Article
A Critical Investigation into the Impact of
Community Mural Art
Sabine Marschall
Introduction
A tremendous increase in community mural art has been experienced in
South Africa over the past few years. As a relatively cheap form of public
art, murals are perceived to serve diverse purposes ranging from upliftment,
education, job creation, skills development and cultural expression, to the
encouragement of a sense of place and ownership. Although murals play a
vital role in South Africa's contemporary public art scene, this vibrant art
form has received surprisingly little attention from art critics, art historians
and other academics. While the need for an in-depth analysis of the
imagery of mural art will be considered elsewhere,1 this article will attempt
critically to assess — with respect to a case study of Durban, one of South
Africa's major centres of mural art - the presumed effects and benefits of
mural art on a) participating artists and b) the local community or target
audience. Before focusing on the critical assessment, the article will
provide a brief introduction to the history of the mural movement in
Durban, a chronological overview of some of the major murals painted in
the city since the early 1990s, and it will introduce the main project
leaders.2
The mural movement in Durban
In most international centres, mural art is a phenomenon that first flourished
in the late 1960s and early 1970s, usually as part of that period's broader
social upheavals and civil rights movements. These murals were initiated
by minority groups often living in desolate neighbourhoods and usually
carried a message of social protest (Barnett 1984, Barthelmeh 1982). In
Durban, however, mural art occurred only on a very small scale before the
early 1990s, mostly on the initiative of lecturers and students from the Fine
TRANSFORMATION 40 (1999) ISSN 0258-7696


 Sabine Marschall
 Arts Department of Technikon Natal. The reasons for this remarkable
 absence are too complex to be explored in depth here, but are certainly
 associated with the broader political climate at the time. The current
 community mural movement,3 which involves the participation of a diverse,
 multicultural group of muralists - academically trained artists along with
 self-taught and completely untrained participants - began only around
  1990. It should be seen in the context of the broader community arts
 movement in South Africa. Community art centres of various types have
 grown and increased in number dramatically over the past ten years in an
 attempt to provide an alternative art education programme accessible to
 ordinary people and as an attempt at reaching out into previously
 disadvantaged communities (Africus 1995, van Robbroeck 1991).
     The city's most prolific mural company is Community Mural Projects,
 founded around 1990 by the socially committed and academically trained
 artists, Terry-anne Stevenson and Use Mikula, and the more informally
 trained Durban artist Thami Jali, who initiated the idea of community
 mural art following a trip to London. Their first work in the city of Durban
- painted in 1992 - was the so-called 'Human Rights Wall' on the west-
 facing surface of the wall surrounding the former Central Prison, earmarked
 at that time for demolition. The mural, no longer extant, depicted a number
of clauses from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The wall
quickly became a landmark and when the prison was actually demolished,
the 'Human Rights Wall', as it became known, framed by two watch-
towers, was left standing as a memorial.
     In 1994, following the country's first general elections, the east-facing
side of the same wall was muralised depicting elements of South Africa's
Interim Bill of Rights. When the South African Government of National
Unity eventually developed and adopted its own Bill of Rights, the west-
facing side of the wall was painted over in 1997 to depict the major clauses
of this historic document.
    The year before the first general elections, in 1993, Lawyers for Human
Rights commissioned Community Mural Projects to paint the 'Voter
Education' mural on the western facade of the Durban Central Station to
provide a visual directory explaining the voting procedure to a largely
illiterate community. In the same year the wall enclosing Medwood
Gardens, a park in the Durban city centre, was painted with a paradisal
scene of lush vegetation, biblical allusions and hints at a well-known Zulu
mythological story.
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               A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
        Figure 1. Bat Centre, Durban, 1995 Community Mural Projects.
   A considerable number of murals were painted by Community Mural
Proj ects in 1994, the best-known and most highly visible of which is the so-.
called 'Nomkhubulwana' mural, depicting an imposing, all-embracing
figure of the Zulu goddess on a large wall in the busy Warwick Triangle
area. The following year, 1995, saw the painting of the 'Community
against Crime' mural, near the Pine Street Taxi rank and the 'Seven-headed
River Snake' mural on an adjacent wall, as well as the extensive muralised
facade of the Barrel Arts Trust (BAT) Centre in the harbour. During the
same year Community Mural Projects created a mural in Johannesburg in
conjunction with the Africus 95 Johannesburg Biennale, which became the
springboard for the subsequent national expansion of the company's
activity.4
   Besides Community Mural Projects, the current mural movement in
Durban is motivated by another project leader, Leoni Hall, who has until
recently operated from a local community arts centre called 'Studio 849' .5
Hall started co-ordinating murals in 1995 and she, too, employs diverse and
multicultural groups of artists. Her first work was the mural on Effingham
bridge off North Coast Road, with depictions of colourful plants and
insects, designed to uplift this drab industrial area. As a result of her work
in producing this mural, Hall was approached by a property management
company to paint the tall concrete pillars on the east facing side of the
Central Station, also to depict lush vegetation. Most recently she has
completed a mural at a refurbished worker's facility at Maydon Wharf with
 scenes inspired by the surrounding harbour environment.
                                         57


  Sabine Marschall
     Some of the artists who originally started out with Community Mural
 Projects have recently managed their own murals, mostly at train stations
 in Umlazi and KwaMashu townships. Particularly worth mentioning is the
 mural at Umlazi Station, co-ordinated by Stembiso Sibisi with a small
 group of other artists. The mural is comprised of several walls, some of
 considerable size, depicting realistically painted township scenes, some
 with a humorous slant, some including recognisable landmarks from the
 surrounding township environment. Everywhere in this mural people,
 often painted life size, are represented as working together on various
 activities.
    Among the various other murals in the city of Durban, the 'AIDS
 Awareness' mural along Alice Street, painted by Apt Artworks from
 Johannesburg, is worth mentioning. Most recently the mural movement
has taken a decisively commercial turn, as some local businesses have
 discovered mural art as a way of attracting customers. The city council as
well as the airport authorities have commissioned a number of murals
aimed primarily at tourists.
 'Community art' versus 'fine art'
Wall painting is a 'people's art', is the assertion underlying the titles of
both Barnett's (1984) and Cockcroft and Weber's (1977) books on
contemporary murals. Barnett (1984) claims that mural painting is the most
democratic art America has ever produced. Assessments along these lines
represent the majority voice. Murals are nearly always presented as a
popular, community-driven reaction against the elitist, exclusive, and
academic character of the' fine art' tradition sponsored by state institutions
and the official art establishment.
    In South Africa, however, the relationship between murals and so-called
'fine art' practices, as well as the relationship between community arts in
general as opposed to professional or state institution-based arts has
changed dramatically over the past few years, mostly (but not exclusively)
as a result of the country's political transformation. The 'White Paper on
Arts, Culture and Heritage' declares that 'Access to, participation in, and
enjoyment of the arts, cultural expression and the preservation of one's
heritage are basic human rights; they are not luxuries, nor are they
privileges as we have generally been led to believe' (1996:15).
    Thus, while in the past, under the apartheid regime, the community arts
movement had been closely aligned with the broader cultural opposition
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               A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
front, which, in turn, identified itself with the wider political 'struggle'
(van Robbroeck 1991:2), the relationship between 'community arts' and
'state-arts' 6 has become much more complex in the new South Africa.
