Public Art

I must admit I have trouble putting a definition that I truly believe in to some of these artsy phrases. Public Art aka Art in public (and semi public) spaces is one very ambiguous statement in that you put together two words that would individually challenge any above average linguist especially when put in an artistic context.

Every time my English is challenged, I run to Wikipedia… according to them, the term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all.

Where I come from (read Nairobi), any ‘strange looking thing’ in any open space or next to a building is loosely tucked in a box labeled public art!

Historically public art was in the form of monuments and memorials with artists like Michelangelo and Gian Lorenzo Bernini being commissioned to create works that are still breathtaking centuries later. Recently however, it has become more conceptual with artists interpreting cultures, attitudes and lifestyles of the people in relation to the space coming up with interventions that are simply, spot on! (for lack of a better adjective)

In my index, among the most successful works in this category is the Charging Bull (also referred to as the Wall Street Bull or the Bowling Green Bull), the 3.2 ton bronze sculpture by Arturo Di Modica that stands in Bowling Green Park near Wall Street in Manhattan, New York City. The oversize sculpture depicts a bull, the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, leaning back on its haunches and with its head lowered as if ready to charge. The sculpture is both a popular tourist destination which draws thousands of people a day, as well as "one of the most iconic images of New York.

the wall street bull

Also is Christ the Redeemer (constructed between 1922 and 1931), a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world. It is 39.6 metres tall and 30 metres wide. It weighs 635 tonnes and is located at the peak of the 700-metre Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. A symbol of Brazilian Christianity, the statue has become an icon for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone. It is now a part of the new Seven Wonders of the World.

Christ the Redeemer watching over Rio.

Back home?! Hmmmm! When monuments were considered public art, we had a few. Uhuru Gardens, Nyayo Monument... but artistically, we still lag behind. Way behind. By the turn of the millennium, Nairobi got a handful of public sculptures thanks to Kuona Trust’s International Artists Residency Programme. Jeevanjee Gardens in downtown Nairobi has sculptures by Kenyans Edward ‘Masakhalia’ Bulima (Portrait of Jeevanjee) & Morris Foit (Birth in the Garden) and Nitaya Ueareeworakul (Thailand).

The Nairobi museum also benefitted from hosting Kuona (1995-2003). Sculptures by Ugandans Francis Nnagenda, Kizito Maria Kasule, Kenyan Jackson Wanjau and Japanese artist Yukinori Yamamura makes it some form of mini sculpture park. Omega Ludenyi’s ‘Tree of Life’ also sits at the Sarit Centre car park.

However, we have no public artwork that is uniquely Kenyan or Nairobian! The space custodians – City Council of Nairobi have erected ‘things’ at the major roundabouts and the government through Kenyatta University is busy erecting monuments to ‘honour our heroes.’ First Dedan Kimathi and recently Tom Mboya (Ironically, history suggests both were terminated by the government).

Dedan Kimathi (l) & Tom Mboya

Most people admit that the government finding money to commission public art is a good move. Me too! However, those that sit down to decide the What? Why? Where?… need to style up! And pretty fast! What we’ve seen coming up recently is a big joke! The artist’s technical ability may not be in question, but the content is. If this is not checked, Nairobi will end up being a city where ‘freedom fighters’ cast in bronze stand high up on 15 foot pedestals looking down at us mere mortals.

Sculptures at Nairobi Museum (r) Francis Nnagenda's Mother & Child

The Nairobi Museum is not doing very well either. A sculpture by Jackson Wanjau (Kenyan sculptor extraordinaire) is tucked at a very bad place - literally between a rock and a very hard place! This happens while prime space along the main entrance is reserved to some sculpture that is… weak (I tried really hard not use the word ‘bad’). In terms of material used, and how it’s put together. The Achilles Heel of public art is that it should resonate with the public. Those who interact with the space. Every time I go to the museum, I don’t feel that piece. Neither do my friends. Nor my family. I wonder who does?!

The reason every Nairobian has been making a pilgrimage to the Vulture Graffiti in downtown Nairobi is simple. For the first time in a long while, someone has given them what they have longed for in terms of art in a (not so) public space.

Nairobi is starved of public art for two reasons; Money and bureaucracy at the council offices. But for anyone who’s overcome these challenges and is hitting the road to create another artwork in public (or semi public), please don’t give us another ‘freedom fighter on a pedestal'… and whatever it is, make it coherent and well thought of.

Of Counterfeits, Fakes & Cheap Imitations

I love the Kenyan art scene! It’s (probably) all based in Nairobi – the big city in the (currently very hot) sun. This may be due to the fact that whatever infrastructure that exists for the arts, is city based. Also, a large chunk of the direct consumers of Kenyan contemporary culture is tucked in the high-rise blue chip companies and multinationals or the leafy suburbs that house the countless expatriates who ply their trade with the UN.

