What is it about?
Several strategies by artists of African descent to create a contribution for Documenta 14 in Athens are compared and pitfalls are described. the circumstances of how the production was made possible in spite of most of the budget being used for non-African artists are taken in account when raising the question what impact it had on the art works.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
The different ways of handling the tricky question of what it means to be classified as Contemporary African Artist are discussed in terms of who controls the narratives. Some artists fullfill what is expected from them by a Western audience, some circumnavigate clichees, and only few attack and deconstruct them through their art without being obviously didactic. What is lost due commodization processes when entering the main stream art market and striving to equal auction prices of western artists?
Perspectives
Living in Benin for about 20 years, I have observed how foreign gallerists, collectors and sponsors encourage young artists to create works which fulfill their expectations, and distract them from key issues leading to emancipation processes which might be too political. The debate of who controls the narrative and label of African Contemporary Art is not yet brought to a level that it can bring changes, break clichees, and draw equal amount of ressources for production for international shows like Documenta or Biennials.
Stephan Kohler
Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: documenta 14: Learning from Athens, African Arts, November 2018, The MIT Press,
DOI: 10.1162/afar_r_00435.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