Since the democratic, majority-ruled state is now (presumably) no longer
a repressive and totalitarian force, its institutions are not in opposition or
irrelevant to the needs of 'the people'. This has important consequences in
respect of the ideological perception of the art practiced in and promoted
by such instituitions as universities, galleries, schools, etc. Many official
art institutions have (successfully or unsuccessfully) attempted to revise
their policies and curricula in an effort to accommodate the needs of the
previously disadvantaged and have established community outreach
programmes, some of which include mural painting.7 Furthermore, many
community art centres enjoy close links with established art institutions
and do not perceive their art practice as being in opposition to the latter.
    As mentioned above, major shifts have taken place not only in the
political arena but also in the definition of 'art' and in the way 'fine art' is
perceived to relate to' community art'. Judging by the majority of newspaper
articles, reviews, interviews, TV broadcasts and other forms of public
response, community murals have gained a reputable status as a means of
authentic cultural self-expression in a re-defined art world.8
    However, not everybody agrees with the endlessly reiterated (and
politically correct) standard appraisal of mural art. Local art critic Jeff
Chandler in his newspaper article entitled 'Official graffity or art' (Sunday
 Tribune, January 21,1996) is one of the few who have articulated publicly
an opposition view. He denies the Durban wall paintings not only the status
of art but also the classification as 'murals'. He coins the term 'official
graffiti', 'OG', to describe these paintings, 'a type of urban art tolerated by
officials — a kind of official graffiti'. Unlike mural art, 'OG' - according
to Chandler - requires from the participating artist 'no specific skill other
than being able to hold a brush' and furthermore allows for 'untrammelled
freedom, something that is not possible with mural art which involves
intensive pre-planning, strict discipline as well as social and public
 accountability'. After a very negative critique of the BAT Centre murals,
 which has recently been supported by local art critic, Dan Cook,9 Chandler
 concludes that there are very few actual 'murals' in Durban.10
    Chandler's and Cook's criticisms reveal that the debate about community
 art and the significance of artistic standards, as well as the question about
 how to assess quality, is by no means settled even among the 'informed'
                                         59


  Sabine Marschall
 circles of the art world. What becomes evident upon closer analysis, is that
 critics like Chandler tend to focus on the community mural as a finished
 product, much like a 'fine art' gallery piece. The majority of 'praising'
 commentators, on the other hand, explicitly or implicitly acknowledge that
 the process of making the mural, with all its implications and associated
 benefits, may be more important than is the actual painting.
 Presumed effects and benefits of mural art
 Internationally, extraordinary claims have been made by a variety of
 writers about the effects and benefits of public mural art. Murals are
 presented as a catalyst, capable of initiating social or even political change
 by creating public awareness, providing a social critique, asserting a
 community's identity, fostering team spirit, and sometimes encouraging
 action.11 Barnett (1984:15) claims enthusiastically, 'murals are freeing
 ordinary people from ways of seeing that are not their own and helping
 them take control of their perceptions, which is necessary to their taking
 charge of their own lives'. In South Africa the main thrust of mural art's
 purpose and effect is perceived to be upliftment, 'empowerment', and the
 establishment of a national and community identity.
    Catherine Slessor (1995:98), writing about the 'Nomkhubulwana' mural
 in Durban, for example, asserts, 'The project aims to bring a vibrant art
 form into public places, and act as a vehicle for communal self expression
and empowerment. Besides enriching the environment, the murals develop
skills and encourage creativity in people who have generally had little or
no exposure to art'. The anonymous author of a brief article on mural art
in the magazine Parks and Grounds maintains that 'Regardless of what
they may depict, murals have the potential to transform our environment,
allowing the inhabitants to "reclaim" that environment and in doing so,
establish an identity with it' (Anonymous 1997:77). Under the heading
'reducing violence' the author even asserts that mural art gives people a
sense of purpose, which helps channel their energies into the right direction
and abstain from violence and 'counterproductive activities' (1997:78).
    The fact that such notions, persistently recurring in one form or another
in virtually every publication on mural art, are rarely based on verifiable
data and methodologically sound assessments, necessitates a critical
investigation and perhaps some qualification. Firstly, there needs to be a
distinction made between various types of murals. It can be presumed that
enthusiastic claims about 'empowerment' apply only to murals painted
                                       60


               A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Comrounitv Muni I An
with at least some degree of active involvement and participation of ihe
local community. Some murals existing in the public domain in Durban and
elsewhere clearly do not fall into this category. Even many of the murals
featured in Barnett's book are purely decorative or ornamental, such as, for
example, supergraphics, designed by an individual artist and executed by
a commercial sign painter. Oscillating between highly commercial
enterprises and truly participatory and collaborative projects exist a u ide
range of murals that cannot claim to involve the local community to an\
substantial degree. In fact, Barnett         84:37) concedes that some murals
are just imposed on the community, much like billboards.
   Nevertheless, even in respect of participatory and socially critical
murals, the question must be asked of how effective murals really are in
bringing about change, particularly sustained or long-term change. anJ
how one reliably measures a mural's effect? Barthelmeh, in his hook <-.;i
street murals, most of*them in Europe and North America, represents "lie
of the rare voices of scepticism when he contents, 'To claim thai nmiul an
effects lasting change would be an overstatement which would ignore the
effects of social conditioning. It is, after all, hard to believe thai a mui i hv i i 1
transmit lasting cultural pride or even dignity to the a-any people In uw i
desolate, marginal existence in urban ghettos, especially in the U.S. l:\en
the community-building process of jointly creating a mural seldom ha: a
lasting effect, since the concept of neighborhood or community is no
longer valid in many cities' (Barthelmeh 1982:7)
   Barthelmeh's observation could not be more poignant when we consul, r
the contemporary South African context. Given the enormous depth ar.fi
severity of the racial, economic and social divisions as a result of South
Africa's apartheid past, it must be asked whether it is not a romantic mvir
to believe that a mural can reverse or even mitigate deeply entrenched
sentiments such as racism, gradually acquired during decades of biased
education, legislation based on an ideology of white supiemaey un-
systematic indoctrination on every level of social interaction. As Ok\\ in
Enwezor recently noted, 'However hopeful one may sound in articulating
the novelty and newness of South Africa, we must constantly remit,ii
ourselves that, while nations may disappear, the ideologies which feed aiul
sustain them, and which form the foundational basis of their creation, at.-
more difficult to eradicate' (1997:21-2). It may, in fact, be argued that <hc
ubiquitous human rights murals and recurrent enthusiastic nnaees u< iv
non-conflictual 'rainbow nation' that tie in perfectly with cuncit poii;;. '
                                         61


  Sabine Marschall
  discourses in the new South Africa tend to downplay and sanitise existing
 problems and mask, rather than reflect, reality.
     A process of critical investigation and demythologising of 'community
 murals' must also take a closer look at the degree to which the local
 community was actually involved in the mural. Were community members
 consulted about the site of the mural, did they actively participate in
 determining its theme and generating the basic concept and detailed
 design? Were they given the opportunity to take part in the painting process
 and, if so, to what degree were they able to implement their own creative
 ideas?
