I have been turned down several times by some ignorant gallery owners on both sides of the fence for their lack of interest in African Art. In their words African Art is primitive. The sad thing is that our so-called elites gallery owners do not get it too. In most cases they are worst and very ignorant and naïve about African art. How long are we going to allow these false monsters of the past run wild in our present time?
I have realized that truth is usually a hard pill to swallow but we must confront our past for a better tomorrow.
We have been forced to look down on ourselves. They held our minds captive with the television, print media, history books or documentaries of their explorers that were written supposedly for them, but ended up in our nation’s schools bookshelves for mind alteration and economic exploitation. Maybe I am missing something; please tell me the expectation of an educator who thought the grand children of Amina in Nigeria, that River Niger was discovered by Mongo Park.
The same River Niger, where their grand ma, Anina bath, swam, fetched water, they have known and played in the river all their lives and in fact the legend had it that their grandpa Obi was among the men that guided and guarded the strange White man from the wild beast of the jungle. Instead of a letter of appreciation, their great grand children are forced and feed lies of the incident in the name of education.
They constantly used whatever they can to accomplish their vision. The invention of television became an effective tool for manipulation of generations with ease using Jacob’s vision power of increase, Genesis 30: 31 – 43, for their negative agenda. There is power in what we hear and see. That is more reason they will never show you good side of Africa.
During the era of European avant-garde artists, there were prolific African Artists such as ‘Aina Onabolu’ and many others whose works were never considered modern. Obviously including them in their modern era will mean making them equal with their counterparts in Europe. You know what that means to black man who was supposed to be picking cottons. “European modern art” was the biggest scam on African Art. They took the best of our forefathers and kicked us to the trash.
They knew what they were doing and the effect of these centuries of bad seeds is what we see today in Africa and beyond. It is very common to see African professionals, highly educated but with no knowledge of self and very much whiter than the white, if you know what I mean. I have walked into a financial firm in Atlanta, owned and managed by some Nigerians and the issue of African Art came up, One of the owners was asked what type of art do have hanging on your wall. You need see him go off with pride and talked eloquently on modern art at the end he declared that he doesn’t want to be associated with African Art.
You can imagine how that made me feel, having studied art and taught art professionally to hear a Nigerian elite in the position of power and influence, to promote our arts and culture, out rightly rejected his inheritance. I didn’t wait to ask why? He went off again to talk about crime and the world image of Nigeria. At this point I struggled to hold myself
from exploding before other nationalities in the company. I am by no means in support of any crime but if man should disown his nation because of crime and western media propaganda, the problem is way deeper than it appears. I asked him again respectfully if any of these nationalities working in Nigeria have pulled out their oil drilling machines and abandoned their mansions in Nigeria since the 419 propaganda started? I didn’t see him jump up with an answer this time. Tell me where there is no fraud and crime.
This nice brother is one of the millions of African souls lost to this false and mean world of conspiracy and selfish vision of racism and imperialism. You might be wondering what is this got to do with modern art. But the truth is that, there was nothing modern about the works of the European avant-garde artists other than punch of copycats, imitators and plagiarists in conspiracy with their racist writers, art critics and art historians to make wrong right. Once again they gave themselves names, cubism, modern art and shoved it down our throat like always.
They covered the truth of plagiarizing African Art and started their usual evil naming ceremonies for their selfish goals. Who named the Primitive Art and Modern Art? Take a close look at their so-called primitive art and look at the modern art and decide for yourself. Who named the Tribal Art? These are the same people whose lists of names consist of Negro, Aborigines, Nigger, and Black, Gypsy, White, Red, Yellow, and People of Color to mention a few. What good has these names done to mankind other than division and control. Let us face the truth, because truth is the heart of freedom. There is more to names than we can imagine hence God had to change people’s given names to accomplish his mission in their lives. It has been and will always be demonic and its time to reject such names for our true purpose and relationship with one another.
Lets look into more facts in the part 2 coming soon.
