South Africa’s Bill of Rights

Print

Purdue University Galleries

Name/Title

South Africa’s Bill of Rights

Entry/Object ID

2001.11.28

Type of Print

Linocut

Artwork Details

Medium

Paper

Made/Created

Artist

Norman Kaplan

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Tertiary Object Term

Linocut

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Print, Relief

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Graphic Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Dimension Description

22 x 28

Height

22-1/2 in

Width

14-13/16 in

Exhibition

Images of Human Rights (2003)

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

"SOUTH AFRICA’S BILL OF RIGHTS FRONTISPIECE Norman Kaplan Kimberley/Northern Cape linocut Norman Kaplan’s print is the winning entry of a nationwide competition for the portfolio’s frontispiece. His uplifting and dynamic image depicts a cheerful crowd marching united under a giant South African flag towards a common goal with optimism and determination. The rich diversity that characterizes our society is indicated in the details of the clothes, head dresses and facial features, representing a variety of different cultures social classes and ages. The mother-and-child group in the foreground symbolizes the new generation, which can now hope for a bright future, suggested by the light that illuminates the people’s faces from the front. At the mother’s side, the baby’s father completes the image of the nuclear family. He is holding a sheaf of wheat, an obvious hint at bread as a staple of basic nutrition. Another interpretation, however, offers a tempting reference to South Africa’s most recent past: in Christian iconography the sheaf of wheat is a symbol of redemption and deliverance…"