Ifeoma. Painting

WHAT IS AFRICAN ART? Is it defined by the art or the artist? When I first saw this painting, I was completely entranced and wanted it badly. A quest to find the artist started... I assumed the artist would be of African descent... Like many, judging the canvas by its cover and being assumptive. I did my research and eventually tracked down the painting, which I bought in an auction. In my eagerness to get it, I made the highest bid and got my treasure. During this time, I still held on to the assumption that Tatiana Siedlova must have some African heritage or must have lived in Africa or been influenced by her African friends. My curiosity to meet the artist made me choose to fly to Bratislava rather than to have the painting couriered to me. When I got to Bratislava and met Tatiana, I was struck by how typically Slovakian she looked, very tall, pale, striking charismatic presence, with lovely brown hair. However when we had a chance to talk, I discovered that she had never been to Africa, nor does she have any African friends. So I asked her what influenced this painting, part of the Siren series and she told me that it was her fantasy to look like the women represented in the series, seven in total... Sirens from Africa, Russia, Spain, England, Italy inter alia... But the most striking of them all, in my opinion was the African. This takes me back to my argument that African art is a very broad spectrum, it goes beyond traditional representations of African culture and it is not merely defined by the colour of the artist. Contemporary Art curators and dealers are often careless about how they categorise these works, often lumping fine artists such as Yinka Shonibare, Cyrus Kabiru Art and El Anatsui in a box labelled "African Art" because they are black Africans. This has to stop. Lets all move beyond the artist and allow the work to speak for itself. Western artists would rebel too if they thought their creative world was being narrowed and their freedom stunted by parochial minds. I was lucky that Sheila Ochugboju, my art enthusiast friend and contributor to the Making Africa project, currently at the Guggenheim Bilbao agreed to make the curious journey with me.

Painting:Oil on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:27.6 W x 31.5 H x 0.8 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.