AFIRCAN ART AND THE ART MARKET ON A GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL SCENE
Contemporary African art is an expression commonly used to defined the sum of styles and national productions of the African continent, the production of African artists, the production of Africa analyzed as a hole, the artistic, cultural and institutional dynamics of the African continent, the contemporary art so-called African or a contemporary artistic production linked to Africa-“wikipedia”The countries of Africa are well known for indigenous and culturally representative sculptures, textiles, and paintings. In the past, artists, art historians, and collectors have focused primarily on “traditional” African art, consisting of ceremonial masks, wood and ivory statues, and mud-cloth textiles. Today, Contemporary African Art has transformed beyond traditional subject matter and media into an art movement being exhibited, collected and discussed internationally. The styles of Contemporary African Art differ greatly from region to region and are highly affected by Africa’s history: colonialism; religion; politics; racism; slavery; war; contact with the West; and the urban experience.
The vastness of classifying Contemporary African Art
For a long time African art, were of more interest to, If I should say anthropologists than to art historians. As artist started to portray art as being tied to specific histories and colonial and postcolonial conditions Avant grade art movements began to take an interest in sculpture from West and Central Africa, which came to the notice of art historians through its influence on their work. What was its appeal? Artists described their perceptions of remarkable formal qualities quite different from those in their own cultural tradition. They read into them the kinds of symbolic meanings they were seeking to express in their own work, promoting the view that Africans could create art, but of a very particular kind. To those struggling against the constraints of the naturalistic artistic tradition of Europe, such African art offered a refreshing and potent vision of the creativity of ‘natural man’, which scholars had already compared to the work of children or psychotics. This was particularly appealing to those seeking creative inspiration from impulses, which their own culture defined as psychologically deep, intuitive and primitive. For Africa, the issues in this one-sided Western debate with other cultures have moved from the export of Africans as slaves to the conquest of their lands, more recently to the formation of nation states, and now to the promotion of capitalist economies through aid and development programmes.
Africans also work as artists within this Western art market. Since the colonial period an increasing number of Africans, often educated in the art colleges of Europe and America, have been drawing upon their experience of Western as well as African culture to develop new, often very individual styles and forms of objects as works of art. Like many of the educated urban middle-class of Africa, they seem to find the relation between the two traditions both enriching and full of troublesome contradictions, which may be expressed in their work. They bring African forms and imagery to an artistic purpose originating in the west; in the search for a new African art which can hold its own in terms of Western artistic values without losing its African identity. But the identity of the educated and cosmopolitan African elite is rather different to that of rural villagers or town craftsmen working within local artistic traditions.The modern and contemporary section of Reflections provides insight into a di- verse range of artistic impressions from various African artists living in and out of Africa. Using various media such as sculpture, photography, painting, and mixed media, some artists in this section create work using traditional motifs to preserve their respective cultural traditions. Other artists create work to express issues that deals with identity, environmental issues, or personal ideas. Artists such as Bruce Onobrakpeya or Sokari Douglas Camp use images from their surroundings or cultural background and incorporate them into their artwork.
Other African artists work with various media to express their artistic vision in their own words and images. African art is beginning to appear on the international art market scene. Over the years there has been a number of exhibitions that has involved African Art and artist. Some of them have actually focused on Africa and themed the show in relation to the continent. These shows consist of groups of contemporary artists forming collaborations and together creating contemporary art that is rooted in tradition. A number of shows that has taken place on the international scene includes the Venice Biennale in 2007 which showcased works of the Ghanaian Artist El Anatsui, who created a sensation when, he transformed the facade of the Palazzo Fortuny by draping it in another of his shimmering wall sculptures. The international scene has also experienced the African now auction at Bonham’s in London in 2011, and the African Auction at Philips De Pury in New in 2010.
The Global Africa Project
The global Africa project is a newly opened exhibition exploring contemporary African art, design and craft currently on show at the museum of arts and design in New York. The show features work by over 60 artists in Africa as well as Europe, Asia and North America. The works involved all mediums covering everything from , fashion, architecture, painting, to basketry, photography, textiles. Etc. Rather than separate the works into traditional art historical groupings, the global Africa project makes no distinction, placing profession artist next to self-taught craftsmen, exploring the impact and influence of Africa on contemporary design. “The exhibition challenges conventional notions of a singular African aesthetic or identity, and reflects the integration of African art and design without making the usual distinction between professional and artisan.” Works by African artist span various dimensions, due to that; the Global Africa Project was organized around several thematic ideas. They ranged from the phenomenon of intersecting cultures and cultural fusion, to the impact of the art-market on the economic and social conditions of local communities. It also reflected on the branding and co-opting of cultural references, how art and design is promoted in the international market as well as the use of local material. The project surveyed a rich pool of new and talented emerging artist from Africa and its influence on artist around the world. I think that the show not only brought an in-depth analysis to what entails African art, but also it brought together artists who have never been exposed to the American Audience. It also created the opportunity for the artist themselves to interact with each and form new and enriching friendships from all over the continent.
