Question 1
The first artwork (Figure 1) is a product of El Anatsui and which he named “between earth and heaven.” The work was produced in the year 2006. “Between earth and heaven” is closely related to the highly recognized and celebrated traditions of the West African people majorly on strip-woven textiles. El Anatsui’s work makes use of readily available materials with our environment and which some people consider to be trash and translate them into useful and attractive artwork. For instance, for the painting, he makes use of different color bottle tops. Some of the other materials utilized include tins of milk, iron nails, and printing plates, among other elements. The primary concern the artist wished to bring out is that consumerism results in environmental issues and that in some nations re-using is based on the need felt at present and was not instead of a daily practice. The art on the other side (Figure 2) is the artwork of Viye Diba titled Viye Diba Musical Materiality 1998 mixed media. As highlighted in its title, it was produced in the years 1998. Viye wished to change the mindset of people who entirely believed that artwork should always be made of the mask. Viye Diba wanted to bring people into reality and make them live in the real world. It was suffering from environmental degradation due to consumerism, especially in urban areas. The artwork acted as a visual communication tool on how items termed to be useless can be recycled and value-added to them, and they end up gaining the dignity of artwork. Diba utilized his old clothes and painting to come up with a beautiful painting. Although both artists were all aiming at conserving the environment, the choice of materials differed. For instance, in place of painting, El Anatsui utilized different bottle top painting while Diva used to paint.
Question 2
Iba N’Diaye developed figure 1 artwork in the year 1966. The artwork presented in the figure is referred to as “The Poet and His Muse, oil on canvas.” Ndiaye came up with this work upon his return from Paris, thereby utilizing the modernist style he acquired as he advanced his studies. Although N’Diaye, as an individual, had succeeded, he felt that e owned a lot to his country and the people who fought for its independence. The artwork celebrates the traditional African cultures, and thereby uses the Dogon Kanaga mask as part of the background. The art represented in figure two forms part of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s work. She developed it in the year 1995 and named it the Coloured Family Tree Gelede. The activist was addressing cultural issues that end up affecting women in her community. The artist of this work presented the ideas in the British Museum. The two artists of the work presented in this question were both living away from their country of origin. However, they showed a lot of concern and love for their countries and helped in addressing the issues facing the communities through artwork.
Question 3
Figure 1 was developed in the year 1962 by Uche Okeke painted ink on a paper and named the work Owls. The work was entirely made to express the diversity of cultures in Nigeria. They were using different symbols to express their newly found identity just after independence. The symbols are majorly representing the cultures and aesthetic traditions of people at that particular time in history. Figure 2 depicts an artwork named the “Ashanti Fish,” which was developed in the 1970s by a group of Malian artists who referred themselves as Groupe Bogolan Kasoban. The group resident in France by them had a great urge to celebrate their independence while in the country. The art is made using mud cloth, which they believed could authentically express their feelings towards their country. Although both artworks used different materials for making with one utilizing ink and paper while the other made use of mud clothe, they were all aimed at expressing the new feeling of success developed as a result of achieving independence.
