Unseen Art Scene (mirror)

Image: African Graffiti by Joe Pollitt 1949 - First Published West African Pilot, May 1949 THE EVOLUTION, HISTORY AND DEFINITION OF FINE ART Author: Ben Enwonwu I should ask the gods of my ancestors to tell me what art is and for what purpose it exists. It is easy to talk about painting and sculpture, or architecture, music and other forms of art but it is not so easy to discuss fully what constitute their natures and qualities. The question What is Art? has been widely discussed by artists, philosophers, and art critics but many aspects of it have merely been explained away. It is also a question for which no cut-and-dry definition has yet been offered, nor would any if offered, be adequate. Through aesthetic experiences and constant application of thought to art, writers on art have been able to offer different aspects of the answers which may serve as an adequate definition of art. LANGUAGE OF ART But very often the language of art employed is misunderstood, or else, taken for grant...

I wanted to post this article today at the end of Feburary 2008 and ask the question how have things really changed in the last 50 years...? 1956 - First Published in Paris Paris: Editions Presence Africaine PROBLEMS OF THE AFRICAN ARTIST TODAY Author Ben Enwonwu The problems which face the African artist of our generation are many and difficult. They may be classified as political, cultural, educational and social, and even emotional problems. I should, however, like to introduce a few thoughts on some aspects of these problems that may throw light on the inevitable causes, in the hope that some solution can be found. Perhaps, the most pressing among these problems and therefore one which I feel personally, should be given first attention is the political. The cause of the political aspect of these problems can be envisaged and considered by the extent to which Art has been accorded its proper place in the political life of the African peoples. It is a common assumption that Art has n...

Previous Critiques on Contemporary African Art Dates: 1960 - 2003 Sureys and Critiques http://www.sil.si.edu/SILPublications/ModernAfricanArt/maa-start.htm Source: Compiled by Janet L. Stanley National Museum of African Art Library Smithsonian Institution Libraries __________________ GENERAL Surveys and Critiques 1966 | Brown, Evelyn S. Africa`s contemporary art and artists: a review of creative activities in painting, sculpture, ceramics and crafts of over 300 artists working in the modern industrialized societies of some of the countries of subSaharan Africa. New York: Division of Social Research and Experimentation, Harmon Foundation, 1966. 136pp. illus. N7397.S3B87 AFA. OCLC 1063546. The Harmon Foundation promoted artists from Africa and sponsored exhibitions in the United States as early as the 1950s. The first attempt of the Harmon Foundation to compile a directory of African artists was in 1961 Evelyn Brown`s 1966 directory was the second, considerably more substantial effort. F...