passion of purpose: Reflections on Bantu Biko Street

Though my purse is empty, I will carry it when I walk down Bantu Biko Street. He said my pride should emanate from within first.

I am not an art critic; my interest is not confined to the “object” of art. I am more interested in the question of “the subject” of art. If the work discussed elsewhere sheds light on the possibilities of production, then it becomes important to now discuss the subject of production. The subject of production is a being of the world; a particular world. A being is a product of an unconscious and complex interplay of the human psyche with historical forces such as politics, economics, ideology, religion, culture, tradition, knowledge, and so on. A being who is a “subject” of production is, however, not a mere product of external historical forces. The subject of production will consciously seek to stamp herself on the very forces of history through creative transformative work. She is not merely at the receiving end of historical forces. She seeks to influence the very operation of the forces.

But for her, politics in a narrow sense of party politics is not the only arena for historical change. She is engaged in creative transformative work influencing the course of history wherever she is. This engagement stem from a deep sense of purpose she has found and she now lives by. Purpose does not erase emotions of frustration, anger, sadness, and pessimism the subject sometimes experiences. She experiences a deep sense of frustration over the selfishness she witnesses, the suffering she sees, the cowardice that surrounds her, the exploitation she experiences and so on. Her frustration is, however, transmuted into a source of energy needed for the creative work of transformation and self renewal. It is only a deep sense of purpose that makes it possible for the subject to move from a feeling of frustration to a renewed sense of hope and power. Purpose turns the emotion of frustration or pessimism or even helplessness into a source of energy for the creative work of transformation and renewal.

Simphiwe Dana’s album, The One Love movement on Bantu Biko street is one of the few projects that explicitly links the subject’s sense of purpose to a creative transformative work. But what of purpose?

It’s purpose that gets me up in the morning.
It’s purpose that wakes me up
It’s purpose that gives me that thing (I wont give up)
It’s purpose when I climb my mountain
It’s purpose that I sometimes find myself in the mix

In trouble, the subject sometimes finds herself; for she refuses to be reduced to an object, a tool to be used, misused and abused. In trouble, the subject sometimes finds herself; for she refuses to be treated as a lack, a nothingness, an emptiness, a hollow to be filled by another claiming substance. In trouble, the subject sometimes finds herself, for she fights for her authenticity; her essential right to create in accordance with her convictions. In trouble, the subject sometimes find herself, for she refuses to prostitute her work, her message, her life-cause to some soulless market forces for the sake of popularity, higher sales and personal wealth. In trouble, the subject sometimes finds herself, for she challenges distorted claims made by power about her world, herself and her work. A sense of purpose will carry her still.

Purpose has shown me The Way…
It’s purpose when I am down and out

Though a sense of purpose enables vision, it does not necessarily suggest arrival. For the subject, once again, finds herself “down and out.” For, despite her own personal strength, she is forever confronted by negative forces in her world – external and internal forces that reduces a people to the level of objects; things to be used, controlled, dominated and discarded to die as things that have never lived for anything of significance. She feels the effects of these forces in the marrow of her bones, for her project is tied to a history and destiny of a people. The subject admits to a moment of suffering stemming from a sense of helplessness. She reflects on her experience and her past and that of a people whose life and history is tied to hers. She seeks answers:

We left poor
Leaving behind famine
Carrying tears years and years old
We ask why the Afrikan nation suffers
Why we suffer

In such times she cries before the divine – a presence of renewal:

Look you have forgotten us
The nation is dying

The subject is not destroyed by a sense of helplessness. Purpose constantly leads her to a presence of renewal. She cries her confusion and sense of helplessness; for answers are not easy to find:

You who is forever
Only you know why
You who stand forever
Only you know why
We are like this
Our homes are like this

Answers are not easy to find. But then answers, in the form of word statements will not suffice. It is a spirituality that is most urgent now. It is a frame of mind; a way of life; a commitment to a higher ideal; an awareness of the interconnectedness of the self to other selves and realities; a consciousness that one's choices in relation to the use of one’s resources such as one’s time, one’s talents, one’s money, and one’s energies has far reaching implications for a beautiful type of life aspired to. It is the depth of beauty engendered by a spirituality that matters now.

Drawing from musical traditions of Africa and its diaspora ; the ngoma, the blues and the jazz traditions, the subject will compose a song. A prayerful and beautiful song that will give hope to a people. Hope for a beautiful future. Hope for the dawn of a beautiful reality in the realms of contemporary politics, business, and social relations where a culture of decadence, of self service and of self indulgence has come to prevail.

A beautiful song will also become a source of hope for a beautiful mode of existence. For the historic black struggle was also a struggle against the ugliness of oppression. It was a struggle for a beauty that was denied expression, exploration and realisation. It was a struggle for a beautiful society. It was a struggle for a beautiful humanity. It was a struggle for the beautiful ones of Ayi Kwei Armah. A beautiful song will inspire a people to aspire to a truly beautiful life where their humanity is not determined externally by the material possessions they own but by the people they are.

The hope inspired by the artistic project of creation is not merely about the consolation of a troubled heart. It is a transformative spiritual project that seeks to open up spaces in the heart, in the mind and in the world for the revival of an authentic self and an affirming history. Solutions may still be found. Solutions must be found. A people should continue to look for the way.

May we always look for The Way.
In our thoughts and in our religious spaces.
It would do us good to look for The Way.
So go on.
Do not be afraid.
Cause it must be done.
Hurry up before the sun sets.

There is no room for resignation. Purpose is calling for agency, for authenticity, for thought, for reflection, for imagination, for hope, for unity, for prayer, for redemption, for action, for something. Purpose calls for urgency. It calls for a spirituality. It calls for the transformative work of renewal.

Purpose says forward. Forward…

The subject charges forward. Forward, in spite of obstacles. She creates a piece, a beautiful song that elevates a people’s experience and inspires their commitment. She creates a history. She will finally find herself, not as someone’s object, but as a subject in the making of a different and affirming reality.