The Matter of Art and Artist: Notes
on the material technology of modern art in Zambia
Internet publication by Bert Witkamp.
First published: 14 August 2015 as no 8 of Art in
Zambia Blog series.
Revised and updated: 26 May 2024.
This
internet publication serves to contribute to a better understanding of
material-technical knowledge and ability with special reference to the
development of modern art in Zambia.
Introduction
Western art media such as oil painting, water colour
painting and the printed graphic arts were introduced in Zambia during the
colonial days and thereafter by European artists (See G. Ellison, 2004). These
media, from the Zambian perspective, are therefore exotic in origin. Its
materials and techniques were taken up by Zambian artists, often in an
incidental and piecemeal fashion. Some Zambian modern art of the early days –
let us say roughly as of the 1950’s - is poor from a material-technological
point of view. Also presently art made in the modern techniques does not meet, or
may not do so, technical standards of the
region of origin of these techniques and as applicable to art marketed and
displayed as fine art; be it art
made by indigenous Zambians, early European permanent residents or non-Zambian temporary
residents.
The deterioration of the physical condition of the art
object brings with it a deterioration of its imagery, hence of its artistic,
social and economic value. Poorly made art, as far as the artistic experience
is concerned, in time delivers an unintended visual sensation which in extreme
cases makes sensible interpretation impossible.
It matters therefore that art is made in accordance with the standards
that ought to be observed in the art world of its provenance and meets the
requirements of its functional social context. We expect, for example, that if a
work of art is sold as fine art with a corresponding price tag attached to it, that
such a work of art has been made in compliance with appropriate
material-technical standards and does not fade, flake or crack within a short
time after its purchase. The material integrity of a work of art is optimally
achieved if professional technical standards are practiced and the work is kept
under proper conditions (see Witkamp, 2015). In Zambia, and elsewhere, materially poorly constructed art is
presented as quality fine art, art that
is likely to deteriorate in a short time and hence shall loose its function and
value as a work of art. Examples are presented below.
Lack of material-technological understanding and/or
appreciation in Zambia has been exacerbated by the corrosion of technical
standards of the conventional western fine arts as practised in their region of
origin and is perpetuated by absence of educational facilities where sound material
technology of art can be accessed and practiced – be it in Western schools of
art or in Zambia. Art technical handbooks are nearby impossible to get in
Zambia, but in this field, as in so many others, searching the net may deliver
the information that is needed.
Appended is an itinerary of simple measures that can
be taken by (Zambian) artists to improve on the material construction of their
art.
Art
is a thing
Art is made of matter and hence has a physical
existence. All art, in one way or another, is made of materials having specific
physical and chemical properties. Certain physical properties provide the raw stimuli
for perception - external stimuli that capture the sensors of the sensory
systems. In the visual arts material properties that have to do with light are
of paramount importance. Our eyes perceive the artwork by the light the work of
art reflects or emits. Light, refracted by the cornea and the lens reaches the
retina, located at the back of the eye ball. The retina is a highly sophisticated
structure composed of nerve cells and sensors. The sensors are of two types.
The cones, about seven million of them, are chromatic, i.e., sensitive to
colour. The rods, of which there are about 125 million, are achromatic. The
rods are much more sensitive to light than are the cones, which is why at night
you see black or grey shapes but no colour. Light falling on the cones and
pyramids triggers off physical/chemical
reactions which in turn engage the optic nerves. The optic nerves, about one
million of them, transduce information
to the occipital lobes, located in the cortex at the back of the head. These
lobes, one right and one left, are the visual processing centres of our brain
and mind. Our brain and mind during and in perception construct the imagery
associated to the artwork that is perceived. The imagery is mental and internal;
the perceived object is material and external. This is a stunning fact as
we are naturally inclined to think that what we see is what is out there –
truth is that what we see is a transformation of what is out there in the form
of imagery. Note, furthermore, that your mind’s eye is not a mechanical
recording machine; it has learned to see and its seeing differs individually
and cross culturally (see Arnheim, 1964).
