Making The Virtual, Reality

Kenya Tue 18-07-2006

Making The Virtual, Reality
By Africancolours.com

AfricanColours.com, the premier Internet portal for Contemporary African Art has linked a group of Kenyan artists with Alex Cook, the prolific American muralist to decorate the walls of Nairobi. “We see the vibrant colors and images on the matatus, the energy and light of the market place are all part of the life of Nairobi,” say AfricanColours.com Director Andrew Njoroge.

“However we wanted to add to the vocabulary of culture in Kenya by creating murals, an important public art form, to express life in Nairobi, now. Taking art out of the institutions and putting it literally out onto the street.”

Murals are one of the oldest art forms, from prehistory to Ancient Egypt and the Italian Renaissance to the political protests in 1960-70’s Europe and America; the mural is an expression of history, aesthetics, culture and politics. Yet beyond the commercial advertising messages of corporate logos and the like, very few purely artistic murals exist in Nairobi.

And just why have murals lasted so long as an art form and why are the important now? “Why?” Alex Cook, murals answers. “Because like any language it implies expression of ideas and something we may not be able to communicate in spoken language, we can do in pictures. Murals are where art stands up and asserts its nature.

When we embrace art in our communities we open a door to ourselves.“ Mr. Cook collaborated with Kenyan based artists: John Kamicha, Simon Muriithi, Faith Nancy and Jeff Wambugu to complete the murals. The first mural is located at the Kabete Children’s Home and the second completed mural is an ephemeral piece on River Road. AfricanColours.com is working on additional locations to be completed by July 24.

“We were just walking around town,” muses John Kamicha, describing how the River Road piece came to fruition. “We wanted to do some artwork right then, right there, spontaneously. We asked the person who owned the corrugated fencing if we could do a mural, he said yes.

We left and bought some spray paint, came back and went to straight to work.” The improvisation and energy in the process reflects the spirit of the modern mural, graffiti and public art movements in urban areas around the world.

According to Mr. Cook a good one. “Nairobi is a dry sponge and murals are like water. Artists are looking for a way to have an impact. Here with murals you can do it.” The first AfricanColours Mural Project began June 26 and will end July 24.

Posted By: African Colours

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