WHY THE NAME GRAFFIKS?
I think I owe some people an explanation. If you are logging in for the first time then it’s a warm welcome. I have been spamming the SMS domain with this web address with the hope that through this blog I will one day be famous. So you are part of a chain that will inevitably circle the globe…and I will be stinking rich by then. But then I digress. Why Graffiks On the Net? Why the name Graffiks in the first place? The profile on the right (mug shot included) does little justice in explaining this mystery.
Well, the nickname ‘Graffiks’ was self-coined. In other words by normal standards of nicknames it breaks convention. By definition a nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or thing's real name. As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, although there may be overlap in these concepts. That’s the academic definition by the way. In simpler terms it is the first name by which one is commonly called, differing from the formal name one was given at birth, usually belittling the person.
But as we all know, a nickname is not always flattering and that the owners usually resist them. The more they resist it, the more it tends to stick. I did have a host of uncomplimentary nicknames once. I was called Lolo, which sounded like lollipop. Then there was Leox Beef, then 'Lenyosi' then…the list was endless. The worst nickname I had was being called ‘mistake.’ The chap who ‘chested’ that one on me regrets doing so to this very day. Which explains why it never really clung.
Anyway, I had the rare privilege of choosing a nice nickname for myself. The story goes thus…Once upon a time when stones were still soft (in 1985), I was admitted into the University of Zimbabwe as an undergraduate student. University was a blast with plenty women and alcohol flowing in its treelined avenues and hotel like residences. I was nevertheless determined to succeed as we all were…with a few exceptions of course. There were those who came to have a peek, like the late Mike Munyati (Lord bless his soul) who nearly took a lifetime to complete his first degree only to give up. And those who wanted to make a loud statement like Arthur Mutambara (later referred to as ‘tukitsi’ by uKhulu Bob) who was forced to literally 'fly' out of his second floor room window because of his reckless utturances. At UZ we leant that there was freedom of speech but Mutambara found out to his peril that there was no freedom after speech.
In the heat of the moment some students got together to start ‘Focus” a students' Magazine. By the way I forgot to tell you that I am (was) a gifted artist. This might shock some of you but when I was in Grade One and Two, teachers used to fight over me to draw illustrations for the Radio Lesson with Miss Charles (with Tendayi, Jane and Moses.) Sad to say I totally missed out on those intriguing episodes where Miss Charles would say: “Alright children, say this after me, ‘The bucket is full’” And a bell would ring (ngqing!) so that we would, in chorus fashion, follow what she had just said.
Needless to say, my command of the Queen’s language was already light years away courtesy of my enterprising father who plied me with cartoon magazines and books bought from the auction and television of course. That did not preclude those South African comic books with weirdly characters like ‘Chunky Charlie’, 'Devil Bat' and 'She.' Chunky Charlie was known for his uncanny ability of solving crime and also retrieving an assortment of items from inside his huge coat that included (and not in that order) a loaf of bread (his favourite meal), a bicycle and at one time a car!
Devil Bat was a vampire, that's enough said, And ‘She’ was this female superhero wearing an Afro wig (a fashion statement of that time) who had a knife (an Okapi) that could fly. (Those of you in the know should be aware that an Okapi knife in the unofficial traditional weapon of the Ndebele.) I should add here that the dialogue in those comics was a bit on the daft side. But for a Grade one or two pupil, it was very sufficient. One expression coined in those comics of old that made its way into everyday language was, “What the?” I was later to discover that it was short for that very vulgar African American expression, “What the f*#k!”
But yet again I digress. The story is about the nickname Graffiks. The guys at college (that is what we called UZ then) who formed Focus magazine included Tawana Kupe (now a famous don at Wits University) Lawrence Tshuma (now late) Titus Moetsabi (later known ominously as Moetsabi Moetsabi, a poet of note), Lovemore Banda (later Lovemore Blunder of ZTV fame), Thomas Deve (he of the Daily News and MISA) and others who I forget ... and mina of course.
The story goes… that we decided on some division of labour. Someone had to do the artwork which included cover design, illustrations and of course the cartoons. I volunteered and the rest they say is history? Not quite! I was not comfortable in revealing my identity yet. Some of the cartoons were quite acerbic. People on campus had the tendency of taking the law into their hands. And blows were traded liberally like mopane worms in the DRC.
I imagined an Arts company and what it would be called. I though of how my name Lenox could be disguised. Being brought up on a diet of Student’s Companion, it did not take me long. Lenox is from Leo, which is Lion. A lion denotes bravery and many other things. I then though of appending the word ‘graphics’ but it somehow looked too plain. You see I had this Rasta-reggae background whose stock in trade was turning the Queen’s language upside-down.
