30 Faces Of Art

Kenya Thu 05-05-2005

30 Faces Of Art
By Emmanuel Mwendwa

In the near-surreal world of artistic expressions, first impressions are likely to conjure unpredictable or deceptive conclusions. Such is the dilemma, posed by a maiden encounter with a new book, which seeks to thrust the lot of uncelebrated Kenyan art into the limelight.

Simply titled Thelathini, it breaks ground as a first-ever collection of indigenous art works – immortalized by a variety of pastel, gouache, water colours, oil paintings; pencil work, collage, glassworks besides soapstone, wooden, quarry stone and junk metal sculptures.

The 144-page book described as a ‘portable’ print gallery, culminates a three-year project co-ordinated by the Kuona Trust. Artist John Njenga’s painting Not All Store To Me Love graces its cover. This title inadvertently, mirrors a growing consensus that the collection is an appropriate but long overdue homage, to a rich diversity of local visual artistic talent.

Dancing with the enemy-jimmy ogongaLeafing through its contents however evokes a feeling of de javu for discerning art lovers, some of whom feel that the works of an emerging generation of local artists struggling to get a footing on the visual art landscape were left out. Questions are popping up in art circles, faulting the criteria that earned numerous paintings coveted space, for instance, Mary Collis’ oil on canvas pieces Red Rain and Metamorph.

Perhaps also misplaced in this collection are Timothy Brooke’s Song of the Plains, Early Morning Mt Kenya and Almost Kilifi all, which bear a somewhat subtle yet distinctly amateurish signature.

The only glass-work pieces Detail of Plan of Nairobi City, Bust and The Children’s Doctor by Nani Croze, will possibly generate mixed reactions more so among the lay men groping their way in the maze that is the world of visual art. Yet in her own words, Nani does not need her work to be ‘pretty’ or even tasteful. “By evoking a response, be it revulsion, dislike (or) wonder, this is more important than a mere, and often banal, acceptance (of my work)”, she is quoted as saying.

But the sun does still shine brightly, as one encounters other significant paintings and sculptures, which stand out on their own, deserving of merit. Notable ones include seasoned artists Joel Oswaggo’s Fisherman’s Village, The Good Choice; Ancent Soi’s Homestead; Rosemary Karuga’s collage pieces Maasai, Monkeys and a hilariously illuminative Everyone Wants Her and Table Manners by Mazola wa Mwashigadi.

Also worthy of mention are Sane Wadu’s Lazarus and the Rich Man, Homage to Women; Good Neighbour - a gouache piece on paper by Patrick Kayako and Sebastian Kiarie’s Drunkard, which candidly depicts a spell of overindulgence.

Even at a fleeting glance, Zacharia Mbutha’s Twins at Play, Fish Haulier; The Self Elevated One by Meek Gichugu, Kamal Shah’s Desert Lullaby also catch one’s attention. A glimpse into the promise of rich talent existing across the border leaps off Ugandan Theresa Musoke’s works The Kongoni, Wildbeeste and Market.

Her counterpart, pioneer artist Jak Katarikawe, who has been recreating life in rural villages and settings on cardboard and canvas since mid 1960s, also contributes to Thelathini. But despite being an old hand on the brush, his early 70s and 80s pieces Jealous Eyes, Those Dancing Shoes and Tourists in Town are a throwback to an era when local art primarily sought to appeal to tourists.

Maasai-rosemary karugaMoving On-jimmy ogongaAlthough predominated by paintings, stimulating and intriguing stone/wooden pieces created with mallets and chisels by skilled sculptors are also showcased in the book.

Rumours and Dancing Warriors by Samwel Wanjau, Irene Wanjiru’s Body and Soul, Resting by Gakunja Kaigwa, Prisoner by Jackson Wanjau, Jimmy Ogonga’s Moving On and Dancing With the Enemy are instantly striking. Junk-metal artist Kioko Mwitiki’s trademark Elephants and Vultures are equally eye-catching. In a nutshell, Thelathini explores artistic styles accentuated through expressionism, abstract and realism.

The book also contains full-colour photograph samples of works art featured therein – credited to Alex Hooper, besides also short biographical notes about the artists. But as the publishers point out – the works are not “an exhaustive or definitive study of Kenya or East Africa’s contemporary visual art scene”.

A pressing need still lingers for a comprehensive documentation of the broad realm of regional artistic expression in either its nascent, developing or primed stages.

Posted By: African Colours

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