To see to it that African art in the international scene is on the rise, we not only need the artist, weather acclaimed or new talents, but also curators and critics who are deeply immersed in the understanding of language of African art. There are a few prominent African curators on the international scene but none surpasses the ability and creativity of the Nigerian born curator Okwui Enwezor. Born 1963 in Kabala, Nigeria, Enwezor has become one of the most influential curators and theorists in contemporary art. In 1998, he became known to a broader public when he was appointed as the first representative of a non-Western country to be artistic director of the Documenta 11. In 2002, he set a new attendance record for a medially and regionally diverse exhibition in Kassel. Five international "platforms" preceded the actual exhibition, creating an impressive format and expanding it to a global scale both theoretically and conceptually.He contributed significantly to the international art market’s rejection of solely focusing on art within a Euro-American context, and globalized the art world both commercially and intellectually. Conceptually Enwezor repeatedly insisted on making a distinction between economic globalization, which essentially reinforces the supremacy of the old elites, and a true internationalization not only of the art market, which focuses on participation in political, social and cultural spheres.
Through my research I became interested in ways in which African art and artist are being presented to the public and what medium is used to channel it if there is any at all. I found the Nka journal for contemporary African art. It was founded by Okwui Enweazor to bridge the gap of the non-existence of the history of contemporary African art by moulding its discourse through critical journals. I found the introduction to the page of the journal accurately iterated. They put it this way; “In a newly developing field like contemporary African art, a critical journal should play a significant role in creating the very discourse of the discipline itself. Nka represents a step forward in that direction. It is an important initiative in the field of contemporary African and African diaspora art, which has ben neglected within the art historical debate. There is certainly a growing interest in the area of contemporary African diaspora art and the modernist and post modernist experiences within this field. Yet most mainstream art periodicals have marginalized African and diaspora arts in general, let alone the contemporary forms. The few journals, which exist in the field of African art, either focus primarily on the ethnographic and so-called traditional or authentic art forms, or give a cursory and mostly superficial look at the contemporary forms. Hence, Nka serves as an urgently needed platform, filling a serious gap in the field. It would be right to say that it has in a short period placed contemporary African art in a global perspective and brought significant aspects of contemporary African culture to the awareness of the world”. With the structure of the art world, we not only need skill and talent to become acclaimed and known, but also having the right networking and people to help you put you out there. This is what the Nka Journal is doing and has been a great source of inspiration the younger contemporary artists.
An example of Nka Journal Magazine
To fully ensure this, the need for a dedicated gallery and museum is needed to achieve this. One of such galleries is the Ed Cross fine Art Limited. It is a gallery that specializes in Contemporary African Art. They do not only serve as a gallery but also a speaking voice that introduces and connects art lovers, private collectors, investors, corporations or museums to the work of many of the most distinguished emerging and established artists from the African continent in a responsible and ethical manner. The Museum of contemporary African Diasporan Arts, MoCADA, is an excellent example of sharing contemporary African art to the world. It is the first museum of its kind to be opened in New York. MoCADA’s mission is to rediscover valuable African cultural traditions that were lost through colonization and the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and to foster a dynamic space for the creation of the continuous evolution of culture.
Probably the most important of all of these institutions and organizations is the Dak’Art Biennale. The successful and most achieving thing for me about Dak’Art is that the government and the ministry of culture is actively involved. To me the Dak’Art is the gateway to contemporary African art in the international scene. An art biennale is one of the most prestigious exhibitions there is and to have one in the continent on Africa focusing on African contemporary art is the way to go. This is because a biennale drives people from all over the world, and to have them come over to see a biennale involving mainly African contemporary artist is the best way to introduce and push forward contemporary African art to the global scene. Since its inception, although the first few one were not directly focused on African artist and the contemporary, it has Supported and encouraged creativity, promotion, diffusion, artistic training and art education in Africa; promoting the African artists internationally; encouraging the integration of the contemporary African Art into the international Art market, and contributing to the development of art criticism in Africa and publications on art and contemporary African artists. The progress of this has also led other organization to be actively involved like the pan African society. In the beginning it had it flaws, it involved mostly artists from Francophone African countries, and there was no critical evaluation. Now it has engulfed all the sub-regions of the continent and blossomed immensely.