Indigenous Kenyans too are slowly starting to ‘partake’ of art though this is limited mainly to the Yuppies – Young Upwardly Mobile professionals who make up a great percentage of the rapidly growing middle class.

With this scenario on an upward curve, there seems to be a ‘boom’ in the art business locally and just like the California gold rush of 1848 - 1855, no one wants to miss the gravy train.

Artists are – (un)fortunate (for luck of a better word). With or without a boom, they have to open their studios daily. They have to be inspired to create.  They have to respond to their spaces. They have to interrogate humanity – socially, politically etc. It is their duty.  And this loosely translates to – New artworks being created daily.

Sometimes the artist understands and can articulate the Whats? and Whys? about their work. Sometimes they do go the whole nine yards and even curate their projects. Most of the time though, they let the professionals do it. And that’s my beef for the day!

Professionals? Who are these professionals? You see, Art is strange. Stranger than love. Than Religion. Than Science. The artist is (supposed to be) God! He is the creator. But there are others who hover around him. Those, who live off him. They, who are irrelevant without the artist but have somehow managed to convince themselves that in the contemporary art hierarchy, the artist is at the bottom of the food chain! (Read Seven Days In The Art World by Sarah Thornton)

They come in different forms, shapes, colours and titles – Art Dealers, Curators, Art Theorists, Art Historians… the list is endless. With all due respect, I have many a friend (or rather know many people) falling in this category and some I hold in high regard. Unfortunately back at home (read Kenya), Hmmmm! The situation is fluid – these are deemed as ‘cool occupations’. A mechanic bored of popping them hoods, becomes an Art Dealer. A retired Montessori teacher catches the curatorial bus… anyone whose career is going through a rough patch finds a safe haven in the arts!

That’s okay. It starts being un-okay when you have 20 curators doing incoherent projects all over town. When you have uninformed  ‘art historians’  and ‘theorists’ who are clueless about the Kenyan art scene now, and what it was like 5 or 10 years ago. It stops being okay when you have intellectually lazy people carelessly using respectable titles doing silly (again, for lack of a better word) projects that equate to nothing. Those that, are not at all relevant/useful within our context. People who are not intelligent enough to interpret/articulate the conversations from the global podium within the local stage.

If a city has 10 art dealers, 5 curators, 3 theorists… and 3 dozen artists, you expect it to be abuzz with a handful of good curated exhibitions, maybe an Annual Art Fair and probably one or two intellectually nourishing journal/newsletter/book – whatever!

You’d expect to feel the Kenyan presence in Biennales & International Art Fairs – because that’s what the real curators I know do.

But what do we have? A handful of dudes with fancy titles, living off artist commissions from sales of artworks in small cafes and corporate corridors. People with no medal whatsoever to show for their several years of  fancy titles. Not an event. Not a text; Like a singer without a song. Or a painter without a painting. People who prey for any social gathering so that they have another chance to introduce themselves while attaching buzz words/titles to their names… Ogonga Thom, Independent Curator… Michael Soi, Art Dealer Extraordinaire… John Kamicha, Art Theorist & Critic etc.

This makes the local art scene feel like a circus of wannabes. And with every sunrise we have to navigate a field full of fakes, counterfeits & cheap imitations.

Abuse of Office

Of all the occupations known to man, none operates without a code of conduct that stipulates the acceptable rules and regulations. This also includes consequences should these be breached. All, except one. The doctors have their Medical Practitioners & Dentists Board, the lawyers – Law Society of Kenya, lecturers – University Academic Staff Union, hawkers too have something like Nairobi Petty Traders Association!

Visual Arts, a career that falls loosely between a job and a divine calling, one full of royalty, and geniuses, and those whose places are reserved next to the almighty, is governed by… NOTHING!

Before you cast your first stone… let’s make this clear: I am not advocating for ARTIST CENCORSHIP!

When an artist abuses his privilege (freedom of expression) and creates work that is culturally, socially, or religiously offensive, how is the audience supposed to deal with it? If in an attempt to create a sensation, the artworks become an insult, how is the intended audience supposed to react?

It is known that artists (not only the creators but their groupies who include curators, dealers, theorists, historians etc) enjoy any publicity. This includes any outrage as a result of offensive work.

Damaso's controversial painting.

In July 2010, South African artist Yuill Damaso reveled in the limelight after making a painting depicting the autopsy of Nelson Mandela. Abomination! Can the same artist depict his father, or mother, or girlfriend dead?! Or did he just need the world’s most popular sage to help his selfish cause? According to Damaso, that was his way of paying tribute to Nelson Mandela!

