NSC Visual Arts Visual Analysis and Interpretation: Candidates must debate the issue

Question

Candidates must debate the issues of colonial and apartheid monuments being removed from our public spaces by considering the following:

### The necessity of monuments in our society 
A monument commemorates a person or event, becoming important to a social group as part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or as an example of historic architecture. The term 'monument' is often applied to buildings or structures that are considered examples of important architectural and/or cultural heritage.

### Reasons why people remove or deface monuments
Some monuments/buildings are symbols of either Colonial or Apartheid figures/events. These monuments are not a happy reminder of the past. People have decided to deface them for their viewpoint on Apartheid and Colonialism. The statue of Cecil John Rhodes is mentioned as an example; it is not a national monument and therefore not protected by the Heritage Act of 1999, which means that UCT can remove the statue. Many statues in South Africa (Rhodes) are symbolic of imperialism and a catalyst to the ongoing process of decolonisation.

### The functions of a monument
A monument commemorates a person or event, becoming important to a social group as part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage. As an example of historic architecture, the Rhodes Memorial on Devil's Peak in Cape Town is a memorial to Sir Herbert Baker who designed the Union Building in Pretoria. It is integral to the societal memory of the sub-continent and its governmental supremacy.

### Meaning of the monuments changing over time
Early monuments in South Africa were erected during Apartheid and Colonial times. These are not reflective of the South African post democratic society. New monuments have been erected since then e.g. Freedom Park, Constitutional Court etc. which are more relevant and symbolic of our country. Their meaning for monuments has changed over time due to changes in language, ethics, site, ethnic groups etc. Free education may be a talking point.

### Erection of monuments in public places
Candidates own interpretation. It is important for new buildings/monuments to be erected in public spaces as this is a healing process as well as educating people.

### The creation of new monuments as a healing process
Candidates own interpretation. Many monuments are erected to commemorate a person or an event which is part of the countries heritage. Many South African buildings and monuments have been erected by different groups with various ideologies. Examples include the Language Monument (Paarl), the Women's Monument (Bloemfontein), the Voortrekker Monument (Pretoria), the Samora Machel Monument (Mbuzini), the Heroes' Monument (Durban) and Freedom Park (Pretoria) amongst others.

The necessity of monuments in our society

Reasons why people remove or deface monuments

The functions of a monument

Meaning of the monuments changing over time

Erection of monuments in public places

The creation of new monuments as a healing process

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