Ndebele: The Art of an African Tribe [Paperback]

Margaret Courtney-Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2002

For generations, the women of the Ndebele of southern Afrcia have produced an art of remarkable richness and vitality. In their ceremonial beadwork and in large murals that cover the exterior walls of their mud dwellings, these women have created designs that are at once ancient and modern in their simplicity, bright colours and abstract patterns.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This handsome photographic essay on the decorative arts of Ndebele women displays their ceremonial beadwork and the remarkable geometric designs they paint on their huts, outbuildings, walls, gateways, windows and interiors. Driven from their homes by the SouthAfrican government, several hundred thousand Ndebele people have been forced to resettle in a crowded, unproductive "homeland," KwaNdebele, in northeastern Transvaal where, despite all that has been done to them, the talented women of the tribe continue to practice their art with vigor, flair and skill, now using acrylic paints, plastic cloths and other high-tech materials instead of the traditional earths, skins and organic dyes. Some of the photos show structures that were subsequently destroyed.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The bold, colorful, geometric painted walls of the Ndebele of South Africa are a women's art through which wives, mothers, and daughters exhibit their creativity, identity, and skill. Women paint their homesteads in patterns and designs composed completely freehand. Their personal dress and adornment reiterate this Ndebele aesthetic, all of which photojournalist Courtney-Clarke captures so remarkably. Her photographs, introduced by a brief essay, cover homesteads, techniques, motifs, interiors, etc. Each artist is identified; each homestead located. Recent photographs in the KwaNdebele (government-designated homeland) reveal murals that perpetuate in form and spirit a traditional art form. Nothing in South Africa today is devoid of political overtonesnot even a book such as this one which stands as poignant witness to an art that thrives in spite of tremendous dislocations, forced removals, and hardship. Highly recommended. Janet L. Stanley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500283877
• ISBN-13: 978-0500283875
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 11.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,449,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Travel > Africa > Zimbabwe

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An opus which sets a glorious visual feast before us., December 12, 1999

By 

zugzwang - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ndebele (Hardcover)

I saw this book at the home of an artist friend once. These portraits of East African women and their exquisitely painted homes are rare gems indeed. What I also appreciate about this work is that photographer Margaret Courtney-Clarke lavishes such attention and respect to the other cultural aspects of these beautiful people that she could be labeled a sociologist as well.

The publisher, Rizzoli, sows an appropriately generous amount of quality into this book; even the paper is noticeably superior.

My only question is, when will this magnificent work be made available again? I've had it on order at several stores for well over a year now!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Use for teaching math also, November 1, 2008

By 

Kathy M. Mcwilliams "Kathy Mc" (Winter Haven, Fl. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ndebele: The Art of an African Tribe (Paperback)

I love this book. The pictures are beautiful and the text is very interesting. I is also great to tie in to teaching geometry for flips, slids, turns, etc. My class made their own art for our geometry unit. It filled a wall, they loved it, and learned more then they would have otherwise.

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT colors and GREAT photography !, September 25, 2011

By 

boris donescu - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ndebele (Hardcover)

This thick coffee table sized hardback book is worth every penny ! It has great photographs of the VERY colorful houses that the tribe in South Africa decorates with their traditional and creative geometric motifs and patterns. I would love to travel there just to see their homes in person and to converse with the artists, most of whom are women and most of whom do not consider themselves to be artists.