At MoMA: The Art of South Africa's Social Upheaval

March 18, 2011 • 4:30 am PDT
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On March 23rd, New York's Museum of Modern Art will be featuring nearly 100 pieces from its extensive collection of South African artwork for Impressions from South Africa: 1965 to Now. Many of the works on display were acquired after the worldwide cultural boycott of South Africa dissolved in the 1990s, and the collection is a first-of-its-kind look inside South Africa's turbulent era of social upheaval.

The collection is composed mostly of prints, including poster art, linocut, screenprinting, and offset lithography. Under apartheid rule, access to formal training and traditional materials was nonexistent for black artists, so many flocked to printmaking for its format flexibility, high volume democratic reach, and relative affordability. At the height of the anti-apartheid movement, art collectives, underground studios, and commercial galleries pushed artwork into public view as a rallying cry for political change.

Here's a sneak peek at the compelling voices from three decades of the nation's social struggle.

Images from the Museum of Modern Art

Above: "You Have Struck a Rock" by Judy Seidman and Medu Art Ensemble, 1981. Screenprint.

Elisa Huang
Special Projects Editor

See Gallery

This artwork is on view at Museum of Modern Art's exhibit Impressions of South Africa: 1965 to Now, running from March 21st to April 14th.

Posted in: Culture

Tags: art,; south africa,; museum,; exhibit,; moma,; artwork,; printmaking

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