    To complicate the problem further, it may be asked what or who 'the
 community' is in the first place, particularly when murals are located not
 in cohesive neighbourhoods with a fairly homogeneous population but in
 commercial or semi-industrial urban settings with no local resident
 population and a heterogenous crowd of passers-by. Who is included or
 excluded from participating, and who makes this decision? Can public
 mural art be considered a true medium of popular cultural self-expression,
 when ultimately all murals are controlled by the person or community
 organisation that initiated the project and who may be accountable to the
 sponsor? Such questions are essential when considering the issue of
 identity, empowerment and the creation of a community team spirit. After
all, the theoretical possibility should be taken into account that a mural may
not only be unwanted but may even debilitate a community and create
tension by, for instance, reinforcing an existing rift between conflicting
parties through the ostentatious support of one party's agenda to the
detriment of the other's.
    Barnett (1984) has developed some criteria for the assessment of public
murals, some of which are not pertinent to the South African situation, but
others could serve as valuable starting points.12 The development of
criteria according to which not only the artistic merit, but also other
objectives (such as empowerment) set out in the project proposal could be
evaluated, seems long overdue, given the fact that some mural projects
receive considerable amounts of sponsorship. The following will attempt
to initiate this process by specifically investigating two aspects, mural art's
"empowerment' of participating artists and its benefits to the local
community.
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               A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
 'Empowerment' of artists
Empowerment of artists through mural art can occur on a number of levels.
Mural painting, for example, may provide some artists with the opportunity
to improve their skills, learn new artistic techniques, expand their scope of
experience as an artist and learn about the various organisational issues that
mural painting entails, thus potentially enabling them to co-ordinate their
own project at a later stage. Many artists and project leaders emphasise that
the process of making a mural is of equal, if not greater importance, than
the end result, which is the finished painting.
    In 1997 Caroline Smart, editor of Durban Arts magazine, conducted
interviews with a number of mural artists in connection with the production
of a TV broadcast focusing on wall paintings in Durban to be aired on KZN
 Tonight. In response to the question of what they see the benefits of murals
to be, most artists focused on financial advantages, ranging from the
creation of temporary employment to the indirect returns achieved through
the attraction of tourists to the city.13 Community murals, generally funded.
by one or several sponsoring organisations or businesses, can thus be seen
as economically empowering as they provide employment and financial
remuneration to the participating artists, some of whom might otherwise
remain without sustenance. Support of the Durban city council for
Community Mural Projects has always hinged crucially on the potential for
job creation. That the objective of providing employment has - in the eyes
of the city council - been successfully met is indicated by the fact that
Terry-anne Stevenson has recently received an Award for Excellence in
acknowledgement of her services to the city in terms of job creation.
   Gainful employment for a few days can, of course, hardly count as
economic empowerment if there are no regular and frequent follow-up
opportunities. In this regard opinion is divided: interviews and informal
discussions with artists14 reveal that some artists have participated in a
number of murals, but for others there was no further employment available
in the community mural field. At best, long-term economic empowerment
can be claimed for those artists who have been successful in initiating and
co-ordinating their own mural projects, creating jobs for themselves and
others. An example is Nkosinathi Jali who, after having participated in
Community Mural Projects, began to run art projects at Umzansi Arts
Centre in Clermont (Smart 1997). The Arts Centre gave him and his
collaborators the brief to paint a mural at a school and then encouraged
them to approach the principals of other schools in the area with proposals
                                         63


  SaVisni.1 Mnrsehall
  for further murals. They were successful and painted murals at Moqele,
  Sethengele and Ntokozile High Schools.
      Other artists who started their own mural projects are Khulekani Mncube15
  and Joseph Manana, who recently co-ordinated a mural in Stanger, as well
  as Sthembiso Sibisi from Umlazi, who painted the remarkable mural at
  Umlazi Station in collaboration with a couple of artist friends. Although
  these success stories are encouraging, they nevertheless pertain to a very
  small number of artists and a fairly small total number of mural projects.
  As Thami Jali, one of the co-founders of the community mural movement
  maintains, mural art is not primarily a source of material gain for artists.
     The second most frequently mentioned benefit that artists see in mural
 painting is the exposure that the mural gives them and their work in the
 community.16 Not only do artists derive much needed appreciation and
 confidence from the positive public responses, but sometimes concrete
 spin-offs may result from involvement in the mural. In Thami Jali's
 opinion, the true benefit and potential empowerment value of community
 murals lies in the creation of a network among artists, particularly black
 artists, the fostering of a team spirit and the indirect effects that may result
 from this activity. Networking among artists is the first step by which
'artists can organise themselves and thus stand a greater chance of being
 able to access funding and other opportunities. There is evidence to suggest
 that murals in Durban have been successful in creating a network and a co-
 operative spirit among black artists, at least to a limited extent. Informal
 discussions with various artists reveal that many of them know each other
 primarily from having collaborated on a mural at some stage. Artists who
 co-ordinate murals themselves tend to invite those other artists who have
 previously participated in murals. Furthermore, a group of black artists,
 Joseph Manana, Lindelani Ndnisa, Jabulani Cyprian Mkhize, Lalelani
 Mbhele, Innocent Hlela and Assistant Mzulweni, recently had a group
 exibition of their work at Durban's foremost commercial gallery, the Natal
 Society of Arts (NSA) Gallery. Many of these artists - some of whomknew
 each other through mural painting - would hardly have been able to exhibit
 their work on their own. As Jali points out, the benefit of mural art is also
 its ability to break down barriers - barriers between black and white artists,
 but, perhaps more importantly and often ignored, barriers among black
 artists themselves.
     However, the success of murals in creating an organised community of
 artists in Durban is clearly limited. Thami Jali, who has worked in
                                         64


                A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
Johannesburg for a few months or even years at a time, reports thai, from
an artist's perspective, the local art scene differs considerably from that in
Johannesburg, particularly with respect to black artists. Artists in Durban,
according to his experience, tend to work more individualistic-ally and
there is relatively little evidence of artists organising themselves. Tiiis is
confirmed by observation and corroborated by many others, many of
whom - like Khehle Ngobese - expressed a great interest in joining an
organisation of artists, should one be founded in Durban.
   Another important area from which artists may benefit by participation
in mural painting is in the opportunity for self-expression and personal
growth. Many artists report that they tend to learn much from their
participation in a mural. Community Mural Projects, in particular, place
high emphasis on allowing artists the maximum amount of artistic freedom.
The theme of the mural is workshopped with participating artists, often
with the input from the local community and artists collaborate in creating
the initial sketches for the mural in discussion with the project co-
ordinator. Leoni Hall, on the other hand, has a somewhat more commercial,
product-oriented approach, where artists' participation in the initial design
is much more limited and participating artists subjugate some of theii
artistic freedom to a mutually developed common style that is meant to
ensure cohesiveness and a professional appearance for the mural. In
Community Mural Projects' works, the appearance of the final product is
frequently somewhat incoherent and individual hands can often tie
distinguished. On the 'Human Rights Wall', for example, some artists even
signed the section of the wall for which they were primarily responsible.n As
Stevenson expresses it in the above mentioned TV interview: 'The concept
behind Community Mural Projects is to create an opportunity for individuals,
persons some who have experience in painting and others who haven't,
who paint pictures of their hopes and dreams and just to have free
expression' (Smart 1997). Thami Jali corroborates her point when he
asserts: 'I found that people just tend to take it up and just become very free
and start doing things on their own. If ever you have to help them, 1 have
found that it would maybe be to improve the composition or give some
suggestions on colour. But basically people just start doing things that they
like to do' (Smart 1997). Based on observation and anecdotal evidence,
there is ample manifestation of people's enjoyment of the mural painting
process. This applies not only to those who participate in the actual
painting activity, but also to people from the local community and passers-
                                        65


 Sabine Marschall
 by, who stop and look, get interested and excited, comment and make
 suggestions.18 For many people, this is the first time they have ever been
 exposed to art or witnessed the making of a painting. In particular, seeing
 individuals from their own community involved in the painting process can
 have a very profound effect.