Similarly, Danish artist duo Surrend ( which comprises Jan Eggesborg & Pia Betelsen) depicted the Danish Royal family in a pornographic cartoon that even the bluest of blue film industry will not be able to achieve in the near future. 

Surrend's cartoon

When does the artist cross the social commentary/entertainment/protest line and blur the focus turning into a subjective, insulting, sensation seeking wanna-be? Or are they just hirelings of a third party? Sometimes I think most of these artists are just victims of handouts for which they will do anything the hand that giveth asks. Talk of “He who pays the pipe calls the tune.”

Back home, Kenyans have been marveling at a series of graffiti of what should have been a subject in school. The interesting thing about it is that it loosely falls in the guerilla art movement and hits the Kenyan politician with bare knuckles. It makes for a very successful artwork without being offensive and it’s probably the artwork that has gotten the most attention recently (debatable).

Graffiti by Anonymous artists in downtown Nairobi

Another artist (who I can’t stop calling a moron) has used the same instruments (spray paint), the same platform (public wall space) and the same subject (the Kenyan politician) and expects me (and you) to salute him at the guerilla parade! This artist has trashed the whole philosophy of social responsibility by artists and expects Kenyans to forget a good lesson urging us to vote wisely – by telling us to vote for the same vulture we’re being warned against! Sadly, it’s not one (bad) painting. Not two… maybe twenty spread all over Nairobi. 

Some of the texts by 'mercenary artists' in Nairobi

As a consumer of this horrible art, who do I complain to? How can I talk to the artist to tell him how I feel about his (bad) artworks? How do I deal with the visual pollution? Should I go see the Mayor/Town Clerk? Am I supposed to get him/her through the politician who commissioned him?

This is just one (pathetic) artist… or maybe just one (body of) work that is offensive… one that you cannot describe using one positive word. But as creative people – artists, curators, writers… how many times have we subjected our audience to something offensive? Artworks that are irritating.

Since we don’t want to be censored, maybe it’s up to us not to abuse our office by engaging in “silly commissions” and soberly being considerate to our intended audience. As a man I considered not very wise once said, “There’s a very thin line between thought-provoking & outright insulting.”

I moved him from the “not very wise” box to the “somehow wise” one.

“Can Africans save Africa?”

With reference to the Contemporary Kenyan Art Scene

While lazying about and flipping channels on TV after an uninspired painting session, I stumbled upon an interesting conversation on CNBC with the above title and tried to put it in a context in regard to my practice.

This made me re-evaluate my journey as an artist - How I started, where I am, where am headed, my expectations, frustrations and the far apart triumphs.

Brainstorming with like-minded artists (over some blended scotch), lots of conversations came up and the main issue was “the disconnect” between the Arts Schools, Art Spaces & the practicing Artists and the suspicions between the cultural organizations that makes it unable for them to run any art activity worth writing home about as a collective.

With the exception of Sarakasi Trust, all visual art organizations and art spaces are run by indigenous Kenyans and most artists agree that this may be a step in the right direction. This is fuelled by the notion that “Kenyans cultural managers will have the interest of Kenya art at heart.”

However, this does not seem to be the case as most organizations that were strong and very supportive of arts have either shifted their dynamics or are just not adapting to change (as fast as practicing artists are) leaving us wondering what their relevance or role in the arts is.

Events that graced the artistic calendar – The Kenya Museum Society Arts Festival, The East African Industries Art Competition, The Art Panorama, The HFCK Exhibition… etc. stopped happening without any information forthcoming and we’re left in the periphery as our neighbours hold annual Art Fairs, Biennales and art competitions re-writing their art history while we dwell in petty politics sometimes forgetting our relevance in the art world.

However, all is not lost as we have seen the emergence of Manjano, an annual Nairobi art exhibition & competition which has been running for 3 years (thanks to the GoDown Art Centre).

It is with this in mind that we’ve been flirting with the idea of bringing together all art practitioners and artists to one forum to talk, fight and have a laugh while addressing challenges related to our work and the possibilities of doing a collaborative projects together. The wish list would include; Practicing artists, Art Teachers (KU & BBIFA), Cultural Managers (Kuona, GoDown, African Colours, Banana Hill, Ngecha, Nuru Studios, Milele, CCAEA etc), Gallerists (Watatu, One Off, Nairobi Gallery), Government - on condition it’s not the sitting Culture Minister. Pun intended.

This should be an information platform where the participants try to define art in their terms, and tell the others their role and what they do, to create an understanding of each other and how we can complement each others practice.

