As art historians uncover the many sources and catalysts that have contributed to the emergence of black contemporary art in South Africa, one of the principal influences is that derived from the Christian mission churches and breakaway separatist groups - the African Independent Churches (AICs). Histories of African art have failed adequately to consider the art that emerged from these contexts, regarding it perhaps as too coerced and distinctive – merely religious art subject to the rigours of liturgical or proselytizing function. The purpose of this dissertation is to foreground this art and its position in the development of both pioneer and contemporary South African art and to identify the many features, both stylistic and thematic, which distinguish this work.
