Irma Stern Museum

Early on Tuesday, 15 February, the our Year 10 and 11 Art and Literature High School students eagerly departed for a long awaited outing to the fascinating Irma Stern Museum at The Firs, in Cape Town. 

The Curator, Educational Coordinator, Nombuko, had tables, chairs and umbrellas set up in the luscious green garden. The tour started with an introductory talk about the life and times of Irma Stern and her  passion for the arts, mostly inspired by German Expressionism, her travels to exotic destinations in Africa and abroad and her eclectic collection of artefacts gathered over the years. 

We visited each brightly coloured room which contrasted her paintings and art collections in a lively manner and listened to a brief history of the works housed in each section of the house, enabling the students to discuss her work, then fill in a worksheet, sketching and analysing their favourite inspirational artwork of choice. 

After a short break we were fortunate enough to view the current exhibition Memórias da Madeira focusing on her time spent in the area. The students were invited to add their personal colour and mark making techniques with koki’s and pencils to a public group mural of an enlarged, black outlined version of one of her works which they participated in with great enthusiasm! 

The next exciting project was the creation of a Remixed collage using colour copies of Irma’s artwork and other famous local and international artworks, pieces of newspaper, enhanced with oil pastel or koki if desired. There were some surprising and beautiful spontaneous artworks created in next to no time! 

Students had the opportunity to wander around and picnic in the garden thereafter, then all too soon we embarked on the homebound journey to Somerset West. We learned a lot from Irma’s larger than life figure – her passion for the arts, sometimes suffering harsh criticism for her style of painting, her love of the exotic, travel and zest for life – always remaining true to herself. 

Some inspirational quotes and reviews from our students follow: 
Timeon, Year 11 Literature student writes…

“The day began ordinarily, but by the second period’s closure, we were long gone and off to the Irma Stern museum, where I realized that February 15th was the antithesis of ordinary.  We arrived at a building that seemed too homely to be a museum.  I later found out that the building had been Stern’s home for over forty years – no wonder the building where so many artworks were created inspired such a vivid feeling.  That is what art is, no?  The expression of vivid feeling through physical means. 

Throughout the day, I gained a new appreciation for Stern and her works:  the detail in her bushstrokes, the enduring colours and the emotion that came from the art.   By the end of the day, we had all learnt something that would inspire the collages that were made.  Each person created their own “remix” of Stern’s work that contained their own creativity.  I may not be a visual art student, but Stern’s art still inspired me and it could inspire anyone else with an open mind. “

Lene, Year 11 Literature student adds: 

“We started the day off as per usual – classes and such – and then the fun began.The building was a tan colour and also happened to be Irma Stern’s house.  The inside, however had a mixture of bright neon colours on the walls with paintings and findings and sculptures in every direction you looked.  Our guide used a calm relaxed tone and was quite knowledgeable on the paintings and different artefacts.  Then came the activities:  Firstly, we had to complete a worksheet where we were to describe an artwork.  We then created our own art works, which consisted of using one of Stern’s works and combining it with other ‘art works’.All in all, it was a nice relaxing yet informative day out with class mates.”  

Haadiya (Year 10) – What I found inspiring on my visit yesterday, was how unapologetic her artwork and life was. She was true to herself and expressed that freely in her paintings.

Zoey (Year 10) – I loved her scenic paintings and portraits, they were quite realistic but with her personal touch and you could kind of see how she felt while she was painting. It was nice to find out more about the artist herself and hear about her travels, the people she met along the way and to see her personal collection of objects she collected.

Isabell (Year 10) – I enjoyed getting to know more about the life of the artist and to see her different ways of painting. I could see that she was proud of her work and she did it in her own unique way.

Iminathi (Year 10) – I enjoyed seeing all the different artwork. The drawings and paintings were all unique but all expressed in the same way. I loved seeing how perfectly imperfect her work was because it taught me that I don’t have to be so cautious about my work and that it’s all about expressing yourself.

Connor (Year 11) – I really enjoyed the story of Irma Stern – getting to know the artist. I also really liked the way she used the different brush strokes and seeing all the beautiful paintings she made. I really loved how you could see that her work is really unapologetic.

Sidney (Year 11) – I liked the fact that she eventually didn’t care about other people’s opinion of her artwork and that she could turn anything into a great art piece like the flowers in a vase. I also like the colours that she used like the bright oranges and blues, with the hard brush marks visible at times. I loved the fact that she could paint still lives, portraits and create sculpture and pottery.

Ineke (Year 11) – I found quite a few artworks interesting, but I found one that I particularly liked because it reminded me of the Middle Ages artwork of dancing skeletons from the Danse Macabre. I liked the composition, poses, colour and the voluptuous women contrasted with the skinny skeletons that she painted on one of the doors in her studio. The music playing in the room also added to the atmosphere.

Keenan (Year 11) – The Irma Stern outing was a truly eye-opening experience for me,it made me completely rethink how I do art.It helped me realize that art is not being as perfectly identical and correct, but should be a reflection of the artist’s uniqueness, which Irma is mastered in.

Sino (Year 12) – What I found most inspiring is how Irma Stern’s artwork had a lot of African background to it and the way she used oil paint to capture many details on clothing, buildings and facial features but mostly the bright colours contrasted with the dull colours on her other paintings.

Sam (Year 12)- I found her Zanzibar door very inspiring.

Arnoux (Year 12) – For me, the most inspiring thing was how the paintings did not follow conventional painting techniques for the time. It takes a lot to be different, which I respect.