 Participation of untrained or partially trained artists
 In the spirit of true community participation, Stevenson, and to a lesser
 degree Hall, insist that the objective of facilitating personal growth and
 self-expression should be extended to a limited number of ordinary members
 of the local community who have had very little or no prior training as
 artists. In Stevenson's view, murals are a way of giving ordinary people a
 chance to participate in art, an objective that meets one of the basic
premises of the 'White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage'.19 According
 to Jali and Stevenson (Smart 1997), murals provide an excellent opportunity
to discover and develop artistic talent. Stevenson mentions the murals at
the Valley Trust Clinic in Bothas Hill, painted in 1992 by a large number
of completely untrained participants, some of whom suddenly discovered
the incredible enjoyment that they derived from painting.20 A few individuals
realised their artistic talent. For one artist, Khulekani Mncube, this discovery
fundamentally changed his life; he enrolled at ML Sultan Technikon to
study graphic design and finances his studies by painting murals in
shebeens and people's homes.21
    A significant difference between Community Mural Projects and murals
co-ordinated by Leoni Hall with respect to the employment of untrained
artists from the local community is that Hall insists that all participating
artists attend a workshop prior to painting the wall, where they are taught
drawing skills, colour theory, and are encouraged to develop a common
style. While the mural is being painted, untrained artists mostly do the work
of assistants and partially trained artists work under the close guidance of
trained artists. Most individual images are re-worked by one or several
artists and integrated into the larger context to achieve a coherent style and
professional look for the mural as a whole.
    Community Mural Projects, who place great emphasis on individual
artistic expression, usually refrain from subjecting participants to pre-
mural artistic training. Workshops are run to develop a theme and see how
individual artists' sketches fit into the larger concept, but not with the aim
of developing a common style. Even lesser trained participants are allowed
                                         66


                A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
to actually paint, under the supervision and guidance of more experienced
artists. Artists are not constantly swopped around to paint on other parts of
the mural and individually painted sections are not usually re-worked by
other artists. While Community Mural Projects' first wall paintings at the
Valley Trust appear extremely incoherent and amateurish, some would say
naive or child-like, as a result, in the later Durban examples, various
methods were devised for integrating greatly diverse parts of the murals. In
the 'Nomkhubulwana' mural, for example, the imposing figure of the Zulu
goddess, sophisticatedly foreshortened, was the work of academically
trained artists, while the smaller scenes of people revelling below, were
largely painted by untrained local participants.
      Figure 2. Nomkhubulwana mural, Durban, 1995, Community Mural
      Projects.
                                        67


    Commuiiiiy Mural Projects' rationale behind the rejection of training
 workshops is thai artists should be able to express themselves freely on the
 walls in the communities' midst, and should not be influenced by prior
 exposure to academic methods that reflect western fine art standards. This
 altitude has been strongly criticised by local art critics Jeff Chandler (1996)
and recently Dan Cook (1998) specifically in respect to the BAT Centre
 murals. It must be noted that both critics are located at Natal Technikon, an
 institution that dominated the mural scene before community driven mural
projects were established in Durban. Still today, murals co-ordinated by
 Natal Technikon are typically of a very different kind, technically more
 sophisticated, stylistically and thematically derived from European and
American models and executed by students from the Fine Arts Department.22
    While for Chandler the fact that untrained artists were allowed to
participate on the wall relegates the final product to the status of 'graffiti',
Cook's criticism highlights a more interesting point. He argues that the
decision not to provide prior training reflects the myth of the black
 African's natural uleut, 'the idea that blacks are not thinking, but merely
sensual beings' (Cook 1998) The implication, to expand on Cook's point,
 is that black Africans have an innate way of expressing themselves, the
authenticity of which would be destroyed by exposure to, or imposition of.
 Western academic training.
    The same point has been raised by South Africa's foremost art historian,
 hlizabeth Rankin, with regard to the !Xu & Khwe Cultural Project at
Schmidtsdrift (Rankin 1997). Here members of the local Bushmen
community have the opportunity to gain access to art materials and express
themselves fieely in a visual art medium without receiving any actual
anistie training. Rankin exposes the myth of the concept of non-
interventionist art making and hints at the unspoken but obvious rationale
underlying the Schmidtsdrift project, namely that training these artists
would destroy the authenticity and 'Africanness', as it were, of their
cultural expression. Marketed internationally under the common name
'Bushman art', this perceived loss of authenticity could have serious
financial implications in terms of the works' attractiveness to the
international art market.
    Com munity Mural Projects' policy of not providing preliminary training
has also been criticized by some of the participating black artists themselves.
Joseph Manana, for example, expressed concern about the overall quality
                                       68


                A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
and professional standard of murals." On the other hand, Leoni Hall's
concept of demanding from all participating artists that they attend several
days of training workshops to develop a common style has received mixed
reactions among artists as well. For example, Khehle Ngobese, who has
participated in Hall's murals at Berea Station and at a restaurant in
Umhlanga Rocks, personally finds the workshop very beneficial, even for
a partially trained artist such as himself, since it provides an opportunity to
expand one's knowledge and skills. However, he reports that he knows of
many other participants, who have expressed their dislike of attending
workshops.24
   The real issue, however, is not so much whether untrained artists should
receive prior training or not. The point to consider is the uneasy fact that
there still often exists a very unequal distribution of power, where the
decision of providing training or not ultimately rests in the hands of the
organisers. It could be argued that the empowerment value of participating
in a mural would be increased if the respective participants' own views on
the issue of training workshops were elicited, respected and implemented.
Impact of murals on target audience
Project leaders of community arts initiatives are typically motivated by a
strong desire to deconstruct the perceived elitist stance of 'fine art'. They
also prioritise the need for bringing art into the streets to reach a wider
audience and broaden the base of people who enjoy art and who participate
in its making. According to Jali, the creation of a broader awareness of art
among people who have never had much exposure to it is one of the most
important aspects of mural painting (Smart 1997). The question is, how
successful is mural art in creating such an awareness, dismantling common
notions about art's elitism, and nurturing a greater understanding of art?
Murals are often very large, located in public places and are likely to
remain there for many years. Based on these facts it can be argued that A.
mural is capable of making a more powerful statement and is seen by far
greater numbers of people than any oil painting in any art gallery. What
effect does a mural have on the people who see it? How powerful can a
mural be in influencing people's behaviour?
