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Remembering Saartjie Baartman

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 7; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14788810903515592

1740-4649

Brandi Wilkins Catanese,

South African History and Culture

Abstract Since the end of the twentieth century, international interest in the story of Saartjie Baartman, a South African woman taken to Europe and displayed as the Venus Hottentot at the beginning of the nineteenth century, has increased. This essay examines the unique function of artistic remembrances of Baartman, particularly the choreography of South African performer Nelisiwe Xaba and the dramaturgy of US playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, who employ creative license in their depictions of Baartman's social function in the past and the present. Each artist works through expressive culture to trouble the distinctions between history and memory, and to redefine the lasting importance of Baartman's life. In the process, these performances challenge assumptions about the politics of representing black women's bodies in a variety of media and forms.