Artists who have established themselves Internationally.
El Anatsui has become one the most acclaimed sculptors on the international scene. He has been on the international scene for decades, including an appearance in the 1990 Venice Biennale. However it is his monumental bottle-cap curtains in his solo exhibition "Gawu" and the group show "Africa Remix," both of which toured Europe and the US from 2004 to '2007, and then again in the 2007 Venice Biennale that has made him the pre-eminent artist working in Africa today- At least as far as the West is concerned. El Anatsui was born in 1944, the youngest of 32 siblings, in the Ewe town of Anyako, Ghana. People there were occupied with fishing, salt harvesting, and, during the off-season, weaving. It is noted that Anatsui once said, "I'm a product of two different traditions, the Western one, which I acquired in art school, and the African one, which I started acquiring on my own”. This is because; the Ghanaian colleges where El Anatsui studied art still followed a British-style curriculum, focusing on Western art techniques and history. "There was no exposure to one's own traditions so he began to do his own research, studying the old African ways at cultural centers and directly from artisans.
El Anatsui at the venice biennale
Bernie searle is a south African artist who explores her own and a broader South African identity by branding her body. sSearle originally was trained as a sculptor, now she utilizes large-scale digital photographic prints and combines them with found materials to make compelling installations. She works with different mediums, such as photography, video, installation and performing art. Searle's works focus primarily on narratives of gender, race and memory as they have been configured in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. Like a number of contemporary artists working in lens-based media and digital technology, her works are often autobiographical and challenge the viewer to confront his or her own role as voyeur of the demarcated body. The interesting thing about searles work is that even though they confront issues of apartheid, something that is very personal to south Africans, they found admirations in the west greatly. When she came to Cornell in 2010 to give a talk on her artistic carrier, I asked her that “My concern was that I believed people who experienced the harsh treatment of apartheid do not want to remember them or have them re-iterated in anyway as it was only going to incur more pain and hurt, so how do they people feel about her re-enactment of the whole thing.” She said that people were scared to talk about and that she was putting her life at risk doing what she is doing because it was necessary to have these issues brought out for a peaceful reconciliation program. I believe that the west is embracing it peacefully because it is an issue related to humanity and maybe they find it as a way of mending the hurt they incurred during the process.
Berni Searle performing at Still' - Berni Searle at Axis Gallery, New York
Yinka Shonibare to me is one interesting artist, as with his double identity as a British-Nigerian, his works tends to focus on those two cultures. He works across diverse artistic media to explore ideas about African contemporary identity and the legacy of European colonialism in the present. His works strives to open up debate about the social, cultural and political issues that shape our histories and construct identity. They rend challenge assumptions about representation. In a video interview with him, when asked why his sculptures are headless, he said it is to conceal the issue of race and identity, and to express the idea of oneness, in so doing people realize their mistakes so as not to repeat it again. He is know for his headless sculptures cloth in African batiks. I think that it is a way blurring the boundaries between stereotypically Western ideas about ‘high’ art and traditional categorizations of ‘African art.
Yinka Shonibare's Scramble for Africa
When I was first introduced to works of William kentridge, I did not for once perceive him to be an African artist because of the medium of his work. He is mostly known for his video and animation works, something very new to Africans and he is able to do a very good job merging the two. He is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films. His works although have very much western form of production, they depict everyday life under apartheid. In exploring this field, he broadens his themes leaving the audience to examine other political conflicts. He takes on a different approach when addressing political issues such that he ends up having his works create contradictory aggressiveness which entangles perpetrators, witness and victims involved. As he has progressed, he has developed a new conceptual theme where even though he is still using the animation medium, he has introduced his body, where he uses his body “himself” as the main character. Kentridge goes beyond the usual manipulations of animation to bring forth a world conceived as a theatre of memory.
