Art & Soul Out Of Contemporary Africa

International Wed 03-02-2010

Art & Soul Out Of Contemporary Africa
By Allison Hersh/Savannahnow.com

"Give me more than one caress,
Satisfy this hungriness.
Let the wind blow through your heart.
Oh, wild is the wind, wild is the wind."
- "Wild is the Wind," 1957
Nigerian painter Odili

Donald Odita considers color to be the ultimate symbol of human diversity.

"The colors I use are personal," he said. "I cannot make a color twice - it can only appear to be the same. This aspect is important to me as it highlights the specificity of differences that exist in the world of people and things."

Odita's rich, abstracted canvases - defined by interlocking geometric shapes that combine to form vivid mosaics of color - earned rave reviews at the prestigious Venice Biennale.

His paintings, which navigate the crossroads between Western modernism and African culture, serve as a centerpiece of "Wild is the Wind," a new exhibit on display at the Savannah College of Art and Design's Gutstein Gallery.

"Wild is the Wind" is part of "Africa on My Mind: Contemporary Art, Home and Abroad," a special series held in conjunction with the Third Biennial Art History Symposium organized by SCAD's art history department.

Art & Soul Out Of Contemporary Africa

^{Art and Soul By Donald Odita}

Exploring a song

The exhibit pays homage to the 1957 song "Wild is the Wind," which was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis and has since been re-interpreted by a variety of singers - from Nina Simone and David Bowie to George Michael and Jon Bon Jovi. The exhibit showcases recent work by African artists exploring themes in the song's lyrics, including love, intimacy, wildness and transcendence.

"I wanted to do a show that would open up people's minds and perceptions about what it meant to be an artist in Africa," said "Wild is the Wind" curator Laurie Ann Farrell, SCAD's executive director of exhibitions. "It's a beautiful show. The works speak together in a profound way."

Featured artists include Ghada Amer, Lara Baladi, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Nicholas Hlobo, Odili Donald Odita, Zineb Sedira and Penny Siopis. Many of the works on display in "Wild is the Wind" have never been shown in the United States before.

From Penny Siopsis' dreamy, symbolic paintings to Kiluanji Kia Henda's vivid street photography, which identifies the allegorical in the everyday, "Wild is the Wind" showcases a variety of styles, media and aesthetics.

"These are established A-level international artists," Farrell said. "These artists are dealing with contemporary issues in a post-9/11 world."

Although the artists hail from South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and other nations across the continent, the exhibit downplays nationalism, instead embracing a global aesthetic that transcends geopolitical borders.

Egyptian artist Ghada Amer tackles terrorism head-on in her fibers-inspired paintings and installations. Her installation "La Salon Courbe" creates a life-size replica of a refined parlor environment furnished with a gold gilt-trimmed sofa and matching armchairs flanking a multi-colored throw rug.

Although the setting appears, on first glance, to be the epitome of civilized elegance, upon closer inspection one realizes that the English definition of "terror" repeats over and over throughout the wallpaper's patterned surface. Likewise, the word "terror" has been embroidered in Arabic lettering into the furniture with blood-red thread and embedded into the design of the carpet.

Amer suggests that the post-9/11 paranoia that has become the "new normal" in the global consciousness has seeped into the very fabric of our psyche, permeating even the most private and personal spaces.

Farrell, who served as a curator at the Museum for African Art in New York for eight years before joining SCAD, relished the opportunity to mastermind this ambitious exhibit, which took more than a year to plan.

"There's something powerful and personal about each of the works in this show," she said. "It's an amazing opportunity to be exposed to international artists pushing the notion of contemporary art."

What: "Wild is the Wind," featuring original work by leading contemporary African artists
When: Through Feb. 28
Where: Gutstein Gallery, 201 E. Broughton St.
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; 1-4 p.m. Sunday
Information: 912-525-4743 or www.scadexhibitions.com

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