Socio-political art - including resistance art of the '70s and '80s - Manfred Zylla Flashcards
When was Manfred Zylla born?
1939
When did Manfred Zylla arrive in South Africa?
1970
Why did he come to South Africa?
To marry his second wife, Aziza Allie, a muslim woman.
What gave Manfred Zylla insight into the problems caused by Apartheid?
At the time of moving here it was illegal to marry a woman of colour if you were a white man.
Name 3 things Manfred Zylla was involved in, in South Africa.
He was a lecturer, he was an organiser at the Community Arts Project (CAP) in Woodstock and he was very involved in the Resistance struggle.
Where does Manfred Zylla live?
Zylla lives partly in Germany and partly in Cape Town.
What shaped Zylla’s consciousness of injustices?
His earliest memories of Nazi Germany and the Second World War with its fear and bombings.
How did Zylla feel about Apartheid South Africa?
He was highly critical of apartheid in his resistance works.
Which German artists influenced Manfred Zylla’s work?
George Grosz; Max Beckman; Otto Dix.
What is the main theme of Zylla’s South African works?
Many of his works have the theme of the effect of living in the brutalised society of South Africa on the young people of South Africa.
Why did Zylla put so much focus on the plight of children?
Zylla said that he was afraid for the safety of his own 2 daughters, because there was/is so much violence against children.
What is Manfred Zylla best known for?
Working in printmaking and drawing.
What does Zylla’s drawings remind us of?
The feeling of his drawings remind us of newspaper photos.
What does Zylla want to create?
Zylla doesn’t want to make pretty pictures, he wants to make one conscious of the shortcomings and injustices in society.
What political philosophy does Manfred Zylla believe in?
He is politically and socially aware as an artist because he is a committed socialist.
What is the purpose of Zylla’s art?
His art became his tool to show the inequalities and the atrocities experienced by people living under the effects of Apartheid.
How does Manfred Zylla view art and the responsibility of artists?
He has always been committed to using art as a tool for change and he believes that artists should fight injustices.
When did Manfred Zylla create “Bullets and Sweets”?
1985
What style of work was “Bullets and Sweets” done in?
Naturalistic.
What medium and technique was used to create “Bullets and Sweets”?
Pencil drawing with careful rendering of the forms in light and dark.
How many panels does “Bullets and Sweets” consist of?
Two, its a diptych.
Describe the subject of “Bullets and Sweets”.
A brawny soldier with a half smile and a row of bullets emerging from his crotch shoots sweets at the feet of a small group of township children.
What does the soldier in “Bullets and Sweets” have in his bag?
A Cape Dutch homestead and a sausage on a fork appears as a reference to his heritage.
Describe the children in the left hand panel of “Bullets and Sweets”.
The children are terrified and bewildered by this ominous presence of a soldier and they are ignoring the sweets. They are shielding themselves against anticipated blows and are ready to run away.
What is seen at the top of the scene in “Bullets and Sweets”?
The sweets are seen at the top and form a type of frame for the scene. A row of army vehicles is seen at the top right.
What does the soldier in “Bullets and Sweets” portray?
The soldier in this work portrays a sense of detachment as he performs his duties, in comparison to the very expressive faces of the school children.
What types of tones were used?
A strong contrast of monochromatic tones.
Discuss the viewpoint of “Bullets and Sweets”?
There is a fairly naturalistic depiction of figures but with a distorted viewpoint especially as seen in the figure of the soldier.
Why did Zylla use a diptych for “Bullets and Sweets”?
The use of the diptych also implies that the soldier and the children come from two different worlds linked only by the sad reality of the gun.
What effect does “Bullets and Sweets” have on the viewer?
An overwhelming feeling that they are looking at a newspaper photo.
What peculiar desire does the “Bullets and Sweets” diptych refer to?
The leaders of the South African Defence Force wanted to be loved by the township children in spite of their monstrous behaviour towards them.
How did the South African Defence Force attempt to win the love of the township people?
The army would send a Casspir full of soldiers into the townships, not to hand out the usual retribution, but to distribute leaflets to the people reading “We are your friends”, to play a game of soccer or to hand out sweets.
Was the press welcome to report on the actions of the army in the townships?
Only on excursions that were peaceful, they were banished from reporting on the shootings, beatings and arrests made by the army.
What was Zylla criticising with “Bullets and Sweets”?
He criticised apartheid in this work by showing the atrocities experienced by people living under the effects of apartheid.
When did Manfred Zylla create “Death Trap”?
1985
What medium and technique did Zylla use to create “Death Trap”?
Pencil drawing with careful rendering of the forms in light and dark.
What style of work was “Death Trap” made in?
Naturalistic.
How many panels does “Death Trap” consist of?
Two, it’s diptych with one canvas above the other.
Describe the subject of the top panel of “Death Trap”.
In the top half the truck is a distorted box filled with shooting policemen. These figures are squashed together but happily laughing and smirking, showing no remorse for their actions.
Describe the subject of the bottom panel of “Death Trap”?
In the bottom half it shows how the wheels of the truck are driving over images of human shadows.
What do the human shadows in the bottom panel of “Death Trap” represent?
These shadows represent the people that were killed and injured on the day.
What does the blocked image on the bottom panel of “Death Trap” show?
It is a drawing of Michael Miranda with only his head visible. The drawing was done from photos Zylla took at Michael’s funeral.
Why did Zylla use a diptych format for “Death Trap”?
To distinguish between the perpetrators in the top and the victims below.
What feeling does the scratchy mark making of Zylla’s pencil in “Death Trap” create in the viewer?
It creates a feeling of discomfort in the viewer.
Describe the political situation in South Africa in October 1985.
Tensions between anti-apartheid demonstrators and police heightened and came to a head in the suburb of Athlone in Cape Town. A state of emergency was declared by the government.
What happened 11 days after the state of emergency was declared in 1985?
Police hid in the back of a truck. They knew the vehicle would be stoned. When the first stone landed, they fired directly into a crowd of 100 people. 3 boys were killed and 13 people were injured.
Why was the incident known as The Trojan Horse Massacre?
Due to the way the police hid in the crates on the truck.
Who was Michael Miranda?
He was they youngest (11) boy who died in the Trojan Horse Massacre and he was a relative of Zylla’s wife.
Why was Michael Miranda with the crowd at the Trojan Horse Massacre?
The boy and his friends were on their way to the shops when this happened.
What inspired Zylla to create “Death Trap”?
The atrocity that killed his wife’s 11 year old relative during Apartheid.
