Abstract
M.Tech.
In this tenth year of democracy, South Africans celebrate a range of achievements marking their transition from apartheid to freedom. Our change in identity is confirmed by our accomplishments. We can boast of, amongst other transformations, the most advanced constitution in the world, a robust economy, a position of leadership in the affairs of Africa, and very recently, the successful bid to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup. However, we are continually reminded of transformations that still need to be made. Poverty alleviation, job creation and crime prevention are amongst the most important tasks still to be tackled. Improving the competitiveness of our manufacturing industries (whilst adding value to our abundant natural resources) is often cited as one of the more important means to achieve these goals. This project is born out of a conviction that our cultural heritage and unique cultural mix gives us the aesthetic wherewithal to create products that have a competitive edge because they differentiate
themselves as uniquely African in style. In the field of product design there are almost no mass-manufactured products that seek to suggest a new African identity. This can be partly accounted for by the demands of the market and the economic pressures that accompany manufacturing in the capitalist mode (economies of scale, scientific management, etc.) and mainly by the lack of successful examples. By contrast, in those arenas of machine manufacturing that do not rely on large economies of scale,
called either high design (Dormer1990:116-141) or batch production, the possibility of aesthetic innovation is both economically viable and is an expectation of the market. This is evidenced, for example, by the success of the products of Carrol Boyes (fig. 1) with their distinct African identity. However, products of this kind present what is as yet an underdeveloped vocabulary which only scratches the surface of stylistic innovation inspired by traditional African art or by the broader issues of identity in contemporary Africa.