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Robert Loder Collection
Atta Kwami - Mask Painting
Object details
Artwork ID
182
Artist
Atta Kwami
Title
Mask Painting
Media
Oil On Canvas
Country
Ghana
Purchase price
Ownership
No 2 Settlement
Dimensions
51 X 51
Note
Used in 2nd Joburg biennale catalogue. With these paintings in oil on biard - like a sequel to Red Flag - the sensibility and expression is different. The values of the bands of greys and the weights. This again was unrehearsed and synchronised painting. The calabash sculptures or reliefs were made from expressive drawings of expressions or abstractions of faces. I used the scalpel to carve these out - lots of drawings were made. In preparation. I brought these with me - agin relating to my persoanl archive. What makes this special for me is the subtlelties and handling of the oil - it flows - it's fluid. RL: It looks as though there are different levels. AK: It's quiet yet strong. You can have a fulcrum or accent somewhere but it's when I enjoy working on a surface or support that all these things come together in a controlled way - I think I have limited my components - I have brought everything down to simple means. I am working within these constraints and I arrive at this result, but it's still quite flamboyant. The balance - in weights. It still looks fresh toady, which is important. I showed a kiosk construction this year and many years before this - if you explore the idea of a palate being recycled - the dried up types of paint or a refuse dump - these things can be reassembled. The equivalent of this for Kwame Akoto (Almighty God) would be painting mad people in the street. For me here I am depicting the things that would be recylced - taking it through and remaking my paints - not using old paints. What I'm interested in is to look at works from the past and see processes involved in making. Mask ptg becasue those images carved from calabash were based on expressions of faces - different emotions - imagine someone losing lottery, or jubilant - that was fun to make those mask, In a real sense to mask out what's under the painting - it has a well built layer. I didn't use masking tape - so you can see underlying effects underneath. Again it's a very muscial composition. It's uneven - I like this - all these accidentals or events contribute to the end result.
Year created
1992
Year acquired
1994
Classification
Transparency
No
Slide
No
Workshop - Residency - Art School