Showing posts with label modern art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label modern art. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Magic Lines of Uli Art Style
Uli is an expression of the people’s capacity for creative design, which is firmly rooted in their myths and their experience of life in the past, present and future. At its best, it is an expression of their synthetic present, the epic of their search for a new order in the contemporary world. It is my traditional art style, which I have fallen in love with all over again and it is a privilege to share uli with you in my works. It has been shown that the knowledge of uli motifs and symbols and their application enables one to identify the traditional Igbo artifacts, giving validity to the people’s aesthetic intelligence and judgment. This culture is one of the first known cultures of the world in the recorded archeologically facts to have done bronze casting. (Igboukwu bronze).
Uli symbols may be said to show graphically how the organic forms grow outwards from the core of those elements to point, line, triangle, square and circle that are universal to the concentric circle at the periphery, which contains reflections of everyday world as seen by the artists. Just as the inner circle reflects the uncommon reality or ritual reality of the cultural existence, so the outer circle is in contact with the human and ecological reality, which it expresses.
Artistic activities at Enugu formed part of the early post-1960 independence developments in the country. There was the growing local and international popularity of Nigerian novelists, dramatists, poets, literary critics, architects, artists, and musicians, and scholars. Interesting collaborations took place among those in the literary performing, and visual arts, particularly in southern Nigeria. The efforts and artistic lives of these minds sowed a flourishing seed for an uncommon global harvest. I give thanks to God for these great minds, your outstanding contributions will not be forgotten.
Uli creations relied heavily on drawing skills whose content is based largely on Igbo culture, particularly female body and wall painting called uli and on Igbo tales, ceremonies, and beliefs. The revival of interest in uli through contemporary art had begun with Uche Okeke in the 1960s, when Nigeria's independence produced a growing sense of freedom from colonial restraints on cultural tradition. It fully developed among teachers and students in the 1970s at the University in Nsukka and was linked to renewed interest in Igbo culture after the destructive Biafran War.
Traditional uli motifs, now rarely painted on human bodies or walls, have a strong linear, often curvilinear, quality. The art makes use of contrasts between positive and negative space, its images at times appearing as sky constellations. Uli’s lyrical qualities express harmony and brevity. It is art style that has often been created in freedom and spontaneity. “Uli is a pride heritage". Uli motifs generally refer to images of everyday Igbo life, farm and cooking tools, pots, plants, birds, animals, the sun, the moon, and the kola nut, though some are pure design. For ceremonial occasions and important events, skilled Igbo female artists painted uli to add beauty to the human body and the walls of buildings and compounds. Uli has made her way in modern social settings; on sculptural surfaces and on paper, board, and canvas, framed and hung on walls in homes, institutions, and galleries of the world.
Magic of Uli Lines, which is an extended dot or a moving point, has very many possibilities, particularly, the quickly drawn one. My drawing explores the evocative and lyrical possibilities of line and derives from Uli. The Uli artist works spontaneously whether on the human body or the wall. There is no question of erasing or cleaning. There is something about the spontaneously executed work, a breathtaking vitality and freshness that defy description or repetition.
An analysis of Igbo drawing and painting reveals that space, line pattern, brevity and spontaneity seem to be the pillars on which the rich tradition and heritage rests. It is these unique qualities that I strive for, both intuitive and intellectually to assimilate in my work. Intuitively, because during my years of studying and looking at Igbo sculpture, drawing and painting, various aspects of design and recurrent motifs have become internalized in my system and inevitably surface unconsciously in the course of executing my aesthetic challenges. It is perhaps needless to add that the great works of art is a result of the harmonious marriage of intellect and intuition.
Uli symbols may be said to show graphically how the organic forms grow outwards from the core of those elements to point, line, triangle, square and circle that are universal to the concentric circle at the periphery, which contains reflections of everyday world as seen by the artists. Just as the inner circle reflects the uncommon reality or ritual reality of the cultural existence, so the outer circle is in contact with the human and ecological reality, which it expresses.
Artistic activities at Enugu formed part of the early post-1960 independence developments in the country. There was the growing local and international popularity of Nigerian novelists, dramatists, poets, literary critics, architects, artists, and musicians, and scholars. Interesting collaborations took place among those in the literary performing, and visual arts, particularly in southern Nigeria. The efforts and artistic lives of these minds sowed a flourishing seed for an uncommon global harvest. I give thanks to God for these great minds, your outstanding contributions will not be forgotten.