We do not have an objective instrument to assess (“measure”)
artistic merit of a work of art. The study of materials and techniques of art,
however, provides a way to evaluate how well a work of art is made as an object. The assessment must be
carried out in the context of the art tradition of the art under investigation,
that is, of its provenance and its standards of craftmanship. A work of art
when placed in an alien environment is likely to be valuated differently as in
its art world of origin. This often happens when ethnographic artefacts are
removed from their indigenous situation to a museum or to a private collection.
In the museum measures need to be taken to preserve and conserve the object
well - as that is a core thing museums must do: keep objects well, including
objects that were not made to last. In the native situation the broken mask is
replaced by a similar, new one and the old mask is discarded. Ironically, that
old dilapidated mask is the one collectors go for, it being considered more
authentic than its newly made successor.
In the Western art world great importance is attached
to uniqueness and originality of art. These features contribute substantially to
the financial value of the work of art. Sensible art collectors therefore
prefer to buy art that is both original and well made. Such works last and do
not require costly pre- or conservation measures. Much traditional (“tribal”) African
art is not governed by such an ideology: the work must be functional and when
it is breaking down it is replaced. There is therefore no dominating emphasis
on permanence and uniqueness, permanence is achieved by reproduction. There
are, however, in the African continent also immensely impressive examples of
art deliberately made to last – ancient Egyptian sculpture perhaps being
foremost amongst these as are many other examples of art mostly associated with
kingdoms.
Art
is an image
The relation between art object, perception and mental
imagery of the perceived art object is complex and not the subject of this
article. Suffice it here to note that seeing is something you have to learn and
this also applies to the perception of art. For our present purposes we merely
emphasize the intrinsic relationship between art object and percept of that
object. If visual material properties of the work of art change, so does its
perception and mental image. Artists and keepers of art need to know and
understand the changes that shall or may occur in the art object once it has
been made; be these changes issuing from the manner of its construction or of the environment in which it is kept.
Art
is for the moment or for eternity
Some art is not made to last; it is made for a single
occasion after which it is destroyed. Its material integrity only needs to be
sustained during the event for which it has been constructed. This, for
example, holds for certain makishi masks used during the boys initiation of the
Luvale, Chokwe, Lunda, Luchazi and Mbunda peoples of North West Zambia. Other
art is used at multiple occasions. This, for example, is true for makishi masks
that have entertaining functions also outside of mukanda, the boys initiation
referred to above. Examples are Mwana Pwevo (the young women) and Ngulu (the
pig)1.
Photo 1. The
likishi Ngulu performing at Mize, North Western Province, Zambia. 1986. Ngulu
is a Luvale word meaning pig. Photo by author.
These “entertainment” masks are made of wood, wood
being more permanent than masks made of bark cloth, hessian or other fabric. The
worn out mask is disposed off and
replaced by a new one according traditional rules and models.
Some art is made to last to eternity. Egyptian
sculptures dating back to the earliest times of the pharaohs, some 5,000 years
ago, belong to this group. Today many of those ancient sculptures look the same
or nearly the same as at the time of their creation, thousands of years ago.
In conclusion: technology is directed by functionality
and ideology. It is realised by the means at hand, which, as archaeological and
historical evidence abundantly show, might come from far away.
Material
technology is part of an art tradition, an art tradition is part of an art
world.
Art, no matter where or when, is embedded in a larger context.
We can name that larger context an art tradition, or more broadly, an art
world. For the time being, let us stick to the concept “art tradition.” The
term tradition implies a customary way of doing things and “a customary way of
doing things” implies historical depth. Each
art tradition has its specific material technology; a technology that has
evolved over time and is part of the culture and cultural heritage of the
people having that tradition.
Art traditions are practiced by specific populations; the
art tradition being part of the culture and cultural heritage of its associated
social group, ethnicity or cluster of (related) ethnicities. The makishi
tradition mentioned above belongs to a group of culturally related peoples,
sometimes referred to as the West Central Bantu.
