Democracy X - Marking the Present, Re-presenting the Past (Hardcover)

This title is a catalogue and a reader. It is the companion to the exhibition 'Democracy X: Marking the Present; Re-presenting the past' held in the Iziko Castle Galleries in Cape Town in 2004, as part of the official activities to mark ten years of democracy in South Africa. The exhibition was designed to create awareness of, and appreciation for, the diversity of cultures in South Africa by drawing attention to the importance of all the cultures of South Africa. Two interrelated purposes shape this text. The first is to present a written and visual record of the exhibition. It functions as a catalogue in which the exhibition is recorded as accurately and as comprehensively as possible. The second is to explore a range of historical, cultural and political matters, related to the exhibition but not strictly confined to it. Its other role, then, is that of a reader providing a resource to stimulate and support historical, cultural and political debate. There are reasons for combining these two roles in one publication. 'Democracy X' is not a conventional art or cultural exhibition. It was conceived to narrate the cultural history of South Africa in broad sweeps, which departs from traditional representations of the past that rely on documentary evidence or from art exhibitions, in which works are presented in isolation from their historical contexts. It draws on iconic and everyday cultural objects from different historical eras in South Africa. The objects serve both as cultural things in themselves and as symbolic representations of the cultures and times to which they belong. They are therefore entry points to cultures and histories that suggest and even tell stories, conjure past societies and highlight complex relations between cultures. The exhibition was designed to create awareness and appreciation for the diversity of cultures in South Africa by drawing attention to the importance of all the cultures of South Africa. It is therefore an attempt to facilitate cultural knowledge, pride in and respect for all South African cultures and for their roles in the past and now. This publication, which takes the exhibition as a starting point for wide-ranging reflections, seeks to disseminate the aims and intentions of the exhibition much wider than the walls of any exhibition space permits.The exhibition was conceived to trace the course of South Africa's long and intricate path to democracy, from the earliest traces of humanity to the present. A central premise is that contemporary democracy has been nourished by some elements from the range of cultures and histories that have collided and cross-fertilised in the course of this journey. Coinciding with the celebration of a decade of democracy, it is not restricted to this moment. It depicts a dynamic past which speaks to the present as it dynamically unfolds into the future on what here and everywhere are the ever-fragile foundations of democracy.

General

Imprint:	Unisa Press
Country of origin:	South Africa
Series:	Imagined South Africa, 7
Release date:	June 2012
First published:	July 2005
Editors:	Andries Oliphant • Peter Delius • Lalou Meltzer
Dimensions:	210 x 148 x 30mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	330
ISBN-13:	978-1-86888-325-7
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > General Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Area / regional studies > General
LSN:	1-86888-325-6
Barcode:	9781868883257

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