Kentridge drawing in his studio, Johannesburg -a link to his animation "Automatic Writing" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmvK7A84dlk
Ibrahim el Salahi is a Sudanese whose works fueling modernism has fused the diverse traditions of Sudan to make an art that is universal in its importance. Interesting enough amongst the entire internationally acclaimed artist, it is only Salahi who has served time in prison by his countries government and has had to go into exile. His most famous work, which is temporarily housed in the Johnson museum in Cornell, is called the inevitable. It is said that it is his reaction to his time spent in prison. These nine panels of artwork are Africa’s, “Guernica”, a testimony of war and revolution, which raises the global consciousness about the imminent threat of dictatorship and civil unrest. It makes frequent trips abroad but the one place it never goes is the Sudan. Ibrahim has always maintained that the Sudanese people should own the 9-panelled Masterpiece, yet he refuses to allow the painting to travel to the Sudan until the country enjoys, public liberties and democratic institution. “The Inevitable”, challenges the notion of warfare and depicts the chaotic, exposing the brutal acts of destruction and genocide. It is popularly believed that never before has an African artist made such a social statement, which has echoed the sentiments of an entire Nation and is as relevant today as it was in when it was made in 1985
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"Inevitable"-housed in Herbert F Johnson Museum, Cornell University
OBSERVATION
By looking at these artists, one theme that runs through each others concept are all social commentaries relating to mis-happening governing their countries, as well as interference to past situations. In addition they have found a way to implement a western concept or standard, either through the medium they used or the language in works are expressed. Personally I think that these strengths are what drives their work into the international scene. The traditions and culture of Africa are enriched with so much that even the people of the continent have a hard time to graps it all, thus having a western feature in it makes it not only easier but pleasing as well to interact with it.
Conclusion.
Africa is home to a thriving and energetic contemporary art culture. Without a profound knowledge of the history and traditions of the art of Africa, its sociological makeup, its political and cultural contexts, its design principles and its common characteristics, we would fail to see where contemporary African art has arrived at, what it pays allegiance to and what it chooses to leave behind in its attempt to be part of a world universalization. I believe that the present moment is ushering in a new golden age for African art. We can view contemporary African artists from the perspectives of their origins but also they have interwoven their arts in such a way that it reflects intimate and meaningful standards creating beauty of their experiences as well as characterizing function hence, making it understandable globally. In the end the future of contemporary African art on the international scene, though has take quite some time has come far in achieving its aim. To share Africa.
Below is a list of African art exhibitions that has taken place on the international scene
Exhibitions
There have been a number of exhibitions in recent times that have been paramount to establishing contemporary African art on the Western art front.
1984, MOMA Exhibition, New York - 'Primitivism in 20th C Art' Widely criticized for promoting African art as primitive and non secular while its Western counterparts were seen as 'modern', it nonetheless brought attention to the beauty of form thus exhibited.
1989, Centre Pompidou, Paris - 'Magicians de la Terre', this exhibition teamed primitive or folk artist like Kane Kwei with the so-called avant-garde. This exhibition revealed more about the curator than the reality of the artistic scene on the African continent as preference was given to artists who exhibited traces of tradition like feathers, pigments etc. However it did bring some unexposed African artists into the limelight and showed them alongside others from all over the world placing them in a very contemporary context, which was a first.
1995, Whitechapel, London 'Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa', attempted to provide an historical context for African modernism. Showed the work of 60 artists and the collaboration of 5 African curators.
2001, New York City - 'The Short Century: Independence and Liberation movements in Africa, 1945-1994', highly ambitious it installed 400 works on 3 floors of all media forms from all over Africa.
2001, Barcelona - 'The Artist and the City' After the millennium, there is a gradual inclusion of African artists in global forums like the Venice Biennale.
2005, British Museum - 'Wealth of Africa: 400 yrs of Money and Trade'
2004, 'Africa Remix' - conceptualized by Simon Njami, Cameroon. 2005, exhibition showed in Southbank, London with 25 countries represented by 60 artists, some resident in Africa and others part of the diaspora. 2006, Johannesburg Art Gallery, showed 200 pieces by 87 artists.
2008, October gallery, London - 'Angaza Africa', showcased their choice of 12 of Africa's most innovative and dynamic artists.
2008, Studio Museum, Harlem - 'Flow' - focused on a new generation of young artists who mostly live abroad and visit Africa regularly.
2009, Tate Modern, Liverpool - 'Afro Modern, behind the masks'
2010, Museum Africa, Johannesburg - 'Space; Currencies in Contemporary African Art'