Dan RAKGOATHE
"Litany", 1972 - original linocut 14/50 - 30.5x30.5 cm
PELMAMA Register AAMC DRAK 72/02
Work acquired in 1990 by
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg
as part of the original PELMAMA Permanent Art Collection
Provenance:
The Haenggi Foundation Inc., Johannesburg
Gallery 21, Johannesburg
Work exhibited:
Gallery 21, Johannesburg - Dan Rakgoathe Retrospective Exhibition 1968-1989 ("Behold the mystic sign") (90 works) - 1989
Work listed:
Gallery 21, Johannesburg - Dan Rakgoathe Retrospective Exhibition 1989, cat. 47
Work illustrated:
Fort Hare Papers, Vol. 7, No. 2, Oct. 1980 - p. 121, Pl. 9
Legend (per Fort Hare Papers):
"Litany, as the name indicates, deals with a prayer of supplication. Prayer is one of the basic and instinctive responses in the human being facing a crisis in life, and over which, he is aware, he has no control. We have two figures, the reciters of the prayer, in a kneeling position, petitioning the heavens, the forces of the universe. The smaller figure in the back is almost in repose and appears resigned, whereas the front figure is in a state of emotional upset, waving its arms, shouting its supplications at the heavens. These two figures become symbolic of the Apollonian and Dionysian types of responses that we meet in the human being in times of crisis. Again the scene takes place against the background of a vibrating, pulsing sun, almost optical in its appearance."
This page last updated 5th January, 2015