Page 236 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol I - Abraham to Coal

art—africa 121

Art is a kind of innate drive that seizes a human being and makes him its instrument. To perform
this difficult office it is sometimes necessary for him to sacrifice happiness and everything that
makes life worth living for the ordinary human being. • Carl Jung (1875–1961)

artistic concerns in their own work, and provided a emphasis on consumer goods, and incorporation of text
source of inspiration for European art movements such as seen in advertising art, and the intuitive perspective and
Cubism and German Expressionism. inconsistent shading and scale of artists without formal
During the colonial period, government policies, the art education.Tshibumba Kanda Matulu (b. mid-1940s;
spread of Christianity and Islam, and new forms of edu- missing since early 1980s) of the Democratic Republic of
cation, employment, and health care often undermined Congo is one of the most accomplished of the urban
the structures of political, economic, religious, and fam- popular artists. In addition to landscapes and other ide-
ily life that had been the context for creating and using alized subjects, he produced a moving series of paintings
art in Africa. Art forms and cultural practices adapted to on the history of his country.
the new circumstances. Artists began to incorporate An increasing number of African artists have studied
newly available materials, such as oil-based enamel art in colleges or art schools either in Africa or abroad,
paints, factory-woven cloth, and chemical dyes, and and their work reflects trends in art that are international
newly observed imagery, such as Western-style clothing in scope. In the 1960s Bruce Onobrakpeya (b. 1932),
and automobiles. These innovations demonstrate the Uche Okeke (b. 1933), and other Nigerian artists devel-
vitality and resilience of African art and exemplify its long oped a philosophy of art called “natural synthesis” that
history of adapting to changing circumstances. was based on the fusion of indigenous African and mod-
ern European art styles. Their works expressed both the
African Art Today modernity of their newly independent nation and the
These developments intensified after World War II as the traditions of African culture. Similar movements arose
movement for liberation from colonial rule gained across Africa. Since the 1990s, African artists have ques-
strength and finally culminated in independence for most tioned the relevance of ethnic or national labels and even
African nations around 1960. As more and more the relevance of African origin itself.Artists such as Yinka
Africans were exposed to European modes of education Shonibare (b. 1962 in London, to Nigerian parents),
and art production in the second half of the twentieth Ghada Amer (b. 1963 in Cairo, Egypt), and Berni Searle
century, distinctive new forms of and contexts for African (b. 1964 in South Africa) investigate these and other con-
art emerged.Artist workshops were established in several cerns of the postcolonial and postmodern world through
parts of Africa, largely by expatriate Europeans in the the means of conceptual art, using installation, perform-
1960s. The Mbari Mbayo workshop in Oshogbo, Nige- ance, video, photography, and other worldwide contem-
ria, and a workshop founded at the National Gallery of porary art practices.When seen in its entirety,African art
Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), are prime at the beginning of the twenty-first century is a complex
examples. Participants were provided with materials and mixture of local and global concerns, and ancient and
studio space, but training was deliberately minimal to innovative forms.
allow the artists’ innate creativity to emerge.The results,
Kate Ezra
by artists such as Twins Seven Seven of Nigeria (b. 1944)
and Thomas Mukarobgwa of Zimbabwe (1924–1999), See also Africa
emphasize abstraction, expressive color or form, and
mythic subject matter.
Further Reading
Another trend in modern African art developed out of
Ben-Amos, P. G. (1995). The art of Benin. Washington, DC: Smithson-
the painted shop signs ubiquitous in African towns and ian Institution Press.
cities. In the genre known as “urban popular painting,” Beumers,E.,& Koloss,H.-J.(Eds.).(1992).Kings of Africa:Art and author-
ity in central Africa. Utrecht, Netherlands: Foundation Kings of Africa.
works are often mass-produced and sold to African
Blier, S. P. (1998). The royal arts of Africa:The majesty of form. New York:
patrons as home decorations.They share the flat colors, Harry N. Abrams.