The catch however is, this should not be another summit or seminar where guys sit, talk, earn healthy allowances and forget what they talked about immediately they sign above the dotted line, then off they go for shopping.

It should be a good time to have Kenyans talk about Kenyan issues as opposed to having expatriates sit round a table and decide what’s good for us and you never know, maybe at the end of it all, we may see a prestigious annual arts competition… or a Nairobi International Art Fair… or even a Kenyan Biennale.

Or maybe… It’s just a lazy artist dreaming!

Art Reportage

Hmmm! Where to start? The beginning is boring and the end is far. How about this?
In my brief ‘love affair’ with the arts – whether as a groupie, an artist, or just a dude with a desk job, I’ve been privileged to “rub shoulders”, share studios, have exhibitions or just hang out with some of the craziest minds alive, those that border on being genius.

It’d be like the who’s who of 21st century African artists with a sprinkle of the rest of the world; Kim, Kamicha, Soi, Mukabi, Salah, Beatrice, Eltayib, Kamwathi, Tapfuma, Kyalo, Okello, Uma, Jimmy Ogonga, Loyiso Qanya, Jelili, Klashorst, Nirveda, Nayari, Emeka, Aditi, Ndasuunye…. And of course, myself.
This has enabled me be part of their process from studio to gallery during which I get to listen to the philosophies behind their works, why they do what they do and what they intend to achieve through their work.

Once the artworks leave the studio and are installed in an exhibition… hmmm! It’s like the artistic thought process is thrown out the door and replaced by the cliché of “the-rugged-living-on-cloud-9-artist”

I think I can swear that am yet to hear an artist (in Kenya) say he enjoyed reading an article/review about their work/project/exhibition. And that’s my beef for the day!
For most artists, their artist statement is probably the most important ‘thing’ in their exhibitions after the work. Naturally, that makes it a must read during their projects and is the link between the work and the artist, telling us the artist’s intention and in most cases may come alongside the exhibition brief.

In a typical Kenyan scenario, a journalist comes to an art event, browses through and starts with irritating questions like;
• Now what is this?
• Who buys it?
• How much?
• How many can you sell in a week?
They then describe all the paintings physically in detail and in some cases summarize by how much the artist had made by the end of the night/day!
I guess most journalists/writers don’t put into consideration what the artist wants to say.

A wise (wo)man once said that a good journalist must put into consideration:
1. First & foremost, the artist’s point of view (through his artist statement and exhibition write up) and the curator’s (if there’s one).
2. His (journalist) own analysis - relationship between the artist’s ‘story’ and the work (content)… description & analysis
3. Probably his personal opinion of the execution of the exhibition (work in relation to use of space)… His/her interpretation & evaluation.
4. Lastly, a summation if it made at all any sense and probably an observation or two from neutrals (read the audience).

Unfortunately, most do not do a critical analysis. What they do is “report” what they saw in the space and casually “compare” the artist to an “Old European Master” - where you’ll probably will miss the connection.
It doesn’t take rocket science to be a good journalist but it takes a lot of research, listening and numerous studio visits to understand where the artist is coming from and the story they’re trying to put across.

Case study: 1st Feb 2011, Kuona Trust hosted an Art Raffle to raise cash for building more studios (long story for another day). It would be worth noting to mention that 50 artists donated work for the worthy cause. The event was quite successful and a handful of journalists came in; The Star had a full page which had several “glossy coloured photos of the famous people all dressed up” and a rough estimate of the total amount sold but nothing to say about why the event was organized… yeah, true story.

Typical case of art reportage in made in Kenya.

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along - Rodney King

(Unhealthy competition between art institutions within the Kenyan visual arts sector)

Kenya is a country of “high” population density records (in almost every known field). It has the highest number of “curators” per square inch, the highest number of institutions set up to “help” artists and probably the highest number of “artists.”

This has been made so by the ease of which anyone on a sabbatical from any field becomes an artist and the NGO culture where even the Kenyan government ‘survives’ on donor funding.

Every aid agency in Africa favours Nairobi as a wise choice of their head office because of the relative stability and as a hub to the rest of the world which makes institutions like The Ford Foundation, The Rockerfeller, HIVOS & Doen all present in “The Green City In The Sun”

With ‘easy’ access to funding, everyone with a ‘juicy’ story to sell can get funding for an “art project”. This has led to institutions duplicating each others profiles, mandates and programmes thereby setting a volatile atmosphere where almost every ‘art-based’ organization is requesting funding from the same donors and trying to carry out the same programmes.

