Well, what does one means when during a conversation they use the term contemporary African art. There are three terms here. Let’s start with the very basic, art. Art is the way of arranging things or drawing something so that its audience either feels emotions or questions on seeing it. Usually, art, in the sense of paintings, is the expression of the thoughts of the artist. Through his paintings, an artist draws the world as he sees it. Now the next term is contemporary. Contemporary means present, anything related to the present time. Like what is happening in today’s world. The art which shows the world as it is today or takes up the issues or questions which we are facing today is known as contemporary art. Now we come to the third term, African. This is where it gets tricky. How do you define an African artist? Does it refer to the artists living and painting in Africa? Does it apply to artists who have African roots but are staying in any other continent? Unusually, no major figure related to art world wants to define it, the term which is now being used on regular basis in galleries displaying contemporary African art.
The contemporary art has a nature which is fluid and self motivated. This art resists classification or categorization because then it stereotypes every artist of that genre. That is considered appalling because each artist is unique and has a unique story behind his or her paintings which are in a way, his stories. So if you can’t properly define contemporary art, then how can you think of binding down the definition of contemporary African art, in just few sentences? Although this stereotyping has negative effects like judging the art of an artist with such prejudices, but it also has some positive effects too. African contemporary art has become a brand today. Even not well recognized artists are able to earn good money for their paintings as they are African artists and their art is contemporary African art. Well as they say, there are two sides of every coin.
Now every home or office is expected to have at least one contemporary African art hanging on their walls. To make them look trendy and in sync with the fast changing world. But who is complaining? Don’t we all love the vibrant colors and hues exploding through the canvas? Isn’t it true that the rich, vibrant and colorful african paintings are a treat for our eyes and cheers us up on a rainy day?