Uli creations relied heavily on drawing skills whose content is based largely on Igbo culture, particularly female body and wall painting called uli and on Igbo tales, ceremonies, and beliefs. The revival of interest in uli through contemporary art had begun with Uche Okeke in the 1960s, when Nigeria's independence produced a growing sense of freedom from colonial restraints on cultural tradition. It fully developed among teachers and students in the 1970s at the University in Nsukka and was linked to renewed interest in Igbo culture after the destructive Biafran War.
Traditional uli motifs, now rarely painted on human bodies or walls, have a strong linear, often curvilinear, quality. The art makes use of contrasts between positive and negative space, its images at times appearing as sky constellations. Uli’s lyrical qualities express harmony and brevity. It is art style that has often been created in freedom and spontaneity. “Uli is a pride heritage". Uli motifs generally refer to images of everyday Igbo life, farm and cooking tools, pots, plants, birds, animals, the sun, the moon, and the kola nut, though some are pure design. For ceremonial occasions and important events, skilled Igbo female artists painted uli to add beauty to the human body and the walls of buildings and compounds. Uli has made her way in modern social settings; on sculptural surfaces and on paper, board, and canvas, framed and hung on walls in homes, institutions, and galleries of the world.
Magic of Uli Lines, which is an extended dot or a moving point, has very many possibilities, particularly, the quickly drawn one. My drawing explores the evocative and lyrical possibilities of line and derives from Uli. The Uli artist works spontaneously whether on the human body or the wall. There is no question of erasing or cleaning. There is something about the spontaneously executed work, a breathtaking vitality and freshness that defy description or repetition.
An analysis of Igbo drawing and painting reveals that space, line pattern, brevity and spontaneity seem to be the pillars on which the rich tradition and heritage rests. It is these unique qualities that I strive for, both intuitive and intellectually to assimilate in my work. Intuitively, because during my years of studying and looking at Igbo sculpture, drawing and painting, various aspects of design and recurrent motifs have become internalized in my system and inevitably surface unconsciously in the course of executing my aesthetic challenges. It is perhaps needless to add that the great works of art is a result of the harmonious marriage of intellect and intuition.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
How To Produce An Abstract Image II - From Anarchy To Abstraction
I want to go into a little more detail of the different ways you can approach the enigmatic task of producing an abstract. In this article we will look at the Anarchist and the Abstractist.
If you have an anarchistic attitude within you then abstract art is for you. You will never run out of ideas - in fact even if you had NO ideas then your temperament alone would find a most fundermental mood swing or dark (and maybe on more rarer occasions - light) moment to enrap you within its aggressive drama and painful colours. Willem de Kooning's "Gotham News" is a good example of anarchistic abstraction - just look at this picture - http://www.albrightknox.org/ArtStart/sKooning.html. Wild movement mixed with such vigorous aggression.
Anarchists tend to be wildly demonstrative in their approach to ... everything! They have the potential to be able to utilize almost anything at hand that might provide them with contradictory ideas and totally original materials.
However, there is a big "down" side to what might be seen as the almost perfect abstract artist. An Anarchistic attitude tends to come from a tremendous sense of lacking in many areas. So things like confidence can be a very fearful barrier to the power of a creative flow. Therefore I believe that by working on some of the practical ideas written below obstacles like shyness and fear can slowly be weakened until finally the real artist begins to rise out from the depths of darkness or light in an increasingly "louder" manner.
The Abstractist is in many ways similar to the Anarchist. The difference here is that the Abstractist mind has a colder capability of "seeing" completely non-representative imaginings. And although both the Abstractist and the Anarchist generally produce work from deep within. The Anarchist cultivates a more physical "anti" approach, whereas the Abstractist appears to have the knack of actually visualizing dots, lines, and shapes when looking at every day objects.
Notice the similarities between de Kooning's "Gotham News" and Peter Lanyan's "Wreck" - http://www.ablot.com/wreck.htm Then take another look and seek to find any differences. "Wreck" is very anarchistic, but there are at least two variants. First the colours of "Wreck" give off an almost tangible "landscape" feel. And secondly, Lanyan seems to have made decisions when placing of lines and shapes. This is a classical abstract attitude. Another fine Abstractist example would be Howard Hodgkin.
