The scream

The desire to scream occurs to most that go to varsity, but for some it is a way to express their passion. One of the T-shirts owned by Robyn Johnson is of the famous Evard Munch, 1893, painting called "The Scream". Mainly people that follow the art world would know about the painting. it depicts a figure with their hands on their cheeks letting out an what you‘d think is a loud scream from the gaping mouth and droopy eyes, with a background made up of hazy blues, oranges and yellow that seem to speed by like a fast train. Her face always brightens up when she gets an opportunity to talk about her favourite subject. She came all the way from the temperate beaches of Durban, bypassing the city of fame and maybe fortune Johannesburg, to be in a little town she now calls home- Grahamstown. Many share her sentiments, about the friendly town, as she has found many, in her first year, at Rhodes that are like her. “I am not the only one that procrastinates,” she says laughing at her realisation that there are others that do this at Rhodes. She came here thinking that she would not fit in as she’s quite an individual back home. Although she loves the fact that she’s surrounded by people with many different talents, she also found that there are those that felt like her when they arrived they all came here finding that what made them different at home is what makes them fit in at Rhodes. She felt that what made her different was her creativity and artistic nature, it still is, but now she has come to a point where she has learned how it can be enhanced. “You learn how to be criticized”, she says telling of the emotions of being an arts student. She likens their experience to that of drama students; she feels that they go through many of the same emotions. The girl that wears a purple corduroy jacket, a fading jeans and a pair of her trusty black takkies tend to look like this every day matching up her jeans and trusty takkies with a thick woollen scarf. You would not pinpoint her as an arts student; you only find this out when you engage with her in conversation. By studying her favourite thing in the world she has found that she has been pushed out of her comfort zone- she had to become comfortable with taking pictures of strangers. “Parts of me that were hidden are revealed,” she says when she enthuses about how she has grown in the current year. Many become independent and learn to stand on their own feet, but you also find yourself. The people, the community of Rhodes and Grahamstown and her friends and classmates, have taught her a whole lot more about life more than the education that she’s paying thousands for has. They get taught by the best, “they are famous art world people,” she says seriously. They are specialists that will help them grow into some of the top artists in SA. After all this she believes that she is still the Miss Johnson everyone knows and loves.. She does not mind the residence food much and even found it to be perfectly fine commenting that what she found the food she ate home to have better nutritional value and that what they ate as fast food is given a well balanced meal at the dining hall. The town is her play ground; she knows where every hardware store, material shop and the likes are in Grahamstown. “If you had a car you would see a whole lot more,” she says when she tells of her love of exploring the little town of Grahamstown, there’s a whole lot more to it than meets the eye. Much like the horror that you think the figure in ‘The Scream’ is seeing.