Press Articles

Focus Newsletter, UNISA, June 2011

The portrait of Miriam Makeba that was unveiled on 5 May by Professor Rita Mare, Vice Principle: Academic and Research, has added even more flare to the Dr Miriam Makeba Concert Hall. The portrait is a gift from the College of Human Sciences to the university.

Artist Amita Makan said the monochromatic oil portrait of Miriam Makeba, entitled Miriam Makeba, 1965, was based on a photograph of her performing in the United States in 1965. She was 33 years old. “The year was to be a momentous year for Makeba as she became the first African to receive a Grammy Award. She had been catapulted to the world stage after six years of exile from South Africa,” related Makan.

“This painting is the first in a series of six works called Recollections of Miriam Makeba, which I started in December 2009. Earlier that year, in September, my dear mother had succumbed to a long illness that had spanned twelve years. I was grieving my loss when I was started reading Miriam Makeba’s biography. Precious photographs of her, together with the story of her life narrated in first person, inspired me to paint and to embroider Miriam Makeba’s story. I was subconsciously moving from a personal series of my own mother to a series about ‘Mama Afrika’- the Mother of the African continent”.

Professor Rita Mare said that it was a great privilege and a special moment for her to unveil the portrait. “It is a manifestation of the meaning of being the African university… Unisa will continue to honour those who have contributed positively to South Africa. This portrait links us even more with Miriam Makeba as we already have this hall named after her.

According to the artist, the style of Miriam Makeba, 1965 is photorealist. “, The simple palette of black, white, brown with a soupcon of red, speaks to the photograph’s documentary appeal. The softened sepia tones and blurred outlines are symbolically associated with memory and the past”.