adminHarare have, for more than three decades been training young artists in the use of welded metal.
BOC Zimbabwe (previously Oxyco and Rhodox) have themselves conducted welding classes attended by many artists.
The growth of weld art has been a national collective effort, a shared involvement of artists, institutions and the industry.
The results came to fruition in the Zimbabwe heritage exhibitions where at some stage all sculptural awards were awarded to artists who worked with scrape metal.
Wood carving has had its fair share of sculptors though the accessibility of high quality strong trees suitable for sculpting leaves a lot to be desired.
Trees like teak, mahogany and ebony are not easy to find whilst at the same time are not allowed to cut by conservationists and state laws.
But artists always find ways using other fairly strong ordinary trees.
Taking a particular attention at works by masters of found objects in sculpture, we hastily draw our attention to a series of musical instruments by the late Keston Beaton.
They do not function in any literal sense but their forms allude to various types of musical instrument: harp, guitar, saxophone and many others.
Their shapes and structures play on this allusion while various elements create visual correspondences with sounds.
Whether it is a large brass “horn” mouth, the taut twanging “strings”, the varied resonance boxes, or finger holes and keys, the items evoke individual imaginary noises.
The colours too are visual references to sounds; often a single point of sharp red or flat blue, the glowing brass of “Midas, Golden and Bliss”, the glint of aluminum or the muted browns of “Psalms”.
More direct aide-memories are also incorporated such as bells, shells, animal horns, spoons and even a cockscrew, all of which bring sounds to mind.
Intriguingly, once the viewer focuses on this “audible” aspect, every bit and pieces conjures a range of musical equivalents.
Unheard, fictional and therefore more flexible than the real sounds, these mix in the imagination to suggest varying contemporary compositions and echoes of melodies: combinations of traditional, European, urban, folk, modern and African.
These objects are musical instruments, never seen before. They evoke a new and very contemporary music.
The human being was at the centre of their making. They are human in scale, much related in size to conventional instruments, intimate in detail and fragile in construction.
They contain an uneasy tension caused partly by the insecure ties that hold them together and partly by the incongruity of their elements.
They are contradictory; seem ready to fall or fly apart. Their components are connected but not fused, retaining their distinct features. The belonging of the parts to the whole remains tenuous and reminds us of their continuing transience.
They can be ready as metaphors for personal identity and, in this, the artist’s own biography is a key.
Other ambassadors of found objects in sculpture include Tapfuma Gutsa, Charles Kamangwana, Danisile Ncube, Matheus Nyaungwa to mention a few.
They are also outstanding in weldart where other greats evolve.
These include the likes of Arthur Azevedo, Adam Madebe, Israel Israel, Richard Jack, Stephen Garan’anga, Greg Shaw, Mambakwedza and Chenjerai Mutasa, the late John Gusinyu, Martin Mushonga and many more.
Senior metal master practitioners, Arthur Azevedo works effectively with simplified line, shape and form from the sixties whilst Adam Madebe and Israel Israel both boast of gigantic pieces in public and private spaces across continents in big cities.
Many other sculptors in weld-art have had international success putting the country on the art world map.
Chrispen Matekenya, Gerry Dixon, Methuseli Tshuma, Zephania Tshuma and Gutsa amongst others are true narrators in wood with international recognition.
A troupe of young and upcoming artists is signing up for the sculptural ranks with a variety of three dimensional wall hanging mixed media.
This strongly confirms that the work of the majority of Zimbabwean artists is naturally sculptural.
- Stephen Garan’anga is an international fine art practitioner, independent art projects co-ordinator, chairperson of AfricanColours Artists, executive member Batapata International Artists’ Workshop, critical visual arts writer amongst other things. He can be contacted on [email protected]
Online Reporter