Abstract
Animal imagery in the art of Vetkat Regopstaan Boesman Kruiper appears to contradict its description as ‘sacred’. Attempting to position his art in relation to prehistoric rock art traditions and indigenous knowledges, the study identifies a tension in Vetkat’s work between transcendent and immanent ideas of spirituality. Although the term ‘sacred’ usually implies transcendent spirituality, which Lewis-Williams claims is foreign to prehistoric rock art traditions, the work of Bataille shows how the term can be linked to both immanent spirituality and animality. While animals are important in Vetkat’s art, his ecological vision extends the tradition to embrace vegetative imagery.
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Northover, R.A. (2017). Interrogating the Sacred Art of Vetkat Regopstaan Boesman Kruiper. In: Woodward, W., McHugh, S. (eds) Indigenous Creatures, Native Knowledges, and the Arts. Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56874-4_4
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