OK lets practice. Get yourself a large piece of paper - any paper ... even newspaper will do. You will need plenty of Red, Blue, and Yellow (remember the practicals in Part I) acrylics or cheap powder paints will be fine. A one fairly thin paint brush, and one fairly thick. With the first attempt do not "think" of anything other then lines. Place the paints in easy reach for you to work quickly. Ready? Thin brush first - dip it deep into any colour then quickly bring the brush into contact with the paper - do not stop moving. Move in any direction. Paint faster. Paint one continual line. As soon as the brush starts to run dry dip it into paint - any of the colours. Keep doing this until you have filled the paper with a mass of scribbles. Try this about five or six times - not caring what is produced (you can throw it away - no one needs to see it ... or you might want to frame it!).
Now repeat the above practical only this time try using what is sometimes called "short stroke" - which is precisely that. Rather than one continual line, produce lots of short lines - you decide on the length. But make sure you are still acting as though it is one continual line - you are just lifting the brush at the appropriate time. Repeat this a few times.
Next decide which you felt more at home with. Produce another image in that way only this time look for shapes. When you see one, load your brush and paint the outline of the shape - very quickly. Finally get the thick brush and load it with a colour and roughly fill in the shape. Carry on mark making - even if it runs over any painted shapes.
Finally try again with line and shapes, and this time adding something else - you decide. If you really cannot think of anything try choosing any of the following: Screwing up the whole paper, then unfolding it and carrying on painting; rip or cut holes into the paper - and carry on painting; spatter (a well used favourite) paint onto the paper; find rice, spagetti, sand, earth, dust ... anything - pour it or sprinkle it - then carry on painting ... the list is endless.
Of course you might not be at home with this ... too messy you might say. Then, perhaps you might be a Surrealist - or maybe a Visionary ... that will be the next article.
If you have an anarchistic attitude within you then abstract art is for you. You will never run out of ideas - in fact even if you had NO ideas then your temperament alone would find a most fundermental mood swing or dark (and maybe on more rarer occasions - light) moment to enrap you within its aggressive drama and painful colours. Willem de Kooning's "Gotham News" is a good example of anarchistic abstraction - just look at this picture - http://www.albrightknox.org/ArtStart/sKooning.html. Wild movement mixed with such vigorous aggression.
Anarchists tend to be wildly demonstrative in their approach to ... everything! They have the potential to be able to utilize almost anything at hand that might provide them with contradictory ideas and totally original materials.
However, there is a big "down" side to what might be seen as the almost perfect abstract artist. An Anarchistic attitude tends to come from a tremendous sense of lacking in many areas. So things like confidence can be a very fearful barrier to the power of a creative flow. Therefore I believe that by working on some of the practical ideas written below obstacles like shyness and fear can slowly be weakened until finally the real artist begins to rise out from the depths of darkness or light in an increasingly "louder" manner.
The Abstractist is in many ways similar to the Anarchist. The difference here is that the Abstractist mind has a colder capability of "seeing" completely non-representative imaginings. And although both the Abstractist and the Anarchist generally produce work from deep within. The Anarchist cultivates a more physical "anti" approach, whereas the Abstractist appears to have the knack of actually visualizing dots, lines, and shapes when looking at every day objects.
Notice the similarities between de Kooning's "Gotham News" and Peter Lanyan's "Wreck" - http://www.ablot.com/wreck.htm Then take another look and seek to find any differences. "Wreck" is very anarchistic, but there are at least two variants. First the colours of "Wreck" give off an almost tangible "landscape" feel. And secondly, Lanyan seems to have made decisions when placing of lines and shapes. This is a classical abstract attitude. Another fine Abstractist example would be Howard Hodgkin.
OK lets practice. Get yourself a large piece of paper - any paper ... even newspaper will do. You will need plenty of Red, Blue, and Yellow (remember the practicals in Part I) acrylics or cheap powder paints will be fine. A one fairly thin paint brush, and one fairly thick. With the first attempt do not "think" of anything other then lines. Place the paints in easy reach for you to work quickly. Ready? Thin brush first - dip it deep into any colour then quickly bring the brush into contact with the paper - do not stop moving. Move in any direction. Paint faster. Paint one continual line. As soon as the brush starts to run dry dip it into paint - any of the colours. Keep doing this until you have filled the paper with a mass of scribbles. Try this about five or six times - not caring what is produced (you can throw it away - no one needs to see it ... or you might want to frame it!).
