Author's note:

This is an essay I wrote a course called Contemporary art methods where I learnt about the modern art landscape. Enjoy!

Contemporary art methods, being a class of many artists, it is not an easy task to choose only three who speak to the soul. A myriad of artists have passed my eyes in these weeks alone, each leaving an indent in my mind. Should I go with the minimalists, or the shockers, or the performance artists or...? The list goes on. I have chosen three who resonate the loudest in me; Sandra Mujinga, Ernesto Neto, and Basquiat.

Source: MomentaBiennale.com

Sandra Mujinga is a multidisciplinary Norwegian artist born in the DRC. Her work revolves around her experience as a black person in a world of whiteness. She works in different mediums and styles, but I will be talking about her installations today. She explores ways that a body might hide in plain sight. She is inspired by speculative fiction, Afrofuturism, animals, surveillance, etc. Mujinga works with different types of textiles and manipulates them in tune with her gut feelings to create alien creatures. Specifically, creatures who are hiding in plain view. She has made multiple of these each with their own stories. Some of these projects include; Spectral Keepers, Sentinels of Change and Reworlding Remains, Shadows of New Worlds, and more.

Source: www.munchmuseet.no

(The image above is from the Spectral Keepers project)

Mujinga has said that Spectral Keepers was inspired by medieval beekeepers because she likes when things from the past look like they could exist in a future world, which is what medieval beekeepers look like to her. The installation was in a large space accessed via a small door. In this space, stood five figures draped in white, their lanky limbs accentuate their slim torsos as they tower above the observer. Through the hood, a black hole stares at the observer, concealing the only other means of identification. The installation is bathed in green light, making their white fabric skin almost glow. How can something so noticeable hide? Why can't my gaze penetrate this being of such unlikely portions? This is the premise of much of this artist's work. How might the black body hide in plain sight?

Source: www.smb.museum.com

My favourite work of hers is, I build my skin with rocks. This she made after she received the Preis der Nationalgalerie award in 2021. It found its home in the Historic Hall of the Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart. Once again Mujinga uses space expertly in this work. She has been given an enormous hall to manifest her craft, yet she decides to place her gigantic black cube of a screen towards the end of this hall. Therefore, as the observer enters, you are greeted in the distance by a black cube. The screen faces the viewer and it plays closeup videos of unrecognizable black skin and materials. We see bits and pieces of this body as it moves across the screen. We can never experience it fully. The body becomes a landscape. An ocean. An unfamiliar beast. This feeling is further accentuated not only by the looming cube, whose screen can only be taken in all at once from a distance but also by the electronic music that accompanies the work. Mujinga has said she was inspired by elephants for this work. It is easy to see why. What is an elephant if not a moving landscape? 

For Mujinga, hiding is not synonymous with becoming little or blending in. It is in becoming unrecognizable. It is this way of seeing the world that has left an imprint in my mind. I loved her use of textiles, light, and bigness. I enjoyed the mythology she has for her works and their alienness. All these captivated me.

Source: https://www.basquiat.com

The next artist is Jean-Michel Basquiat. This is an artist I was acquainted with before this course, and he remains one of my favourites. Basquiat was an American artist popular in the 1980s who was known for his paintings and drawings. He also dabbled in graffiti for a bit but never considered himself a graffiti artist. His works are full of activity. The vivid colours, rough brushstrokes, thick lines, and words, all imbue his works with a distinct energy. I feel that I am seeing the world through his eyes when I look at his art, which is one of the things I look for when consuming art.

Skull

Source: www.wikiart.org

Irony of the Negro Policeman

Source: www.wikiart.org

Some of my favourite works by him are Untitled (Skull), and Irony of the Negro Policeman. Untitled is an eye-catching representation of a half-x-ray, half-fleshy skull that looks very much like a sad mask. This is in contrast to the bright colours in the background. The skull could be said to look melancholic. Meanwhile, the irony of negro policeman deals with the oppressed playing at being an oppressor. A black figure wears the uniform of the police, a symbol of oppression by the state, which is ironic to Basquiat, as the police are the perpetrators of violence against blacks, especially against black men, in Basquiat's country.

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Lastly, is Ernesto Neto. He is a Brazilian textile artist. He also collaborates with the Huni Kuin tribe in Brazil to make some of his works. His goal with his works is to create a communal spiritual epiphany in the viewers and to bring them closer to themselves, one another, and to nature. The shapes of his installations are organic and bulbous, and he sometimes fills them with spices.

Neto makes his works with participation in mind. His works are to be walked in, touched, and lived in. They serve as spaces to decompress and dream. When I first saw his works, they screamed solarpunk to me. A better world. A better future. His works feel less like a means to show off his skill or affluence, but instead to foster positive human values within the viewers. Furthermore, the colours he uses add to this warm atmosphere, and the beautiful way that weight is distributed in the spaces that his installations occupy looks magical to me. I admire how he can change the characteristics of a space through his interactive sculptures. 

Source: https://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com

Madness is part of life

Source: https://www.jitter-magazin.de

There is a forest Encantada inside of us

Some of my favourite works by him are; Madness is part of life and There is a forest Encantada inside of us. Madness is part of life is a warm-coloured textile installation hovering above the ground via heavy supports on the ground and woven supports that lift it to the ceiling. The observer can walk in it, feel it, and observe the strange environs and it reminds me of a kid's playground. 

There is a forest Encantada inside of us is not only a great name for an artwork but also a warmly lit space straight out of an alien world where one can simply exist. That is something I especially adore about his works. I adore that they need a human element to observe and interact with them for them to fulfil their purposes. I adore how they can form a community between strangers. The way spaces are orientated can indeed either cause unity or disunity, and this can be seen in Neto's work. They are simply magical, what is not to like? 

Finally, this course has molded me into a more knowledgeable individual on the modern art scene. Before, these artists were unknown, and their movements were foreign to me, but upon completion of this course, my knowledge base has widened. Furthermore, I have learnt more about my classmates, specifically, their analyses of modern art, what topics are important to them, and their approaches to making art. The final task not only stretched me to work outside of my realm of comfort, but it also taught me how to analyse others' works constructively, and how to receive criticism too. Also, the course's first task, to make presentations on three artists, teaches research and communication skills. It tackles the question 'What is the most optimal way to collect and share information?', as all the artists had wide portfolios and histories that affected their works. And as a listener, due to the length of the presentations, I learnt how to sit still and listen, and of course, analyse. Our histories impact our perspectives which in turn affect our understanding and appreciation of art. I saw this vividly with each interaction that took place. Overall, I am not the same person I was before beginning this course, and I think that is a good thing.

Author's Note: The final task of the course was to make an artwork inspired by one of the artists we learnt about. I made a zine inspired by Yoko Ono's book Grapefruit which I am currently selling. Check my social media if you are interested. Thanks for reading!!!