Browsing by Author "Ishengoma, Emmanuel"

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    Authenticity through informal art education in contemporary african visual arts:the official Artists’ Viewpoint
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2012) Ishengoma, Emmanuel
    This study was designed to find out how African official artists define authenticity in their own art and presents their current viewpoints in regard to informal art education being a criterion for authenticity. The study made use of questionnaires and oral interviews to collect data from a total of 72 senior staff and the graduate art students from major art institutions in the selected countries namely Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa and other parties relevant to this study. The study found no relationship between authenticity and informal art education. Generally, out of the 72 (100%) respondents, 51 (71%) disagreed with the notion that relates the two, while only 8 (11%) supported the conception. Data shows that all the 72 respondents were well aware of the conception. It was concluded that the notion was fictitious, based on the western problem of expecting a particular kind of artworks from Africa that meets their preconceived Eurocentric generalization; a style that fits a rather condescending Western stereotype of what African painting should be, but which in turn, created a gap of which the art dealers have made good use and perpetuated the notion for their financial gain. It was recommended that since the most exploited is the African informally trained artist, leaving both the dealers and the Western market satisfied: the dealer having made sales and the market having received the expected ‘authentic’ artwork: the art-related institutions in Africa should educate the informally trained artist on issues surrounding their art on one hand, but the dealers too, on what they should expect from these artists at this particular time in history.
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    The influence of western patronage on authenticity of contemporary East African visual arts
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2017) Ishengoma, Emmanuel
    This study uncovers the influence of the western patronage on authenticity of contemporary East African visual arts in the current practices. Not only had the previous related studies ignored the possible influence but had also overlooked the fact that different stakeholders could have varied perspectives on the western patronage and the concept of authenticity. Therefore, characteristics that determine the western conception of authenticity were identified; how East African visual arts practitioners conceive the concept of authenticity was explored and dealers’ criteria for selecting and selling of contemporary East African visual arts were established. To fulfil its objectives, scholars, patrons, collectors, gallery managers, curators, formally trained artists and informally trained artists from Dar es Salaam, Kampala and Nairobi totalling sixty-seven were purposively selected and interviewed. Naivety, self-taughtness and non-exposure which are directly related to early western patrons’ conception of authenticity were found out to be major features in current visual arts practices. It was also found out that authenticity among scholars and a few formally trained artists was perceived through honesty in production of the artworks which could communicate through culturally identifiable form and content. On the contrary, artworks remained inauthentic among patrons, art collectors, and gallery managers until these practitioners heard the “story” about the artist. Equally, among informally trained artists artworks remained inauthentic until they heard from their western audience whose superior criterion for collecting and selling of “authentic” visual arts was found to be the artists’ distinctiveness from western art practices. To conclude, conceptions of early western patrons greatly influence authenticity in the current art practices and are perpetuated by deceitful art dealers whose aim is to capture attention of the western clientele whose perception about Africa has not been updated. Unfortunately, the resulting art is basically client-driven and it is a misrepresentation of the contemporary Africa. To reverse the situation, local patronage should be encouraged, authenticity ought to be redefined, practical and experimental art needs be integrated into mainstream education and the misinformed western audience has to be educated.