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| "Accents of Silence" by Àrà Dẹ̀ìndé, 36" by 24", mixed media on canvas, 2019 |
"I will not accept an inferior position in the art world, nor have my art called African because I have not correctly and properly given expression to my reality. I have consistently fought against that kind of Philosophy because it is bogus. European artists like Picasso, Braque and Vlaminck were influenced by African art. Everybody sees that and is not opposed to it, but when they see African artists who are influenced by their European training and technique, they expect that African to stick to their traditional forms, even if he bends down to copying them. I do not copy traditional art; I like what I see in the works of people like Giacometti but I do not copy them. I knew Giacometti personally in England you know; I knew he was influenced by African sculptures but I will not be influenced by Giacometti because he was influenced by my ancestors."
I think this is a very instructive school of thought, especially considering such a statement coming at a time which shortly precedes the burst of the information age we now live in, where we literally have access to influences from all over the world even without travelling. It is interesting to note that it is valid enough for an artist from a generation like ours to be open to a diverse crop of influences driven by the vehicle of the Internet, media and increasing globalisation.
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| "A Head Full of Dreams" by Àrà Dẹ̀ìndé, mixed media on paper. 2017. |
There's this overwhelming expectation from art collectors and gallerists in the international art market to collect and support contemporary African art that looks "African" without much further classification the way there was cubism, fauvism, de stijl, impressionism, art deco, neo expressionism, pop art etc in the documentation of modern and postmodern art that came from Europe and USA in the previous century. The average Western collector, I think, looks at art from the African continent much the same way he thinks of Africa as a country rather than a continent, and I think the onus is continually on us as Africans to show that there are detailed classifications in our artistic productions through our renewed interest in documentation of what we do, how we do what we do, and more importantly, why we do what we do.
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| "Female Prince" by Àrà Dẹ̀ìndé, ballpoint pens and acrylic on paper, 2018. |
It is also imperative to make the rest of the world see and appreciate the fact that African art does not necessarily have to bear that identity of being African alone. Maybe the term 'African art' should just fit taxonomical convenience while we focus more on the diversity of output under the jurisdiction of that nomenclature, but before I see myself as an African artist with the attendant cliché of having to create works that look like my forefathers', I should like to see myself as an artist with a voice that can be heard anywhere in the world based on creative merit, not based on my Africaness alone.
There is a pressing need for the acknowledgement of globalised tendencies in the production of 'African' art. Hopefully we will see Bonham's and Christie's and Sotheby's not just have contemporary and modern African art auctions in the nearest future, but also have a fresh, dynamic appreciation for more specific art forms and movements within the continent. How I think that can be achieved is by realising the pressing need to document our processes and evolving craft in ways that would mirror the successful documentation and presentation of modern and contemporary art out of the western world.
© Àrà Dẹ̀ìndé
February 4, 2020