Art traditions vary tremendously and so do the
materials and the technologies used in art production. Many factors influence
or determine the choice of materials and their processing. These include:
availability of raw materials and of processed, readymade art materials; the cost
and labour of acquiring these materials; the technology/science to process raw
materials into finished products and the skills to do so; chemical inertness
towards other materials the art work is made off; desirable properties concerning
visual appearance such as hue, brightness, texture, transparency or opaqueness;
handling qualities; the functionality of the work of art; values and
requirements regards permanence or durability; or the incorporation of certain
colours and materials for symbolic or metaphysical reasons. Each art tradition
in the course of time developed and develops its own material technology, the
skills that go with it and the standards for the assessment of its application.
Technologies do change in the course of time. New
materials are incorporated into the existing stock; methods of processing these
materials may change as well as the manner of their application. Yet these
innovations rarely radically change the prevailing traditional technology - but
they do modify it. The colour red of makishi masks historically was procured by
red ochre (ground haematite or purified red clay; the colouring principle of
both substances is red oxide of iron). For many decades red cloth, red paper or
red commercial paint have replaced the original material. In this instance the
important element was not the raw material as such but the colour red. That colour
has been retained in this technological change, and brighter than it used to be.
An example of diffusion in the western history of art is the replacement of
tempera painting by (linseed) oil painting. This was an Italian innovation. Oil
painting became the main painting medium in Italy during the sixteenth century A.D.
and was adopted in the course of the seventeenth century throughout Europe to
become the major and most prestigious painting technique for mobile paintings.
The innovation was followed by diffusion, placed in a broadly defined European
fine art tradition.
Art technologies not only develop in time – they also
may die out. Rock art as a practice, in Zambia, presently is extinct and so is
its technology. But hundreds of historical artefacts are testimonies to the
importance it once had.
It does also happen, however, that art technologies
spread from their country of origin to new lands. The introduction of the
graphic arts or oil painting in Zambia is an example of such a radical
innovation. The geographic diffusion of these techniques at first was
restricted to the colonial subsection of the population of what then was
Northern Rhodesia – for them these technologies were not new but part of the
existing material culture. The geographic spread of these technologies
engendered the gradual diffusion of these media throughout the population, especially
after Independence in 1964 to an art scene now dominated by indigenous Zambian
artists.
A full appreciation of these material technological
developments requires understanding the social setting in which these
developments occurred. Firstly, that of colonial Northern Rhodesia which
rendered these media a certain prestige as part of the culture of the
dominating power. Secondly, and co-existent with the colonial setting until
1964, that of the emergence of towns and urban culture where these media were
produced and distributed. One may note that today (2024) the Zambian modern art world is vibrant in
terms of production, mostly by indigenous Zambian artists. Yet much work remains
to be done to arrive at a well-developed art world; especially in education,
research, media coverage, ideology, art history, marketing/promotion and museum
development.
ART
and art
In the Western tradition the concept “art” embraces both
the ability of the artist to handle his/her materials well (art as craft or
skill) and the objects made by the successful applying of these skills: ART in
capitals. The double meaning of “art” reflects the understanding that an artist
needs to master the skills of handling art materials and of design in order to make
ART. One reason why works of art stand out from ordinary objects is because professional
art is (should be) made with technical mastery. This principle is universally
understood but has eroded in the 20th century Western art world by
the adoption of art styles or modes of production that require very little
material-technical skills, or in which the material properties of art materials
simply are ignored in favour of “spontaneous expression,” are deemed irrelevant
or deliberately flouted and revolted against. Any artist worldwide, however, traditionally
could only become an artist after having learned the craft of his trade. Such
learning was done by apprenticeship under a master and/or by studying at an Art
School. See for example Warren L. d’Azevedo (1989) on the traditional artist in
African societies.
