Port Elizabeth 1977 oil-on-canvas. By looking at this
painting we need to understand that the narrative from the Apartheid government
at that stage was that black people are living like animals, they choose to live
in squatter camps, they are dirty they are not worthy of having proper homes.
This painting by George Pemba depicts a completely different narrative. We see a
traffic circle and the community playing out in the street. Things to notice are
that the street is clean there are trees and plants planted next to the houses,
all the houses are very neat and tidy, this shows that this community cares
enough about their environment to make it beautiful. Note that there is no
infrastructure: no streetlights, no paved sidewalk. The entire street
culminates into a vanishing point which ends with industry and the factories in
the background. Now this harks to the fact that
Apartheid and its regime was economically driven. The Apartheid
government needed cheap black labor, especially for the mines, and to keep the
industries running and open. Here in the middle of the day we see a lot of people
home and in the streets - this comments on the joblessness in South Africa. People
do not have work and have no where to go. To depict the vibrancy of the community
and the fact that they are closely knit and jivey Pemba is using complementary
colours the red and the green, the yellow and the purple, the orange and the blue,
creates a sense of movement in the painting.
The next painting I would like to discuss is Terror 1991 oil on board.
This painting is about the brutal consequences of the Apartheid system on
the lives of black people. It has chaotic movement with people
trapped in a confined space. We have people running towards the viewer, arms
spread out wide in the effort to move away. In the background we see the
Apartheid police only as silhouettes starting to shoot people inside a bus or
a train. In the foreground we have people lying on the ground, they are either dead
or unconscious. There is a suitcase on the floor and a hat flying off the man's
head - all adding to the chaos of the moment. We see quite a prominent C-curve
composition in this painting, trapping the people, making them feel completely
claustrophobic, and the only glimmer of freedom we can see is some blue sky
shining through the windows. Note that Pemba didn't paint every
little thing with minute detail, in this painting the narrative, the story, the
chaos of the moment, capturing the emotion is more important than the
detail of a button on a shirt. And this is typical from German Expressionism.
Pemba is more concerned with telling the story and not the technical aspects of
the painting. His use of colour is quite analogous, meaning he only uses colours
that are next to each other on the colour wheel, with a very subdued sombre colour
palette, and note that striking contrast of the red blood on the white shirt. This
is an important painting because it depicts the brutal violence that
occurred in the townships under the Apartheid regime.
Now that you know George Pemba, let us know which part of his story you find
most inspirational, or which artwork of his is your personal favourite and why.
I'm artist Lillian Gray and I'm excited for our next art history lesson!