Elizabeth Goodall and Walter Battiss: Inspired by the Art on the Rocks

Abstract

In this article I compare the research methods of two visually trained artists: Elizabeth Goodall and Walter Battiss. Both were working at the beginning of the twentieth century in the emerging field of rock art studies in southern Africa. Independently of each other and for different reasons, Goodall and Battiss devoted considerable time and energy to studying and recording the rock art at sites they visited. In pursuit of their endeavours, neither researcher strayed far from the visual while examining and copying the images they saw. In this article, I trace the impact of their formative years working in collaboration with scientists and consider the routes they followed to pursue methods that prioritise the aesthetic elements of the rock art. Given that this exploration of copying methods unfolded at a time when rock art was somewhat peripheral to formal academic study, I argue that the focus on art history and aesthetics found in the semi-biographical narratives of these two artists might enrich engagements with rock art in the present.

Keywords:

• creative practice
• rock art
• Elizabeth Goodall
• Walter Battiss
• Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences
• recordings
• hand-painted copies
• Rock Art Research Institute
• Bushman
• Frobenius Institute