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Apt Appropriation: Contemporary African Artists'utilization of Canonical Western

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Apt Appropriation: Contemporary African Artists'utilization of Canonical Western APT APPROPRIATION: CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ARTISTS’ UTILIZATION OF CANONICAL WESTERN ART By MACKENZIE MOON A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 MacKenzie Moon 2 To my cheerleaders 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My gratitude goes first to my advisor and mentor Dr. Victoria L. Rovine. She has guided this endeavor and seen it through to fruition. I would like to thank Drs. Robin Poynor, Alexander Alberro, Eric Segal, Melissa Hyde, Shepherd Steiner, Susan Cooksey and Leonardo Lasansky for their support in my personal development as a scholar. I am also grateful to my Gainesville friends who made this process more than merely enjoyable. My family has been unwavering in their support, and for that, I am ever humbled. An especial note of thanks goes to Wim Botha, Ziemek Pater, Carlo Gibson, and Yinka Shonibare, MBE, who graciously answered my sometimes tedious queries. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................9 The Challenges of Working with Lesser-Known Artists .......................................................11 Predominance of South African Artists..................................................................................11 2 THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS ...................................................................................13 Semantic Interrogation............................................................................................................17 The Canon...............................................................................................................................19 The Problematics of Classifying Artists.................................................................................20 3 YINKA SHONIBARE, MBE.................................................................................................24 “African” Wax-Print Fabrics ..................................................................................................26 Reoccurring Motifs.................................................................................................................29 Parodied Canonical Works .....................................................................................................33 Multivalent Readings of Fragonard........................................................................................35 4 WIM BOTHA: MIELIEPAP PIETÀ ......................................................................................46 Beyond Michelangelo.............................................................................................................47 Function of Simulacrum .........................................................................................................49 Marble versus Maize Meal .....................................................................................................53 On Exhibition..........................................................................................................................54 5 STRANGELOVE: AFRICAN DAVID....................................................................................57 Art and Fashion.......................................................................................................................59 Function of Re-creation ..........................................................................................................62 Original Impetus .....................................................................................................................64 6 JOHANNES PHOKELA: APOTHEOSIS ..............................................................................66 Rubens Revisited ....................................................................................................................67 Painterly Qualities ..................................................................................................................68 Intertwined Histories ..............................................................................................................70 Contemporary References ......................................................................................................72 Curious Inscription .................................................................................................................74 5 7 HASSAN MUSA: SAINT SEBASTIAN OF THE SUNFLOWER...........................................77 Function of Combined Imagery..............................................................................................80 “ArtAfricanism” .....................................................................................................................81 Related Works ........................................................................................................................82 8 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................85 APPENDIX LIST OF ART WORKS CITED...........................................................................87 LIST OF REFERENCES...............................................................................................................90 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .........................................................................................................98 6 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts APT APPROPRIATION: CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ARTISTS’ UTILIZATION OF CANONICAL WESTERN ART By MacKenzie Moon May 2008 Chair: Victoria L. Rovine Major: Art History A number of important contemporary African artists have utilized the Western canon of art history as a central theme in their work. These artists have borrowed a great deal of imagery from recognizable Western works, appropriating elements to serve their own critical purposes. Some re-fashion essential parts, others parody canonical works; some create simulacra, others combine elements to create montage, while still others borrow recognizable styles while infusing works with contemporary resonances. My exploration of contemporary African artists who utilize elements of the Western canon seeks to document and discern the diverse motivations for cultural exchanges between the West and Africa via the visual arts. I will analyze a selection of works by Nigerian/British artist Yinka Shonibare, MBE, who transforms familiar eighteenth-century French works of art into life-size sculptural installations re-dressed in “African” wax-print fabrics. I will also address South African artist Wim Botha’s re-fashioning of a well-known Renaissance religious sculpture. I will consider works by Sudanese artist Hassan Musa, who incorporates recognizable elements from many Western works into his paintings on textiles. South African design team Strangelove’s re-creation of a particularly widespread image of a well-known Western work challenges viewers to rethink the original work in light of this contemporary re-imagining. South African artist Johannes 7 Phokela’s use of a Rubens-influenced Baroque style of painting combined with contemporary allusions will also be interrogated. These artists harness the familiarity and visual power of the Western images, while altering the images to serve their own means. By changing certain aspects of the original works, the re- imagined works’ diverse meanings become clear. Through close analysis, I will show how this selection of contemporary African artists’ works critique contemporary and historical understandings of global relations, the art world, and particular histories that still reverberate today. 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A number of important contemporary African artists have utilized the Western canon of art history as a central theme in their work. Each artist has borrowed imagery from recognizable Western works that are frequently exhibited and have been the subject of much critical analysis. These artists have re-imagined familiar works according to their own aims. Looking at contemporary African artists who utilize elements of the Western canon reveals important manifestations of conceptual and cultural exchange that takes place between the West and Africa via visual arts. Contemporary African artists often find themselves with a foot in both African and Western cultures, and this globalized aspect of their lived experiences allows them a notable multi-cultural perspective, which often informs and shapes their work. Many of these artists’ ideas manifest in playful and biting political and cultural criticisms. These critiques make these works powerful commentaries on global interactions. Contemporary African artists employ varied means to make use of recognizable Western visual art. Their borrowings present viewers with the opportunity to reconsider, question, and revisit both the original works and their re-creations. These artists harness the Western images’ familiarity and visual power, while altering the images to serve their own means. Some re-motivate these images to refute Eurocentric fictions, while others complicate
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