   Artists tend to have idealistic views about the impact of their art on the
broader community. Most artists, when asked, spontaneously assure one
that they believe in the benefits of public murals on local communities,
                                         69


 Sabine Marschall
 often without, however, being able to specify, where such benefits may
 lie.25 On the other hand, observation reveals that people often walk past
 murals without paying the slightest attention. Some murals are vandalised
 or painted over by people from the local community. In other cases murals
 become temporarily or permanently hidden behind stalls or other obstructive
 articles. This raises questions about the murals' impact on the sensibility
 and aesthetic education of ordinary passers-by, their value in uplifting the
 area and, in particular, their effectiveness in getting the intended message
 across. How do people really relate to the mural and what does it do for
 them and for their environment?
    It must be acknowledged that it is methodologically very difficult, if not
 impossible, to establish and quantify the impact of murals, or any other
 forms of public art, on people who see these works. The influence may be
 very subtle but it is nevertheless powerful; some people might sense but not
 be able to articulate certain effects that the mural had on them while others
 may be completely unconscious of such effects. The following evaluation
 of interviews conducted with a random sample of passers-by at selected
 mural sites in Durban should be understood as a tentative indication and
 certainly not 'the final word' on the impact of murals on the target
 audience.26
    The majority of people interviewed were black Africans from different
 age groups and social backgrounds; some respondents were Indian, a few
were white. All black Africans were interviewed in Zulu, their responses
taped and later translated. The results of these interviews were as follows.
    Eight people were interviewed at the 'Human Rights Wall'. With the
exception of one, who was a Canadian tourist, all respondents frequented
the area regularly, some every day and some on a weekly basis in connection
with activities associated with the adjacent fleamarket. All respondents
professed to having noticed the mural, but virtually nobody had ever
looked at it closely. The majority of interviewees (five out of eight) had
absolutely no idea what the mural depicted. Two respondents, both of
whom appeared more educated than most other people interviewed (one
being a high-school pupil, the other a student), identified the theme as
being about human rights. The Canadian tourist felt the mural was about
social justice and local people's aspirations. One Indian man explained that
he had once looked at a section of the wall in an attempt to find out what
it was about but had failed to understand its content.27
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               A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
   Virtually all respondents professed to liking the mural, although they
could not specify what they liked about it, apart from 'the colours'. One
woman remarked that although she liked the mural, she thought it would be
more appropriate indoors 'for decoration'. An elderly man answered that
he was reminded of painted advertisements. He understood the purpose of
the mural to be purely decorative to 'make the place look beautiful'. Others
responded in a similar vein, some remarking that they considered it to be
amusing or diverting. Two people thought that the mural probably has
some kind of message or a lesson to be learnedby the community but didn't
personally know what it might be.
   At the 'Nomkhubulwana' mural six people were interviewed, all of
whom were black Africans selling fruit or other goods in the area. One third
of the respondents identified the big female figure as the Nomkhubulwana,
although knowledge about the Zulu goddess appeared to be limited. Only
one woman who was selling fruit near the mural felt that she could relate
to the painting because 'it talks about black history, which is my history'.
About half of the respondents did not know what the painting depicts or
means, or even why it may have been painted. A young African vendor
commented, 'I'm told this drawing is important to be seen, even tables here
are not supposed to lean on the wall, because they might scratch the
painting, and it might not be seen. But I do not know why it was done.'
   While the figure of Nomkhubulwana did not appear to be meaningful to
most respondents, two of whom even specifically expressed their dislike,28
most respondents were able to relate to the smaller scenes painted below
the great goddess. They particularly pointed out the images of people
selling fruit, with which some personally identified.29
   Asked whether they liked the 'Nomkhubulwana' mural, half of the
respondents maintained that they did not like the painting. One woman said
she found it too busy and dense; she felt that there are too many colours, and
that the painting lacks clarity. Asked what kind of subject matter she would
have preferred, she responded: 'Something nice, like flowers.' Another
man also said that the painting looks 'too dense, one can't see what's going
on'. He maintained that he couldn't see anything beautiful in it at all and
that he would have preferred 'a vase with flowers'.
   Five people were interviewed at the 'Medwood Garden' mural. While
one respondent, a young male high school pupil, completely dismissed the
mural and rejected all art as 'stupid' and a waste of time and resources, all
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Sabine Marschall
other respondents found something positive in the painting. One man liked
the colours and the fact that the mural is near the bus stop, allowing people
to look at it while they are waiting. One woman, a mother of two, said she
liked the mural very much and her children loved it. She remarked that the
colours are 'rainbow colours' that correspond to the colours of the South
African flag. One middle-aged man felt that murals like this are important
because of the lessons they teach the community, but he didn't know what
the lesson of this work might be. Most other respondents also did not know
what the mural was about. Only one woman said the painting was about
nature and the subject matter was probably chosen because the wall
encloses a park.
   Several respondents preferred to talk about art in general rather than
relating to this particular mural. Two people commented that 'black people
are not much open to art' and don't understand art - a response that also
emerged in Caroline Smart's interviews. Two other respondents felt that art
was elitist and expensive.
   While the previous three murals represented works that have a meaningful
content, intended to be educational or instill pride in black heritage by
representing themes drawn from Zulu mythology and folk legends, the
mural at Durban Station was selected as an example of a primarily
'decorative' mural intended to accomplish nothing more profound than to
beautify its surrounding. A total of seven people were interviewed at the
Durban Station, all but one of whom had passed the murals numerous times
or were working around the station on a daily basis. Most people reported
that they liked the murals and identified them as being about nature and/or
having some asssociations with the city's lush vegetation and serving to
beautify the building and uplift the area. A car guard said he noticed that
a lot of people admire certain details about the mural, in particular the
peacock. A group of three cleaners reported that tourists sometimes take
pictures of the murals. The car guard felt, however, that the background
was unsatisfactory and agreed with a commentator from the previous day,
who thought that 'the background should be painted white or something'.
Another man said the mural is quite pleasant to look at, but not really
exciting, since there is nothing in it that really catches one's attention.
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                A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
    Figure 3. Durban Station, Durban, 1995, detail, co-ordinated by Leoni Hall.
   The AIDS mural in Alice Street turned out to be a special case. Although
some respondents admitted to not having looked closely at the mural, its
safe sex message was nevertheless clearly understood by all people
interviewed at the site. However, the point of contention here was less the
painting itself than the specific content of its message, which elicited
strong, and often opposing, opinions30 - a result that should be of great
interest to health educators.
       Figure 4. Umlazi Station. Umlazi, 1997, co-ordinated by Stembiso Sibisi.
                                          73


Sabine Marschall
    A very different picture emerged at Umlazi Station where there are
murals which exemplify a group of similar paintings, most of them located
in the townships, that could be called contextual, ie photo-realistically
painted murals that represent scenes inspired by the surrounding context.31
Seven people were interviewed at Umlazi Station and almost every one was
clearly able to relate to the mural. Many people volunteered to elaborate at
considerable length on the various paintings and what they meant to them,
often pointing out details. They had clearly taken a close look and engaged
with the paintings. Most people identified the theme as being about
'Masakhane', the South African government's recent initiative that
encourages people to work together to achieve development in their
community. The respondents clearly identified with the people represented
in the mural and most of them drew personal lessons from the painting. One
woman by the name of Freda, for example, said: 'I see people busy with
wheel barrows, showing that we have to come together. Showing that even
I should come together with other people and do something for my
community [...] You can see that woman sewing there, I can also start
sewing or go learn how to sew and come back and organise other women
showing them how it is done...' Most people responded in a similar vein.32
                         Figure 5. Umlazi Station, detail.
