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Catalog Data

Maker:
Atta Kwami, born 1956, Ghana  Search this
Medium:
Pigment on paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 30.3 x 25.6 cm (11 15/16 x 10 1/16 in.)
Image: 24.6 x 24.3 cm (9 11/16 x 9 9/16 in.)
Type:
Print
Geography:
Ghana
Date:
2010
Label Text:
Atta Kwami is known primarily for his painting and prints, but he also produces sculpture, artist books and installation works. His artworks capture the vibrancy of city life through their rich hues and bold forms, and he recognizes that his aesthetic has been shaped by the many sign painters working in Kumasi whose style of painting appeals to him. Speaking about his work, Kwami states:
The qualities I seek in my work are clarity, simplicity, intensity, subtlety, architectonic structure, musicality (rhythm and tone), wholeness and spontaneity. So many strands inevitably manifest themselves in painting: jazz, the timbre of Ghanaian music (Koo Nimo), improvisation, arrangements of merchandise, and so forth. I also see corresponding aesthetic commonalities with wall paintings and music from northern Ghana, the limited range of earth colors and the pentatonic scale of the xylophone. Poetry is able to sustain the life of language through new forms of usage. In painting it is also re-interpretation, improvisation and variation that affect innovation and development. (Artist's Statement, October 2010, Howard Scott Gallery, New York)
This etching is characteristic of his recent works--abstract compositions inspired by West African strip-woven textile traditions, although Fante Asafo appliqué flags from coastal Ghana and wall paintings from the northern part of Ghana are also significant influences in his work.
Description:
Etching in grey, black, white, red and blue bands of varying widths organized in vertical, horizontal and diagonal composition.
Exhibition History:
Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue - From the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, November 7, 2014-January 24, 2016
Published References:
Kreamer, Christine Mullen and Adrienne L. Childs (eds). 2014. Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 231, 244, no. 118, pl. 131.
Content Statement:
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
Topic:
geometric motif  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of the artist in honor of Philip L. Ravenhill
Object number:
2010-11-1
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source:
National Museum of African Art
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys73a085935-1fff-4af2-ac1f-0c485adbe4d2
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmafa_2010-11-1