South African art: love letters in beads

Notwithstanding the appearance of celebrity "folk artists", ordinary craft, in which the makers are usually anonymous, continues to thrive in South Africa. The main areas of traditional craft work are beadwork, pottery, basketry and carving.

A high level of skill is brought to the production of work that has long been a part of African society, though its significance has changed as it has found new commercial outlets.

For instance, beadwork, which was once the insignia of tribal royalty alone, gradually developed broader meanings in traditional society, related to courtship and the like. Today it has found a huge range of applications, from the creation of coverings for everything from bottles to matchboxes - to the reproduction of the red "Aids ribbon" in the form of small Zulu bead works colloquially referred to as "Zulu love letters".

Basketry and ceramics, of course, were long ago brought to a pitch of perfection in traditional society, and the outgrowths of these forms today grace gallery plinths as often as they find a place on a suburban shelf.

Other artists, in a spirit of African entrepreneurship, have developed new craft media from available materials. On sale on many a street corner are objects made of wire, ranging from representations of the globe to cars and motorcycles (which are capable of manipulated movement) - to joke cellphones. Telephone wire, in many colours, has become an alternative material for basketry, and plastic bags and bottle tops have been recycled or reused in delightful objects for use or just visual pleasure.

History and commerce

There are several important collections of African art in South Africa, such as that of the Standard Bank (at the Gertrude Posel Gallery at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) or the Durban Art Gallery, housing works of historical and anthropological significance.

Turmoil on the African continent has meant the flow into South Africa of many traditional works from outside this country's borders. The vitality of South Africa's tourist industry has meant that such work finds a more ready market here than it might in its lands of origin.

Academics and curators are grappling with issues of authenticity (and there are serious matters to be dealt with here), and many are concerned that invaluable work ripped from its museum context is now on sale to the highest bidder, who may have no sense of its historical value, and thus important work is being lost to the public discourse.

The traditional forms of African art, mostly sculpture of figures and masks, shade into the area of craft, as new works are made in old styles. Here the influx from other parts of the continent has provided value for those seeking such work.

There can be few other places in which one can gain access to such a variety of African arts and crafts, whether they be masks made in one of the continent's many styles, or carved chairs, or embroidered or appliqu� cloths. At the Rooftop Market at Johannesburg's Rosebank Mall, for instance, as well as at its African Craft Market, work from sources all over the continent jostle for the attention of the potential collector.