I subscribe to the view that craftsmanship is basic to
artistic competence and one aspect of craftsmanship is mastery of materials and
techniques used in art. Some academic writers even hold that aesthetic merit
arises out of technical mastery. The great Franz Boas, one of the founding
fathers of modern anthropology and the first to write a book about what now
usually is referred to as tribal art, holds that technical perfection creates beautiful
forms, forms that turn on the aesthetic attitude (1955: 10-12), art making ART.
Technical mastery, when applied, results in perfect form, pleasing surfaces and
beautiful decorative patterns; formal qualities which, in his view, turn an
object into ART. Boas stresses that technical mastery implies the ability to
make an object “automatically,” meaning the manual operations are highly
skilled and should not be inhibited by self-conscious thinking.
The deterioration of the value attached to
craftsmanship in art in the West is reflected in the curriculum of Western Art
Academies – the subject may or may not be taught. Consequently contemporary
Western artists may have very little material understanding of the art work
they produce. Similarly other major players such as galleries, museums, art
critics or collectors may lack material expertise even when such should be
required. After all, one does not in the Western art tradition purchase a
painting to see the paint flake off its surface within a few years.
African art students attending Western art academies
or fine art departments of universities similarly may not, or poorly, be taught
the material technology of art - depending on the school’s curriculum and
expertise.
Modern
visual art in Zambia
Let me now turn to the situation in Zambia. As written
above we need to bear in mind that modern easel painting, murals and graphics
as fine or visual arts were introduced in Zambia during the colonial days and
thereafter. These arts initially had no indigenous material history that could
have guided the handling of the materials used in these arts by Zambian artists.
Only in wood carving and ceramics can we establish a link between traditional
and modern art applications. Today we have a modern art history several
generations deep. A number of artists have developed good or even excellent craftsmanship – as a class this
applies especially to the sculptors. The situation in the two dimensional arts
– mostly painting and graphic art – varies from obvious ignorance to make do
with what is available to a conscious attempt to use the best materials in a
proper manner – that is: to abide by genuine standards in the making of fine
art.
Photo 3.
Discolouring of print due to poor quality inks. Same design,
same edition, different copies.
Top
copy has been exposed to light (but not to direct sunlight), bottom print was
kept in portfolio
Generally, however, there is considerable room for
improvement, particularly concerning the awareness of the effect of the
material construction of a work of art on its perception and life span.
The introduction of “fine art” in Zambia is well
described by Gabriel Ellison in her book Art
in Zambia (2004: 17-24). The introduction took place in a specific segment
of society; that of European expatriates, residents and settlers who, in a
colonial society, constituted a subculture in which “art” testified to the
presence of some sense of civilisation, their
civilisation that is, inevitably associated with the upper stratum of society.
Many of these pioneering artists were members of the Lusaka Art Society,
established in 1947. Their art work fitted into a tradition they considered
their own and that included, in varying degrees, technological awareness and
competence.
Several of its prominent members in the course of time
worked with or supported indigenous African artists thus setting into motion a
process of diffusion of art techniques from one population to another. On the
European side, as of the later sixties, Gabriel Ellison, Cynthia Zukas and
Bente Lorenz have played major constructive roles in the formative years of
fine art in Zambia including the provision of substantial support for African
artists and artisans.
Major Zambian artists of the first post-Independence
hour Tayali and Simpasa worked with (and under) Gabriel Ellison at the
Government Graphic Art Department in Lusaka. The establishment of the Art
Teacher’s Diploma Course at the Evelyn Hone College later in the 1960’s was
another milestone in the dissemination of Western art techniques. Initially
most lecturers were European who gradually were replaced by Zambians who had graduated
from the college and/or had enjoyed a western style art education elsewhere. The
Evelyn Hone College was to become a major provider of Zambian artists. So was,
in a minor way, the Mindolo Oecumenical Centre at Ndola and, more recently, the
Art Department of The Open University at Lusaka. Technology has not been taught
as a separate subject in these institutions, save for a brief spell (1977-1980)
when the writer of this paper lectured in materials and techniques of art at
the Evelyn Hone College. The prime objective of that course was to introduce
the students to a number of basic principles in art technology with the
specific aim of enabling them to make art materials for art classes at
secondary schools using locally available raw materials – this is at a time
when there were no art educational supplies in Zambia due to strict foreign
currency regulations.