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                  A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
    In conclusion, it becomes clear that there are considerable differences in
 respect of the way people respond to murals. These differences seem to
 depend firstly on where the mural is located, ie who the predominant target
 audience is, and secondly and perhaps more importantly, what is being
 represented and how it is represented.
    The responses elicited at murals in the city of Durban reveal that, while
most respondents have been passing the murals regularly, very few have
 ever taken a closer look. In particular, murals with a more profound
 'message' - the 'Human Rights Wall' and the 'Nomkhubulwana' mural -
did not appear to really 'reach' people in the manner intended. At the
 'Medwood Gardens' mural, nobody picked up on the references to the Zulu
mythological story or commented on the icon of liberation in the section on
the right. The vast majority of respondents did not know what the murals
represented and they did not seem to care. Most people professed to liking
the murals, but it appears that they considered them to be merely colourful
decorations that contribute to uplifting the area.
    The' foliage' murals at Durban Station, which were painted with the sole
intention of uplifting the environment and did not attempt to communicate
a specific 'message' or educational content, were generally well received,
but evoked little excitement on the whole. The Umlazi Station murals, on
the other hand, were by far the most successful in terms of the local
community's ability to relate to the images and understand the intended
'message'.
   Based on these interviews and the visual evidence of the actual murals,
a number of observations can be made about the impact of murals on the
target community and particularly about the effectiveness of communicating
a 'message' through mural art. An important factor appears to be the way
in which this 'message' is being presented.
   Asked why people seem to have difficulties understanding some of the
mythological stories and traditional legends, Use Mikula, co-manager of
Community Mural Projects, points out that many black South Africans are
strongly westernized and have lost the knowledge of their own traditional
folk stories. It is one of Community Mural Projects' objectives to reintroduce
these stories and re-familiarise people with aspects of their own cultural
heritage (personal communication). A useful explanation is offered by
Thami Jali, who attributes the lack of understanding specifically of the
'Nomkhubulwana' mural to the Zulu goddess' representation as a modern
woman. The fact that the figure was originally 'labeled', with her name
                                          75


Sabine Marschall
spelt out in large letters, indicates that the organisers themselves seemed to
have had doubts about whether people would be able to identify the figure.
Jali raises an even more important point that may explain the public
reception of murals with historical or mythological content. He points out
that while many black South Africans may well be familiar with certain
folk stories, legends, gods and goddesses, they do not have a tradition of
visual representation of such legends. Based on this lack of a visual frame
of reference as well as a general lack of exposure to visual arts, particularly
painting, ordinary people would not necessarily make the intended
connection, when encountering a figure such as Nomkhubulwana or a Zulu
mythological story on the 'Medwood Garden' wall.
    Figure 6. Human Rights Wall, Durban 1994 and 1997, Community Mural
    Projects.
   Besides such issues of representation, a further problem appears to lie
with the actual visual language chosen for the murals. Respondents at the
'Nomkhubulwana' mural criticised the mural for being 'too busy' and
stated that 'one couldn't see what was going on'. The 'Human Rights
Wall', too, was obviously perceived to be quite confusing. In many
respects, the 'Human Rights Wall' can be placed in a 'fine art' tradition,
where individual artists freely express themselves, with their own stylistic
and compositional idiosyncracies, their personal interpretation of the
subject, which may involve taking an oblique look at the subject and
representing ideas cryptically, demanding the spectator's active engagement
with the painting, rather than bluntly illustrating a point.
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               A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
                     Figure 7. Human Rights Wall, detail.
   The success of the 'Umlazi Station' murals, on the other hand, suggests
that the target audience most strongly responds to murals that are painted
in a realistic style, unified and coherent, based on a clear and plain
composition that can be easily grasped at first sight. It must be kept in mind
that the target audience of these murals - due to the paintings' locations -
consists mostly of people who have had little or no exposure to art
education, who do not have a strong tradition of painting as part of their
own cultural background and whose exposure to visual 'art' is mostly
limited to advertisements and popular media images. People seem to feel
overtaxed by densely packed compositions containing a wealth of details
and meaningful but not easily legible relationships of elements that require
the viewer to inspect and personally interpret the painting.
   In terms of subject matter, it appears that a coherent narrative, a scene
that can be immediately recognised and that contains visual elements that
the audience can relate to personally from their own experience is most
successful. People like to be able to recognise what is familiar to them, such
as specific elements of their environment, references to the activities they
are pursuing and unspectacular scenes of ordinary life, perhaps with a
humorous slant.
   According to Jali, there is also a significant difference between murals
that Community Mural Projects has painted in urban, metropolitan areas,
such as Durban, and those in smaller towns or rural areas with regard to the
desired topic or subject matter. In rural areas, where communities are
smaller and more homogeneous, the mural's theme is usually developed in
meetings with community representatives and thus tends to be more
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Sabine Marschall
reflective of the target audience's preferences. Depictions of heroic local
leaders or aspects of local black history are, according to Jali, particularly
welcome in these settings. In the case of most Durban murals, on the other
hand, the theme (if not determined directly by the client) is generated in
workshops with the participating artists. The mural's audience is largely
anonymous, fragmented, heterogeneous, often representing a multiplicity
of different cultural backgrounds, and largely consisting of township
people who may have only little mutally shared history and sometimes
limited knowledge of their own traditional folk legends. The relationship
of mural to audience is thus a different one. This is an interesting and quite
plausible explanation, but further research needs to be done in order to
confirm this.
   What also needs to be taken into consideration at this point is the
fundamental difference between the Durban murals and social protest
murals in other countries, which are typically initiated and executed by
marginalised groups. Until very recently, virtually all community murals
in Durban were initiated by socially committed white artists or project
managers who raised funds, applied for permission, selected the artists, and
organised workshops to generate themes for the murals. Even though there
was a great emphasis on self-expression both in terms of subject matter and
style of painting, the fact cannot be ignored that these murals are not truly
community initiatives or an expression of a particular group consciousness.
This point may also explain why the 'Umlazi Station' murals are obviously
so much more successful. Co-ordinated and designed by a black artist from
Umlazi" and painted by black artists, the murals depict what the artist's
own community can effectively relate to and are painted in a style that he
knows is attractive and accessible to his community.
