African Figures 1950

Curator: Immediately striking is the canvas's energetic rhythm, achieved through a dynamic interplay of line and vibrant color. Editor: This is Walter Battiss’s "African Figures", painted around 1950 using acrylics on canvas. Battiss was deeply interested in indigenous cultures, and that's reflected here. It evokes a sense of communal activity. Curator: Note the planar construction. Figures and flora meld, creating a flattening of space characteristic of Fauvist strategies. How do you perceive the treatment of form? The boundaries almost dissolving... Editor: The work reflects post-war South Africa and, I think, escapism. There was burgeoning awareness internationally about the continent coupled with oppressive domestic policies, this picture almost creates an idealized, flattened vision of the homeland, with those rhythmic brushstrokes speaking of vitality and life. Curator: The color relationships underscore that ideal. The high-keyed turquoise background emphasizes the oranges and yellows of the flora, juxtaposed with those muted figure forms to really set up an intricate surface tension and reinforce the spatial ambiguities. Editor: It's important to consider how Battiss positioned himself within South African art during that period. He wanted to champion a more inclusive artistic representation and a kind of romantic vision of native life in opposition to oppressive, deterministic perspectives. Curator: Yes, considering this, those flat planes read like both decoration and also depth, that shallow space. In regard to the structural aspect, how well the shapes of the figures resonate with the placement of the painted foliage is stunning, everything sits just so, nothing jars. Editor: And though it reflects certain trends and concerns, I believe there’s also genuine fascination, a respect present for the subjects, even as he is adopting these flattening techniques from European modernism. I admire Battiss for engaging on this path in such divisive times. Curator: Thinking through his arrangement of form, color and stroke, there is undeniable aesthetic value independent of what his personal and cultural values are; that makes the image quite enduring. Editor: Precisely. A stimulating dialogue between abstraction and figuration, and a reflection of complex realities. Thank you for joining me on this exploration.