The most prestigious avenue of exposure of Zambian art
students to western fine art technology was and is by study abroad.
Photo 4.
Women Gossiping. Henry Tayali. 1979. Woodcut. Tayali was an accomplished
graphic artist who learned his craft in Germany at the Düsseldorf Art Academy.
As of Independence till the present a good number of
Zambian artists have benefitted from tertiary studies abroad, including the
first major post-Independence artists. Aquila Simpasa and Henry Tayali as well
as lesser known others such as Mwimanji Chellah and Billy Nkunika enjoyed
academic education. The technical competence of the graduates of these foreign art
schools or university departments varied and varies considerably due to reasons
stated above. Consequently the fine art enclave of a broadly defined Zambian
art world still in cases scores poorly on its mastery of material
technology – though positively notable
professional competence in both 2- and 3-dimensional divisions must be
acknowledged.
Note that presently access to art technological
information is easier than ever and no longer requires formal education. All
that is required is to surf the net by smart phone or computer.
Ellison (2004: 17), to her credit, mentions another
entry in Zambia of art technologies
practiced by Congolese who often had
been instructed by European teachers. Congolese artists had become
internationally recognised as of the fifties and a number of them made a living
in prosperous and peaceful Zambia of the sixties. In the seventies they
constituted the largest single group of artists in Lusaka, doing oil painting
and murals. They were known for their velvet paintings and heavy impasto works.
Photo 5.
Example of Congolese velvet painting.
The Congolese artists delivered a major input in the
emergence of popular art, indeed art
for the so-called common folk as well as for the upcoming Zambian middle and
upper class; as opposed to the sophisticated fine arts for the educated elite.
As Ellison writes, several Zambian artists picked up the Congolese styles. Many
well trained Congolese artists, lacking proper art materials in Zambia, resorted
to a manner of making do with what is available was and adopted a McGyvering of
technology still persisting today. Its outstanding feature is the use of a
wooden, non-adjustable frame, on which cotton cloth is stretched as support to
be painted with white pva serving as a ground.
The Congolese easel painters targeted a wide market of
both Europeans (mostly expatriates and tourists) and Zambians (mostly lower
middle class and higher). The Congolese muralists, painting in bars and shops,
worked for a near exclusive African audience in the sixties and seventies. Some
of these murals rank as genuine folk art, examples are/were the paintings at
the Moonlight bar on Palabana Road just out of Lusaka and other bars. Presently
such work now often is deteriorated or destroyed.
Photo 6. Mami Wata, the magical
mermaid. Congolese mural painting at shop, Kamwala
The murals were made using commercial paints on
ordinary walls without any provision for their conservation. Zambian commercial
artists as of the eighties replaced the Congolese who gradually disappeared out
of the scene along with Zambia’s now declining economy.
The Zambian art world, historically, therefore, is not
one of a kind but composed of several strands, the modern visual arts being
only one of them.
Historically first is what we may call the visual arts
of traditional society, usually referred to as tribal arts. Its masking
traditions are the most striking as far as imagery is concerned. In this
tradition are a large variety of decorative arts, applied on pottery or
basketry and other utility objects, bead work mostly as part of the human
costume and in some locations decorations of shelters and huts. This broad
array of products is made by technologies
handed down generation after generation in a dominantly rural environment. Most
people lived in villages some larger, some smaller, and incidentally in larger
settlements. These tribal arts and crafts historically are the origin of the
Zambian art world. At the opposite side of the spectrum are the modern
visual arts. Predominantly urban, of relatively recent introduction, largely
exotic in origin and addressing only a small section of the population. Bridges
between the old and new concerning materials are mainly in sculpture and
ceramics.
