Object Details
Maker
David Koloane, (1938-2019), South Africa
Label Text
"My work is characterized by two disparate communities. The one is the commuter who travels from the township to the city. The other belongs to the canine community of stray dogs which roam the townships. . . . Their [dogs] existence is almost a minute to minute feat of survival. . . . Stray dogs also symbolize the way the apartheid system made people live in subhuman conditions . . . and represents the violence that is endemic in the townships. The dogs are agents of violence unleashed on communities" (David Koloane in Sue Williamson and Ashraf Jamal. 1996. Art in South Africa: The Future Present. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers, p. 56).
Description
Acrylic on canvas painting of a purple dog with bared fangs standing in a pink-orange-purple city scape, with high rise buildings in the background and a white moon in the indigo sky.
Provenance
David Koloane (1938-2019), Johannesburg, South Africa; sold through Art First, London, UK,to the National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., 1996.
Exhibition History
Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue - From the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, November 7, 2014-January 24, 2016
Artful Animals, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009-July 25, 2010
Claiming Art / Reclaiming Space: Post Apartheid Art from South Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 21-September 26, 1999
Published References
Kreamer, Christine Mullen and Adrienne L. Childs (eds). 2014. Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 144, pl. 62.
Content Statement
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
Image Requests
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Date
1995
Object number
96-31-1
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© 1995 David Koloane
Type
Painting
Medium
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions
H x W: 109.3 x 104 cm (43 1/16 x 40 15/16 in.)
Geography
South Africa
See more items in
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source
National Museum of African Art
Topic
dog
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmafa_96-31-1