Now repeat the above practical only this time try using what is sometimes called "short stroke" - which is precisely that. Rather than one continual line, produce lots of short lines - you decide on the length. But make sure you are still acting as though it is one continual line - you are just lifting the brush at the appropriate time. Repeat this a few times.
Next decide which you felt more at home with. Produce another image in that way only this time look for shapes. When you see one, load your brush and paint the outline of the shape - very quickly. Finally get the thick brush and load it with a colour and roughly fill in the shape. Carry on mark making - even if it runs over any painted shapes.
Finally try again with line and shapes, and this time adding something else - you decide. If you really cannot think of anything try choosing any of the following: Screwing up the whole paper, then unfolding it and carrying on painting; rip or cut holes into the paper - and carry on painting; spatter (a well used favourite) paint onto the paper; find rice, spagetti, sand, earth, dust ... anything - pour it or sprinkle it - then carry on painting ... the list is endless.
Of course you might not be at home with this ... too messy you might say. Then, perhaps you might be a Surrealist - or maybe a Visionary ... that will be the next article.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Buying An Abstract Painting
You may be mistaken in thinking that buying a piece of abstract art would be a simple thing to do. You just select the work you want... and buy it!
The truth will creep up on you as soon as you look at the first painting "it is not quite the right one, so I will look for another".
Here is the first realization - and question to ask yourself - why exactly is this piece you are looking at "not quite right"? The answer can be manifold:
1. It includes a colour I do not like
2. I am not sure it will go with another item in the space I would like to place it
3. A slow realization that a certain personal undesirable association is being emitted from the painting
4. It looks great but I am not sure it will fit the space
5. It is just right but the price is a little bit more than I wanted to pay... and the list goes on.
Although I do not have all the answers I will endeavour to reveal, from my own personal experiences, a few solutions.
So, you see a picture you like but the colour combination is wrong. Put simply the thing to do is to contact the artist and tell them your dilemma. You will find that some of them will either be able to reproduce a similar work in the colours you prefer, or they will be willing to notify you when and if they produce a work that might be nearer to the colours theat you require.
If size is an issue then I would advise the same as above - contact the artist and tell them the problem. I believe you will receive a similar reply to that which I have written above.
Make sure that when you do make a purchase that the artist is offering a return policy. I have a ten day return policy which means that if you buy a painting and hang it in your space - if within ten days of purchasing it you become uncomfortable with it for any reason and you cannot live with it, then you may return the piece and your money will be returned. An important point here worth mentioning is the fact that you have made certain decisions on buying this piece of work, therefore it is worthwhile mentioning it to the artist which will enable them, if they so inclined, to produce a work that has omitted the undesirable entity. This way you may well end up with a work that will be of greater value to you - having communicated your dilemma.
Price can be a tricky challenge - but many artists offer different ways to help you buy the piece you want. If, for instance, the piece you like is too expensive for you then you have a number of choices. Perhaps the most preferable choice is for you to negotiate the price with the artist. However, please bear in mind that the artist has produced a totally unique painting - there is nothing like it in all the world! Also spare a thought for the fact that the artist will have spent time struggling to get the work out onto the canvas. A well known saying is that a piece may well have taken only a few hours to produce, but you should also take into account the years the artist has been at work - so if someone says to me "it can only have taken you three hours at the most" I reply "no... it has taken me FORTY YEARS and three hours!" If you keep these in mind then negotiate with what you might see as a realistic price for you and a price that will have taken the above into account for the artist.
Some artists will not barter prices - but they may be willing to sell you the work if you pay by installments. You have to ask yourself here "Do I REALLY want this piece?" If you answer yes then you will find the money... because you want to - you want the work.
Let us say that you see an artists work - you love the style - you would very much like to have a painting on your wall... but you see nothing that grabs you. Try contacting the artists and commissioning them to painting you a picture... this way you may be able to influence the end result by instructing the artist to use certain colours, or specific shapes. Or if they are not inclined to work that way then they might put you on their mailing list that will inform you when their latest piece is about to go on show - you will be offered "first refusal".
