Chinua Achebe
Albert Chinualumogo Achebe born on November 16, 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria, was a Nigerian novelist known for his sensational books that depicted the imposition of the African culture and customs. Before his death in Massachusetts on March 21st 2013, he had written more than five books thus receiving awards and honors such as the Man Booker International Prize of 2007. He is one of my influential artists as he used his words to not only entertain individuals but to educate them . His book, “ Things Fall Apart” mainly caught my attention as it encompassed on the struggle one had to go through during the British -controlled Nigeria, and, put it into the perspective of a soon- to become chief as he tries to navigate his two sons whilst trying to fit the demands of his tribe. I choose to incorporate Chinua Achebe into my website, to express how literature can help open individuals eyes to what is taking place and how even though it is a different form of art it does have a similar purpose which is to, communicate.
William Kentridge
Is a South African artist and filmmaker known for his prints, drawings and animated films. His short film, “ Drawing lessons' ' which is one of my favourites encompasses on him interrogating himself as he tries to discover anything new . He is such an influential artist as his theme of self-interrogation correlates to how as human kind, at some point we are not satisfied with what takes place around us or what we do. This theme was further enhanced when he denoted, “ For anyone who has ever written anything, or drawn anything, or recorded themselves..., there’s an enormous difference to one’s sense of self in the moment of making and when you take a step back to become the viewer… What seemed like such good writing the night before, when you re-read it the next morning, you say: “I couldn’t have written anything so stupid, some other idiot did it” . That shifting between yourself as the maker and yourself as the viewer is something that is very obvious in the studio, but it is often less painfully obvious in the rest of your life.” This quotation was important in understanding his artistic intention of using these films to communicate human nature which is something that I believe is perfectly alluded to through art. The films come out of the means to create an image, that soon progresses into another piece, thus creating a story.
Pieces Of William Kentridge's Art Work
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William Kentridge Art works. ( Top left) Sympathy , ( Top Left) Felix in Exile, ( Bottom Left ) Unknown and ( Bottom Right ) Automatic Writing
Another aspect that makes him an influential artist is that he grew up under the impression of being unable to be an actor and filmmaker at the same time. In an interview that was conducted he described one of his peers as telling him,” Stop having this illusion that you will have another life either drown or swim but accept this is what you are doing.” Even though he did not even have any work experience at the time he persisted and described himself as “ being stuck with the label” of being an artist. In his later years as an artist he went against the aspects of apartheid and utilised his art allude to unity between races in South Africa.
Johnny Clegg
Johnny Clegg was a South African musician and anthropologist who used his music to administrate change in South Africa as it faced Apartheid. Apartheid is an Afrikaans term meaning,“ apartness” and was a system that alluded to the separate development of different racial groups within South Africa which lasted from 1948 to the 1990s. John Clegg is an inspirational artists as during this time period he used music to defy the apartheid segregational laws. He challenged authorities by forming mixed- raced bands, performing to both white and black audiences and mixing Zulu influences into his music. In 1969 he formed his first multiracial band called Juluka. Together with Sipho Mchunu, they aimed to overcome apartheid by mixing Zulu styles with Celtic folk influences and rock. In 1963, Juluka toured the Uk but faced many problems as the Musicians uNion accused his anti- apartheid band of breaking the UN national boycott that went against the movement of bands between South Africa and the UK. This resulted in him believing that the Un would be happier if the band split and its members become political refugees.
Juluka ( Left Side ) and Johnny Clegg & Savuka
Even though the band did break up in 1995, Johnny Clegg did not lose hope on his dream to live in an equal South Afric . He soon started a new band Savuka (“we have risen”) with dancer and singer, Dudu Zulu. Together they set out to mix African music with international rock songs and seeing that during this time period there was a large amount of repression in the country Savuka directly reflected political issues which Johnny Clegg used to discuss on stage. Overall, he is one of my influential artists as he persisted to change perceptions and unite individuals through something that he loved. Incorporating his influence in my blog, I believe will cause individuals to realise that besides art can create a change even in circumstances that can easily take a large tow on society.
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Also known as “ Asimbonanga( Mandela) is an anti- apartheid song from Savuka’s 1987 album Thrid word child. It alluded to Nelson Mandela’s imprisonments on Robbin island at the time and other apartheid activists such as Steve Biko. Johnny Cleggs intentions in writing this song were to express how even though many people never saw Mandela during his time in imprisonment Mandela, “ made a brigade for all of us because it’s that guarantee that everyone wants ni black domination, no white domination, nobody dominating anyone and that’s how this song developed.”
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Nnena Okore
Australia-born Nigerian, artist Nnenna Okore utilises recycled materials to create richly textured wall sculptures that she expresses as alluding to memories that capture the deep meaning of society and the global crisis. Her use of diverse materials to express such ideologies makes her such an influential artist as some of the materials are easily taken for granted but can be such an impactful mode of expression. For example most of her pieces (such as Body Image and Through Thick and Thin) she incorporates newspapers which she symbolically utilized to allude to carrying the narrative and history of time as they report the misfortunes, success and struggles of mankind. Additionally, Okore’s themes of decay and death in her recent works portray how she wants to celebrate the stages of nature and how it’s fragile composition if not taken care of can easily be broken.
With reference to an interview conducted by Obatala, when asked to elaborate why she claimed that she wasn’t relating her art work to African culture but seemed to exhibit the African point of view of life and death her response was, “ I don’t think my works are completely void of an African touch...However the broad concept of addressing nature or addressing the environment is not a topic that you find trending in the works of many African artists...There is a tendency for people to assume that being of African decent; your work should be about racial tensions, gender discrimination, and other cultural or political issues. These are the themes that are recurrent in today’s Contemporary African art.” Through this response, it made me think about how I should portray my blog.. My initial idea was to analyse how African Artists use their art to denote to racial, gender and cultural discrimination. It is still a good perspective to draw attention to but unlike Nnena Okore I didn’t think of portraying the artists memories, and experiences of living in this continent through the natural environment, interactions with different cultures and their festivities and celebration of life.
Addressing the fragility and spirituality of her works, they convey a theme of life, death, fragility and resilience she responded, “ You called it resilience; there is a structural integrity that the artworks possess, in spite of their very frail and dainty quality, they are not about to fall apart as one might think. Even though they look dead, they embody so much life on account of their color and structure.” This quotation, made me perceive her works in a different way. Originally I loved her sculptures because their structure and the use of vibrant colours made it seem quite aesthetically pleasing. Although, after reading the interview I came to realise how I never looked and grasp on what she is trying to convey. As one of my influencers, her artworks seem to carry messages that are not easily understand or taken into consideration. As a result they made me think about death and life more and how her materials correlate to them. Similarly, I would love my artworks to be composed in such a way that if an individual could look at them, they might stumble upon the
question “ Why did she use that material and what does she want too communicate.” This is one of the beauty’s of art, as it communicates or stresses ideas not many think about. Amazingly, Nnena Okore is able to correlate such themes to the global crisis we are experiencing, which I find quite inspiring and influential.
question “ Why did she use that material and what does she want too communicate.” This is one of the beauty’s of art, as it communicates or stresses ideas not many think about. Amazingly, Nnena Okore is able to correlate such themes to the global crisis we are experiencing, which I find quite inspiring and influential.