On campus, I was a member (and later secretary general) of an organization known as the Society for Afrikan Studies. We were decidedly African in outlook but labeled mbanje (marijuana) smokers buy others. Well, Zimbabwe is a free country and everyone is allowed to have his own opinion. In the event I then decided to ‘Afrikanise’ the word and Graffiks with two f's came up. So below every illustration, cartoon and design (I also did T-shirts and logos) I produced was appended the tag ‘Lion Graffiks.’
Be that as it may, my identity was not secret for long. When the magazine was banned long before the Daily News (it had to be because it caused the authorities sleepless nights) I continued drawing cartoons and sticking them outside my room door. I enjoyed listening to the guffaws and comments as a steady flow of students oggled at the latest caricatures. Comments like, “Ende mufana uyu anopenga chayizvo chayizvo - uyahlanya sbili!” (He is very very crazy) were quite common.
It so happens that I was also an above average soccer player, packing a wicked defense for Burning Spear Football club in the University Soccer League. We scooped the league and Chancellor’s Cup on countless occasions. My teammates shortened my tag to ‘Graffiks’, which in a strange sort of way described the way I ploughed into the opposition’s strike force and won many an aerial tussle with my trademark explosive clearences. The multitude of fans (among which the female sex were a notable component) would shout ‘Graffiks!’ each time I performed a heroic (read suicidal) sliding tackle. I have enough evidence to show from those heady days of short lived fame. At least I came out of it with a wife!
So there you are, to this day my close pals at Amavevane Social Football club and elsewhere still call me by that name and I can bet you most are amazed as you are of its origin. Now that explains Graffiks On the Net which literally means Lenox on the Internet. Now that you know, lets get on with life. Oh, you might ask, what ever happened to my artistic talent? I usually explain it this way: At UZ I was sufficiently and persistently inspired to graffikally express myself...but when I went out into the real world that was and still is so depressing, silly and so forth and so forth, I then resorted to writing silly columns in newspapers. Which also explains the existance of this silly blog. Silly me.
What is a Blog, by the way?
Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is an online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site. Which is my case should be called a silly log. With apologies to the Ministry of the Environment and the Creator.
The story goes… that we decided on some division of labour. Someone had to do the artwork which included cover design, illustrations and of course the cartoons. I volunteered and the rest they say is history? Not quite! I was not comfortable in revealing my identity yet. Some of the cartoons were quite acerbic. People on campus had the tendency of taking the law into their hands. And blows were traded liberally like mopane worms in the DRC.
I imagined an Arts company and what it would be called. I though of how my name Lenox could be disguised. Being brought up on a diet of Student’s Companion, it did not take me long. Lenox is from Leo, which is Lion. A lion denotes bravery and many other things. I then though of appending the word ‘graphics’ but it somehow looked too plain. You see I had this Rasta-reggae background whose stock in trade was turning the Queen’s language upside-down.
On campus, I was a member (and later secretary general) of an organization known as the Society for Afrikan Studies. We were decidedly African in outlook but labeled mbanje (marijuana) smokers buy others. Well, Zimbabwe is a free country and everyone is allowed to have his own opinion. In the event I then decided to ‘Afrikanise’ the word and Graffiks with two f's came up. So below every illustration, cartoon and design (I also did T-shirts and logos) I produced was appended the tag ‘Lion Graffiks.’
Be that as it may, my identity was not secret for long. When the magazine was banned long before the Daily News (it had to be because it caused the authorities sleepless nights) I continued drawing cartoons and sticking them outside my room door. I enjoyed listening to the guffaws and comments as a steady flow of students oggled at the latest caricatures. Comments like, “Ende mufana uyu anopenga chayizvo chayizvo - uyahlanya sbili!” (He is very very crazy) were quite common.
It so happens that I was also an above average soccer player, packing a wicked defense for Burning Spear Football club in the University Soccer League. We scooped the league and Chancellor’s Cup on countless occasions. My teammates shortened my tag to ‘Graffiks’, which in a strange sort of way described the way I ploughed into the opposition’s strike force and won many an aerial tussle with my trademark explosive clearences. The multitude of fans (among which the female sex were a notable component) would shout ‘Graffiks!’ each time I performed a heroic (read suicidal) sliding tackle. I have enough evidence to show from those heady days of short lived fame. At least I came out of it with a wife!
So there you are, to this day my close pals at Amavevane Social Football club and elsewhere still call me by that name and I can bet you most are amazed as you are of its origin. Now that explains Graffiks On the Net which literally means Lenox on the Internet. Now that you know, lets get on with life. Oh, you might ask, what ever happened to my artistic talent? I usually explain it this way: At UZ I was sufficiently and persistently inspired to graffikally express myself...but when I went out into the real world that was and still is so depressing, silly and so forth and so forth, I then resorted to writing silly columns in newspapers. Which also explains the existance of this silly blog. Silly me.
What is a Blog, by the way?
Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is an online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site. Which is my case should be called a silly log. With apologies to the Ministry of the Environment and the Creator.
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