|
A news crew was filming at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg onMay 22 when an unidentified man ran up and defaced thecontroversial portrait of South African President Jacob Zuma. (eNews/Associated Press) A handwritten sign that said "whites hate blacks" and was carriedby one of more than 2,000 protesters in Johannesburg on Tuesdayshows that a fierce national debate over a painting depicting thepresident's genitals is about more than art and the constitution. Mapule Kgomo, a black woman from the outskirts of Johannesburg whowrote the sign, said she drew her conclusion about fellow SouthAfricans who are white after seeing the painting, titled The Spear , that a white South African had made of President Jacob Zuma, whois black. "I hate whites passionately after that painting," she added. "I'mso hurt." On Tuesday, a spokesman for the Goodman Gallery said it has agreedto remove images of the painting from its website. The paintingitself had already been removed from the gallery after it was defaced last week . But the passionate feelings about the painting don't seem ready tosubside. If anything, the protests and comment have been amplifiedbecause much of it is taking place on social network sites. Complex debate in South Africa The debate is part of an ongoing discussion in this young democracyabout whether white South Africans are insensitive and to whatextent black South Africans still feel they are treated as secondclass citizens, even though the country is governed by Zuma'sAfrican National Congress. The ANC led the fight against apartheidbefore becoming a political party. Zuma has asked the High Court to rule that his constitutional rightto dignity was violated when the gallery put the painting ondisplay earlier this month. The gallery and artist Brett Murrayargue they are defending the constitutional right to freedom ofexpression. "I am not a racist," Murray said in an affidavit filed in the courtcase, which is still under way. "I do not produce art with anintention to hurt, humiliate or insult." Liza Essers, owner of the Goodman Gallery, says she regrets "thedivisiveness that the exhibition has caused. "It was never my intention to cause hurt to any person," Esserssaid in a statement last week. The issue is not black and white. Black artists filed affidavits supporting Murray. And a white manand a black man entered the gallery to deface the painting, sayingthey were acting independently of each other and wanted to defendZuma. The two were arrested and face trespassing charges. Artistic critique of recent leaders Murray said in his court affidavit that the intention of his Zumapainting, part of a show that criticized the ANC, was to express asense of betrayal that some post-apartheid leaders were greedy orcorrupt. He also said that details of Zuma's sex life had becomepart of the public debate in South Africa. Zuma, 70, has been married six times he currently has fourwives, as his Zulu culture allows. He has 21 children, andacknowledged in 2010 that he fathered a child that year with awoman who was not among his wives. Tuesday's protest wound about a kilometre from a usually quiet parkin an upscale Johannesburg neighbourhood to a corner just south ofthe gallery. Along the way, black women in maid's aprons and blackmen in gardener's overalls stood on the balconies of homes in thelargely white residential neighborhood to cheer on the marchers. The gallery had replaced pieces from Murray's show in its windowswith signs reading: "The Goodman Gallery respects your right toprotest." ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu addressed the crowd outside thegallery, saying, "We refuse to be painted as inferior citizens ofthis country." South African Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande, a Zuma ally,compared the case to a hate speech suit a group that lobbies forwhite South Africans brought against an ANC leader who had insistedon continuing to sing a song from the apartheid era that calls forkilling whites. The judge in that case banned the song. Nzimande said some have asked why Zuma supporters went to court, asthe white group did, instead of trying to speak to the artist andthe gallery to find a solution. "You can't have a dialogue with a person who is actually insultingyou," Nzimande said. Kgomo, the protester, said that despite the division vividly ondisplay Tuesday, a resolution was possible. "If they apologize to our president, then it will be enough forus," she said. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Wrist Watch Mobile Phones , Wireless USB Phone Charger Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Portable USB Phone Charger.
Related Articles -
China Wrist Watch Mobile Phones, Wireless USB Phone Charger Manufacturer,
|