Conclusion
Murals are seen to provide the local community with a sense of ownership
of and respect for walls or buildings. In Durban it may be observed that
most muralised walls remain free of graffiti or other forms of defacement
often for many years after completion of the mural, even in so-called
'rough' neighbourhoods. As evidenced by the interviews discussed above,
even if the murals' intended 'messages' may not have reached people,
virtually everybody liked the murals and welcomed them as a valuable
beautification of their often visually impoverished environment. In a few
cases, there is clear evidence to suggest that local people have indeed
'claimed' the mural.34
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                A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
   On the other hand it appears that many people interviewed did not seem
to perceive the mural as 'their work' but rather as a piece of art that they
had nothing to do with and don't know much about. The fact that several
respondents—black Africans-explicitly stated that 'blacks don't understand
art' suggests that it is not necessarily enough to bring art into the streets and
passively 'expose' people to art. What is needed is an education process
that creates a basis for the appreciation of a painting, provides an
understanding of the sense and purpose of art, and sensitizes people to the
power and pleasure that art can provide. It must be taken into account that
the majority of South Africa's population have never had the most basic
introduction to art-making or art appreciation and art in this country has a
long legacy of being perceived as an elitist, expensive luxury, of little
interest to people who struggle to sustain their livelihood. Thami Jali has
cautioned that more and more murals might not be the right way to build
an awareness of art because 'you just end up decorating the city'. As an
alternative he suggests creating entire ensembles, such as parks, with
crafted benches and other art objects, that are useful at the same time. It
would be most interesting to establish how this approach, which essentially
reconnects to the African tradition of art as craft, is received by local
citizens.
   Nevertheless, some murals are obviously tremendously successful.
Given that mural art in South Africa is a strongly developing sector of
visual art practice which has on occasion been utilised to convey important
educational messages - such as creating AIDS awareness - it would be very
beneficial to conduct more research into the effectiveness of different types
of murals. The responses obtained at the 'Umlazi Station' murals suggest
that mural art can have immense potential in educating and influencing
largely illiterate masses. On the other hand, mural art should not lapse into
the position of becoming a mere educational instrument, which, of course,
can then also be abused for ideological manipulation. But even within the
art establishment in South Africa, community mural art has not been given
much serious attention, neither with regard to its imagery nor its impact. In
a country in transformation like South Africa, mural art has the potential to
make a valuable contribution to building communities.
Notes
 1. The author is currently working on this task, as well as attending to the critical
    need for systematic and proper documentation of mural art.
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Sabine Marschall
2. The author is very grateful to Terry-anne Stevenson, Use Mikula, Thami Jali,
     Leoni Hall and Lesley Pecker (as well as the participating artists mentioned in
    note 14) for crucial information obtained from them regarding the mural
    movement in Durban and Johannesburg.
3. Community murals are here defined in opposition to muralised advertisment
    and murals conceptualised and/or painted by a single artist. Community murals
    are murals painted in a collaborative effort with strong or some involvement of
    the local community.
4. Joko Tea (Unifood) has been sponsoring Community Mural Projects to paint
    murals in Pietersburg, Rustenburg, Vanderbijlpark, Bloemfontein, Umtata,
    and Kimberley.
5. 'Studio 849' was an old corrugated iron church building in North Coast Road,
    refurbished and converted into a community arts centre. Unfortunately, the arts
    centre was recently forced to vacate the building and is currently looking for
    new premises.
6. The term 'state-arts' is here used in accordance with van Robbroeck's (1991:11)
    definition: '"state arts" is practiced in and prompted by state institutions such
    as universities, galleries, museums and schools'.
7. As an example the Natal Society of Arts (NS A)'s various outreach programmes
    can be mentioned, which include painting murals with street children in
    Durban.
8. It is interesting to note that when Durban's very first public mural was painted
    by Natal Technikon and University of Natal students in 1981, newspaper
    reports apparently felt it necessary to reassure local citizens that murals are a
    reputable form of art in Europe (Anonymous, 'Durban's coat of many colours',
    Daily New Tonight, April 16, 1982).
9. 'The Bat Centre offers a perfect example of Official Graffiti. It eschews
    decorative harmony, defies any attempt at either narrative or conceptual
    cohesion and is successful in negating the architectural integrity of the
    building' (Chandler 1996). Dan Cook recently called the BAT Centre murals
    'hideous' in an article in KZN Newsart (Cook 1998).
10. The only work he specifically mentions to be a 'mural' is the AIDS mural on
    Alice Street, painted by Apt Artworks from Johannesburg.
11. 'The significance of the murals lies first of all in what they have done for the
    people of the neighborhoods, union locals, schools, and social-service centers
    where they have been painted. But their importance lies also in the far-reaching
    example they and their communities have set for the rest of us. The murals are
    in fact mirrors that show us what we are, what we could be, and how. They have
    indicted the racism, sexism, and economic exploitation of our society and
    helped bring people together to overcome them. Furthermore, the murals have
    begun to reconnect art, ordinary work, and community' (Barnett 1984:17).
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                 A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
12. Barnett (1984:388ff) suggests a method of evaluation of the murals on four
    different levels: 1) purpose, 2) process, 3) form, and 4) quality. For example,
    under purpose he poses a number of questions, such as: 'Does the work serve
    and strengthen the community? Does it [...] help young people gain pride in
    their heritage and identify with their community? Does a street mural speak to
    the urgent public concerns of local people...? Does it derive from where people
    are and not try to impose ideas? Or beginning from local values and interests,
    does it challenge its viewers and not merely reproduce their ideas? Does it
    deepen residents' understanding, generate discussion, even controversy that is
    necessary to develop informed opinion? Does the mural debunk stereotypes?
    Does it help people to examine their assumptions...? Does it bring people
    together with common humane interests rather than set the races, the sexes,
    workers, and professionals against each other? Does it suggest solutions and
    not only arouse anger? In short, does the painting help people change their lives
    individually and collectively?' Similar questions are developed for the other
    three categories of evaluation. They mostly revolve around the articulation of
    the subject matter, ie whether the 'message' is conveyed clearly and effectively.
    However, these questions are not all applicable to South African murals. A
    similar, but locally more appropriate catalogue of questions should be developed
    for South African murals.
13. The latter point was made by Bongani Ntuli: 'Ah, it is very good to paint
    because it creates jobs and the people who are touring, they can see that our city
    of Durban is beautiful and it can attract them so that it can put more money in
    the city' (Smart 1997).
14. The following artists were interviewed: Mandla Blose, Thami Jali, Joseph
    Manana, Lucien Mathurine, Lalelani Mbhele, Khele Ngobese, ThembaNkosi,
    Avi Sooful and Thobani Sixtus.
15. Use Mikula (IM), co-manager of Community Mural Projects responds to the
    question of whether arists working for Community Mural Projects get paid:
    'Yes. Employment for artists has always been one of the most important things
    for our project and we've actually encouraged artists to also co-ordinate their
    own projects because we wanted this project to filter out and have people
    actually go out and create their own jobs'.
    Caroline Smart (CS): 'And has it done that?'
    IM: 'It has. Particularly, well Khulekani who worked with us on the first
    project at the Valley Trust. Subsequent to that, he went out to the hills and
    started painting murals in shebeens and took his portfolio round with him and
    actually got further on with that'.
     'Various artists, way back from the early days, have maintained a living or been
     able to kind of maintain a living through creating murals and getting jobs like
     that'(Smart 1997).
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Sabine Marschall
16. For example, Lucien Mathurine reports that he received a commission to paint
    a mural in a private home, because somebody noticed him painting the mural
    at Effingham bridge and then passed the word on.
17. Community Mural Projects has in the meantime taken a decision, not to allow
    artists to sign individual sections in order to emphasise the collaborative nature
    of the project.
18. Terry-anne Stevenson has recorded a large number of responses from passers-
    by who expressed their delight about the wall paintings.
