Zulu Culture Translated into Fine Art
Overview
Famed photographer David Dodds has committed himself to the translation of Zulu culture into fine art. Drawing on over 20 years of experience in photographing advertising, fashion and beauty – as well as travel features and celebrity portraits – David now uses cutting-edge technology to create more than just “a straight photograph”
The industry
In 1990, the boom in computers and resulting experiments by Sony gave David an early warning: “It occurred to me that film could disappear. But I didn’t own a PC – I was a photographer. Within four years, though, I was hooked on Apple Macs, which have consistently been at the front end of reliable imaging and design.”
As soon as Adobe Photoshop introduced its text function, David realised that photographers would become publishers – so he turned his attention to studying the relationship between graphics, publishing and photography over seven years of relevant conferences and seminars in the United States.
The epiphany
Now, although he remains a photographer, David believes that computers make fine art possible. As soon as two images are super-imposed over each other, or manipulated, or even altered slightly, they become more a work of art than a mere photo.
“They come to contain new and different messages,” says David, “that you couldn’t convey by any other means. You can take the photograph further, and make it more.”
David strives to examine the breadth of Zulu mystery, by drawing attention to the visual meaning inherent in sangomas, witchcraft, ceremony, artifacts, history, ability in battle, even weapons – using colour spots, juxtaposition and other effects.
In fact, his latest masterpiece, a metre-sized handcrafted art book on the Zulus, is a manifestation of multi-layered messages that flow out via a cohesive Zulu story and are closed with a message from Princess Nandi Zulu.
The book
The book features fine art prints on world-class German fine art paper. Bound with Zulu leather and genuine cowhide, it has traveled across the globe: to Naples & Sarasota, Palm Springs, Monaco, and London, achieving international acclaim at every stop.
The book even earned an unexpected bid of $100 000.00, which Leading Africa is considering as an avenue for assisting the JAC Initiative, dedicated to Jobs, Aids and Conservation, and the Star Schools Foundation in Zululand.
Background
The Kingdom of the Zulus provides a wealth of art, from the traditional to the modern; the highly sophisticated to the charmingly naïve; and the widely affordable to masterpieces of fine art that are worth a small fortune.
Indeed, art is an integral part of Zulu culture and incorporates decorative elements such as beadwork, jewellery and clothing; artifacts used in ceremonies and rituals; and practical items like clay pots, sleeping mats and wooden head-rests.
For the Zulus, for example, beadwork is an integral part of culture, handed down through the generations. It is highly decorative, certainly, but its significance lies as much in the unique ‘language’ of beads, as in their aesthetic value.
Traditionally, Zulu crafters made carefully woven baskets from lengths of copper wire. Today the Zulu Kingdom is experiencing a glorious wirework revolution, with increasing numbers of talented wire crafters creating magnificent baskets in bold colours.
African wooden carving is possibly the craft most commonly associated with African culture. Traditionally, carvings are made using wood from indigenous trees, such as umthombothi, with its appealing combination of light and dark wood.
The art of pot-making is an age-old tradition, widespread in the Zulu kingdom. The clay is hand-coiled and then smoothed, using a piece of calabash or an old spoon. Artists use river pebbles to burnish the pots and then add traditional decorations of small pieces of shaped clay.
