Denaturalized nature - strategies of representation in selected works of Penelope Siopis and William Kentridge.

Abstract

American critic Hal Foster argues that conceptions of 'the natural' are not universal, they are historically and discursively produced, There is no unmediated presence of 'the natural' in painting. He proposes 'denaturalization' as a form of critical postmodemist aesthetic which questions universalist tendencies in contemporary cultural production" This research examines selected theories and visual. representations of 'the natural' in order to explore different ways in which Foster's notion of denaturalization may be productive in assessing the complexity of critical visual art practice in South Africa.

My approach to the topic is largely fragmentary in order to reflect on and engage with the diverse terms of 'the natural' as manifest in visual art practice. To this end I discuss selected works of contemporary South African artists William Kentridge and Penelope'Siopis, While Foster's notion of denaturalization is productive in trying to engage with"critical issues' of art practice it is difficulr, if not impossible to determine if cenaln works conform with either his notion of a postmodernism of resistance or postmodernism of reaction. I will also explore the notion of denaturalization with reference to my practical work.