Mandela’s Birthday

by wok3

Monday, July 12, 2010 at 06:45 AM EDT

Jailed for over 25 years in apartheid South Africa, Mandela celebrates his 92nd birthday. To be honest, I do not remember hearing anything about him until my early teen years when this song came out. Mandela's release from prison, the changes in South Africa, and his election to the government all seemed too good to be true. I am often surprised by human nature, and this time around, it was a pleasant surprise.

In sort-of related news, an artist is in a bit of hot water for painting an autopsy of Mandela, but the artist insists that South Africa should be more than just one man, and that Mandela cannot possibly solve the myriad of problems facing them. I suppose it is true that no one person can solve everything, but a painting of an autopsy seems an odd route to go to show this. Some in South Africa are calling the painting witchcraft and racist, and here is what the artist's retort was:

From News24

... Damaso told News24 he was unaware that the depiction of a living person as dead was considered witchcraft in African culture.

"African culture is not my culture. And I've never heard that from people I've come across," he said.

He had no wish to see Mandela dead, said Damaso, adding that witchcraft only worked if you believed in it. (Emphasis mine)

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I hope he meant that witchcraft can be a self-fulfilling prophecy type of thing, otherwise he's nuts. As for the painting, artists are supposed to be provocative, otherwise no one will ever know who they are until after they themselves are dead, and cannot profit from their work.