19. See page 91.
20. 'And what was so amazing from this thing, there was an older lady that had
    never painted before and she found herself a wonderful expression - this ability
    to convey a message through painting. Likewise Khulekani [Mncube] who
    painted the dentist, he then discovered that he had this talent' (Stevenson in
    Smart 1997). Similarly, Nkosinathi Jali (NJ), talks about the benefit of painting
    murals in schools: '... it's a learning project, you know, so it helps mostly the
    students who have never had a chance to buy some paints and who don't
    understand how to mix colours so that in the mural project that's where they get
    their first experience with colours'. Caroline Smart: 'And do they enjoy it?' NJ:
    'Very well. Sometimes we find it hard to leave the wall, we paint until dusk'
    (Smart 1997).
21. Khulekani Mncube (KM): 'Actually, I didn't even know I was drawing myself
    here. It happened automatically, I don't know!'
    Caroline Smart (CS): 'Now have you ever painted before?'
    KM: 'Actually this was my first time to paint a mural.'
    CS: 'And you discovered that you had some talent?'
    KM: 'I realised that I can paint'
    CS: 'What are you doing now?'
    KM: 'Now I am at ML Sultan Technikon doing graphic design.'
    CS: 'What do you like doing best - drawing?'
    KM: 'Yes, I like painting and drawing, too, yes.'
    CS: 'How much have you done?'
    KM: 'Actually, a lot - even if I can show you. I have done a lot.'
    CS: 'Where are they?'
    KM: 'Some of them are at home, and the murals even in shebeens when all that
    you can find murals there.'
    CS: 'So have you started doing your own work now, working with the project.
    Have you started doing your own stuff?'
    KM: 'Yes'
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                 A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
    CS: 'What do you do, you just go to people and say 'I want to paint your wall'?'
    KM: 'Sometimes people come to me.'
    CS: 'Can you tell me about that.'
    KM: 'Yes. I do murals. I go to people and ask for work but sometimes those
    who know me, they just contact me and I work for them.'
    CS: 'Are people happy with the idea, do they think it's a good idea?'
    KM: 'I don't think so. Mostly our community, the blacks, they don't really
    understand, ja, but there are those who can understand. But it's not easy.'
    CS: 'Do people pay for your work?'
    KM: 'Yes.'
    CS: 'So it has been a good project in giving you a job?'
    KM: 'Yes, that's how I get money for transport and to go to school.' (Smart
    1997).
22. Examples are the mural on the south-facing wall of the Snake Park building,
    depicting a large scale lizard. Others are located on the Natal Technikon
    campus.
23. He reports having raised this point with Community Mural Projects and
    suggested providing some basic training before painting the wall. One of his
    key arguments is that the 'message' of the mural would become more clearly
    understood, if the overall quality was more professional and the mural was
    more attractive.
24. For some individuals the reason could be of a rather mundane, practical nature
    in the sense that they do not like to attend a workshop without being paid. Leoni
    Hall does assist artists with money for transport, though.
25. An exception is Solomon Mkhize, interviewed in the above mentioned TV
    broadcast about the 'Seven-headed River Snake' mural, who sees the importance
    of painting traditional folk legends as a way of teaching them to the younger
    generation (Smart 1997).
26. The author is currently investi ,dting whether similar impact studies have been
    done in other countries, particularly the United States, one of the world's
    largest centres of mural art, but it must be remembered that the situation of the
    mural movement in South Africa as well as the specific characteristics of the
    target audience are unique and not easily comparable to other countries.
27. Q: But you never took your time to understand?
    A: I tried to look at one part trying to understand, standing there.
    Q: But did you come to a point where you understood?
    A: I never understood, I just looked at it wondering what is this, but it's very
    nice.
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Sabine Marschall
28. Q: When you look at that big mama, what do you think about her?
    A: Ag! That thing, I see her like a devil, she looks like she is dominating
    everything here. It doesn't look like a very nice thing. She looks like an evil
    spirit dominating everything.
    Q: Do you like the drawing?
    A: Other things I quite like, but I do not want that woman on top.
29. A young African woman, selling fruit said the painting is important because it
    'speaks about business and hand works which you can do yourself. The
    woman from the previous note responded to the question of what the mural
    depicts, 'I usually look at the people selling fruits and point at them saying
    that's me, and next to me is my friend selling.'
30. The responses generally revealed a great level of ignorance about the disease
    and its transmission. Many respondents did not believe that AIDS exists or that
    it is fatal. One rather angry respondent suggested the mural should be replaced
    with one that would inform people about sangomas who can cure AIDS or mix
    medicines that prevent the disease.
31. Other murals that belong in this category are the paintings at Kwa Mnyandu
    Station in Umlazi, painted by Community Mural Projects in 1993 and the
    murals at Kwa Mashu and Thembalihle Station, the latter containing imagery
    with a more traditional slant. Khehla Ngobese explains that at Thembalihle the
    very conservative community of workers from the nearby hostels feels strongly
    attracted to this type of imagery. Most recently, the mural at Maydon Wharf
    (co-ordinated by Leoni Hall), draws on images from the surrounding harbour
    context and includes actual portraits of local workers.
32. For example, the first respondent said 'To me this painting says people should
    do their best and to excel in the work they are doing. Just as you see in the
    drawing where they are building houses, they show that we should build to
    improve our place. [...] There is also that drawing of a teacher with the students,
    it means we should take our children to school, even if you can't manage
    financially, but you should try, because that's the child's future.' The respondent
    continues in this vein. The second person similarly related individual paintings
    to local peoples' experience and then talked about the importance of the mural
    in general: 'To me it is very important, it has a lot it tells me, and I think it does
    the same to people that see it. It tells me there is no work that one should look
    down upon, and also not to wait till you go to whites to find work, but to be able
    to begin on your own is very important.' Another respondent said:' [the mural]
    is about business, just like this programme, masakhane, telling us more about
    how to uplift trade in our societies. Just as you see the people with their tables
    selling. It also shows ways of making life easy as you see the trains helping with
    easy transportation.' Another person also went into great detail, speaking
    about individual scenes and the lesson to be learnt from them, for example,
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                A Critical Investigation into the Impact of Community Mural Art
    saying 'Then I also see people trading, they also show me that in these tough
    times its important for one to have something to do to earn some money to
    support his/her family.'
33. Printmaker Malcom Christian was involved in assisting project leader Stembiso
    Sibisi in setting up a proposal, accessing funding, etc, but the actual co-
    ordination on site, as well as all the sketches were done by Sibisi.
34. For example, the man repairing shoes in front of the 'Community against
    Crime' mural obviously takes advantage of the painting's visual appeal to
    attract customers and at the 'Nomkhubulwana' mural, local women traders
    were—until recently - selling chicken in front of the painted wall, appropriating
    Community Mural Projects' well-known painted logo of 'two chicken on a
    mission' (Stevenson) for their own advertisement. At the workers' facility at
    Maydon Wharf, observation and anecdotal evidence suggests that the
    incorporated portraits of local workers facilitate a high level of identification
    with the mural among the portrayed workers themselves as well as their
    colleagues. Workers often point at their painted colleagues on the wall and
    laugh; one of the portrayed workers regularly 'greets' his painted counterface
    when passing by.
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Sabine Marschall
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