Framing the artwork of Tracey Rose and Berni Searle through black feminism
Date
2012-08-13
Authors
Malatjie, Lorraine Porcia
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
My
research
was
motivated
by
the
lack
of
elaborate
feminism
and
particularly
the
absence
of
black
feminism
in
South
African
art
histories.
I
investigate
how
Tracey
Rose
and
Berni
Searle
employ
autobiography
to
insert
themselves
in
their
artworks
and
in
the
broader
visual
arts
domain.
Rose
and
Searle
use
their
own
bodies
and
performative
strategies
of
self-‐
representation
in
order
to
re-‐construct
and
re-‐structure
their
identities.
In
so
doing,
they
subvert
South
African
black
women
identities
that
have
been
prescribed
by
a
patriarchal,
colonial,
and
imperialist
apartheid
system.
My
research
highlights
how
Rose’s
and
Searle’s
work,
when
read
in
light
of
black
feminism,
not
only
critiques
and
subverts
subordination
of
black
women,
but
also
provides
new
and
empowering
ways
of
contemplating
the
artworks
of
black
female
artists
in
the
South
African
context.
Description
M.A. University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities (History of Art), 2012