Nairobi has… hmmmm! Let’s see… 2 visual art spaces set up as trusts; Kuona Trust Centre for Visual Arts & The GoDown Art Centre, An online art portal; African Colours, The project based Centre for Contemporary Art of East Africa, Communal art spaces like Ngecha & Banana Hill and other spaces such as The Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Art (RaMoMa), The Nairobi Museum, The Nairobi Gallery, Gallery Watatu, Paa Ya Paa Arts Centre and the privately owned ‘The Loft’ formerly known as One Off.

With the exception of The Loft, Gallery Watatu and Paa Ya Paa, (this can probably be disputed) the rest, whether individually or government owned, rely on funding/grants for general running.

Naturally, with quite a handful of ‘big named’ institutions and ‘alot of money’ in the arts, one would expect Nairobi to have a vibrant art scene with numerous high profile events; A Biennale of an annual Art Fair, maybe an Arts Festival or even an Art Award worth writing home about, but that is not the case.

It’s a very fragmented art scene with people running art organizations but are never seen in any art events and in some cases don’t speak to each other, even if just to compare notes. This does not create a conducive enough atmosphere to do any collaborative project by institutions.

One attempt was made last year to do a joint activity but… it was a sorry affair, done passively, probably just because it “had to be done.”

Recently a few artists have started questioning the “value” of these art organizations. What do they stand for? What do they want to achieve? How do they go about trying to achieve this?

As one artist put it; I paint everyday from my house & find my way to a commercial gallery to sell my work. What role do these organizations play in my practice?”

He could be right I think. Maybe artists’ expectations are too much or maybe the arts organizations have just failed to show why they remain relevant in this rapidly developing art scene in Nairobi.

Mukabi…ism

(The new movement in town)

Mukabi aka Panye, Omar Kasongo, Muyela or to kids simply as Uncle Supuu is probably the most recognizable artist in the region (that’s debatable I know). Whether for his provocative paintings of ‘healthy women’ or for his physical presence. A walk with him in downtown Nairobi is always frustrating as he keeps on stopping to chat to everyone – from his models, school children, corporate CEOs to street urchins.

Trained as a graphic designer at the Creative Art Centre and The Kenya Polytechnic, he has had an interesting career. As part of the pioneers of what is now referred to as “the 2^nd" generation of Kenyan artists, he came through the ranks in the early 1990s.

Few practicing artists; whether 1^st, 2^nd or even the emerging 3^rd generation can claim to have not experienced him.

From the mid 90s at the museum studio, most artists out of school would find tutelage from him; from basics such as where to find cheaply priced art materials to exercising your skill on canvas, how to price your work to how to ‘talk’ to prospective clients.

15 years later and lots of water under the bridge, much has changed, and more has stayed the same. Most artists ‘get there’ and isolate themselves. They hide in their private studios and rarely attend other (read not very commercially successful) artists’ events; but Panye has remained – just Panye.

Coupled with the lack of free & easily accessible communal spaces for young/emerging artists, and the failure of local arts schools to adapt to a modern curriculum, most youngsters know only one place to go to for apprenticeship…. Studio ya Panye.

A visit to his space and you bump into a handful of young adults ‘learning’ from him. They come from all over because this is probably the only place where you can come in with basic skills, get art making materials, make your art and probably showcase it ‘with no strings attached.’

Some of them are very skilled painters from the hours spent alongside Panye. However as with any ‘master-student” relationship, most aspire to be like the master.

There seems to a new movement, Mukabi..ism.

Whether this is good or bad, am not so sure. The question is why do these youngsters decide only Panye can and not the numerous artists and art institutions in Nairobi?

In a show recently held @ Kuona Trust Centre for visual Arts, 10 of the 25 works submitted were by his students, with a large chunk from Kijiji Art Studios run by artist Mike Wafula (story for another day) and only one from the university.

A chat with some of them was that Panye’s studio provided a one stop shop for anyone with the intent of getting into art practice.

This is a crop of what may in future be referred as the 3^rd generation of Kenyan artists and for sure there is a little bit of Panye in them. They paint like him; voluptuous women, similar palettes and look up to him as big brother, mentor and role model.

Some people are shocked when they walk into an exhibition and see familiar paintings only to see names like Kennedy Otieno, Alex Mbevo, Dickson Kaloki, Wilson Matunda etc.

Does this bother him? “Not at all,” Says he. “I just try to do what is right and if I end up having influenced a new generation of artists, I’ll have left my mark in the world. I also started out painting like Michelangelo but look at me now. ”

I cheekily refer to the movement as Mukabi…ism and he lights up saying, “That’d be fantastic. Imagine your kids studying me in art school. They’ll eventually discover themselves and life after my apprenticeship.”

Only time will tell.