Renowned Ndebele artist and international icon Esther Mahlangu was on Monday hailed as a visionary individual who “broke down barriers in her own way” during a graduation ceremony held at the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
Johannesburg, South Africa (10 April 2018) – Dr Esther Mahlangu (born 11 November 1935) is a South African artist from the Ndebele nation. She is known for her bold large-scale contemporary paintings that reference her Ndebele heritage.
UJ conferred an honorary doctorate on Mahlangu, recognising her “legacy as a cultural entrepreneur who has skillfully negotiated local and global worlds and played a major role as an educator”.
Speaking of the honour, Mahlangu had earlier told The Star said she was humbled by the recognition.
“Being recognised at home is such a blessing. It shows that my people still see the great work that I do,” she said.
Mahlangu first gained international attention in 1989 at a European art exposition titled Magiciens de la terre (Magicians of the World). Later in 1991, she was commissioned by BMW to create an art car, as other BMW Art Car creators had done before (including Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Frank Stella). The car, a BMW 525i, was the first “African Art Car” and was painted with typical motifs of the Ndebele tribe.
She was the first non-Western person and female to design one of these art cars.
The car was later exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC in 1994. Between 1980 and 1991 she was a resident at the Botshabelo open-air museum, which presents Ndebele culture to visitors.
Her designs were also reproduced in 1997 on the tails of British Airways planes and more recently the same technique was used by the artist to paint on the new Fiat 500 on the occasion of the exhibition “Why Africa?”.
Mahlangu is one of the African artists whose art is often exhibited internationally. Her works are in major private collections including that of The Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) of Jean Pigozzi and in many Western museums. Despite being an internationally recognized artist, Esther Mahalangu lives in her village in close contact with her culture.
The Executive Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design, and Architecture at UJ, says that he the recognition was to appreciate her contribution to arts and breaking barriers
“With this honorary doctorate, we recognize Esther Mahlangu for her legacy as a cultural entrepreneur, skilfully negotiating local and global worlds, and as an educator. Indeed, as a visionary individual, she traverses what to others are insurmountable political barriers,” says Professor Federico Freschi”
Here’s some photos from the honorary evening:
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