One final thing worth mentioning is the fact that a growing number of artists are making their works available as high quality giclee prints. These reproductions are very close to the original work, and some of the reproduction houses actually ensure that every brush stroke has the appropriate texture and "feel". So in many ways you could purchase a work that is almost identical to the original piece except for one very big fact - the price of the print. The print will be of a limited edition, making it a collectible investment - and it will have been checked, numbered, and signed by the artist.
If none of the above proves to be useful to you then the simplest thing to do is contact the artist and just talk to them, tell them what you think of their work, what you are looking for - anything... just communicate with them, and I think you will find that you will not only buy yourself something that you will love and cherish ... but you will also bond with the artist themself in a way that you could never do if you walked into a place selling paintings and chose a piece hanging on a wall.
The truth will creep up on you as soon as you look at the first painting "it is not quite the right one, so I will look for another".
Here is the first realization - and question to ask yourself - why exactly is this piece you are looking at "not quite right"? The answer can be manifold:
1. It includes a colour I do not like
2. I am not sure it will go with another item in the space I would like to place it
3. A slow realization that a certain personal undesirable association is being emitted from the painting
4. It looks great but I am not sure it will fit the space
5. It is just right but the price is a little bit more than I wanted to pay... and the list goes on.
Although I do not have all the answers I will endeavour to reveal, from my own personal experiences, a few solutions.
So, you see a picture you like but the colour combination is wrong. Put simply the thing to do is to contact the artist and tell them your dilemma. You will find that some of them will either be able to reproduce a similar work in the colours you prefer, or they will be willing to notify you when and if they produce a work that might be nearer to the colours theat you require.
If size is an issue then I would advise the same as above - contact the artist and tell them the problem. I believe you will receive a similar reply to that which I have written above.
Make sure that when you do make a purchase that the artist is offering a return policy. I have a ten day return policy which means that if you buy a painting and hang it in your space - if within ten days of purchasing it you become uncomfortable with it for any reason and you cannot live with it, then you may return the piece and your money will be returned. An important point here worth mentioning is the fact that you have made certain decisions on buying this piece of work, therefore it is worthwhile mentioning it to the artist which will enable them, if they so inclined, to produce a work that has omitted the undesirable entity. This way you may well end up with a work that will be of greater value to you - having communicated your dilemma.
Price can be a tricky challenge - but many artists offer different ways to help you buy the piece you want. If, for instance, the piece you like is too expensive for you then you have a number of choices. Perhaps the most preferable choice is for you to negotiate the price with the artist. However, please bear in mind that the artist has produced a totally unique painting - there is nothing like it in all the world! Also spare a thought for the fact that the artist will have spent time struggling to get the work out onto the canvas. A well known saying is that a piece may well have taken only a few hours to produce, but you should also take into account the years the artist has been at work - so if someone says to me "it can only have taken you three hours at the most" I reply "no... it has taken me FORTY YEARS and three hours!" If you keep these in mind then negotiate with what you might see as a realistic price for you and a price that will have taken the above into account for the artist.
Some artists will not barter prices - but they may be willing to sell you the work if you pay by installments. You have to ask yourself here "Do I REALLY want this piece?" If you answer yes then you will find the money... because you want to - you want the work.
Let us say that you see an artists work - you love the style - you would very much like to have a painting on your wall... but you see nothing that grabs you. Try contacting the artists and commissioning them to painting you a picture... this way you may be able to influence the end result by instructing the artist to use certain colours, or specific shapes. Or if they are not inclined to work that way then they might put you on their mailing list that will inform you when their latest piece is about to go on show - you will be offered "first refusal".
One final thing worth mentioning is the fact that a growing number of artists are making their works available as high quality giclee prints. These reproductions are very close to the original work, and some of the reproduction houses actually ensure that every brush stroke has the appropriate texture and "feel". So in many ways you could purchase a work that is almost identical to the original piece except for one very big fact - the price of the print. The print will be of a limited edition, making it a collectible investment - and it will have been checked, numbered, and signed by the artist.
If none of the above proves to be useful to you then the simplest thing to do is contact the artist and just talk to them, tell them what you think of their work, what you are looking for - anything... just communicate with them, and I think you will find that you will not only buy yourself something that you will love and cherish ... but you will also bond with the artist themself in a way that you could never do if you walked into a place selling paintings and chose a piece hanging on a wall.
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