Recounting Modernity Continuity and Change: Three Generations of Ethiopian Artists (review)

Re count i ng Mode r n i t y Cont inuit y and Change: Three Generat ions of Et hiopian Art ist s Harn Muse um of Art January 23 - April 29, 2007 Diggs Gallery, Winst on-Sal em Universit y May 26 - December 8, 2007 A landmark exhi bi t i on ent it l ed Cont inuit y and Change: Three Generat ions of Et hiopian Art ist s was cocurat ed by Rebecca Mart in Nagy and Achamyel eh Debela. The cont emporary art exhibit of f ers an i n-dept h f ocus on one Af rican count ry. Such a compr ehensi ve pr esent at i on of t went y-t hree art ist s af f ords an unusual under st andi ng of a si gni f i cant chapt er in modern Af rican art . The exhi bi t i on concerns t hree gener at i ons of art ist s, many of w hom are associat ed wit h t he Fine Art s School (or t he School of Fine Art s and Desi gn, as i t is now named) in Addi s Ababa. Cont inuit y and Change begi ns wi t h f irst -generat ion pioneering art ist s who st udied at least in part in Europe and t hen ret urned t o Et hiopia. Emperor Haile Sel assi e's move t o modernize Et hi opi a i ncl uded sendi ng ar t i st s abroad for an educat ion in an ef f ort t o meld European modernit y wit h Et hi opi an ident it y. Bef ore t hi s t ime, art ist s worked largely in t he service of t he church. For i nst ance, Agegnehu Engi da 's sel f -port rait of 1944 i n t he exhi bi t i on depict s himsel f as t he subj ect , which woul d not be t he case in t r adi t i onal rel igious anonymous art . Art ist s who st udied in East ern bloc count ries and t he Sovi et Uni on learned a t r adi t i on of soci al i st real ism. This t hen became an aspect of modern Et hiopian art . Anot her st yl ist ic st rain in modern Et hiopian art incl uded west ern European abst r act i on, w hi ch st udent s learned by st udyi ng in France, Engl and, and Germany. Acha Debel a's essay i n t he accompanyi ng exhi bi t i on cat al og of f ers si gni f i cant hi st or i cal cont ext concer ni ng t he f or mul at i on of t he Addi s Ababa Fine Art s School , where such art was t aught . The school was i nst i t ut ed by Emperor Haile Sel assie in 1957- 58 and f ounded by Ale Felege Sel am Heruy (whose work is in t he exhi bi t i on). Skunder Boghossi an and Gebre KrisAbdur ahman Sherif, Sunrise, 2001. Mixed media on board, 27. 5 x 19. 75 in. t os Dest a, t wo key f igures f rom t hi s f irst generat ion of art ist s, are i ncl uded in t he show. Bot h played a l eadi ng and l ast ing role in t eachi ng modern Et hiopian art . While t he exhi bi t i on f ocuses on art ist s l iving in Et hiopia, Skunder t aught t here f or onl y t hree years unt i l 1969. However, it woul d be unhear d-of t o exclude Skunder because of his qui nt essent i al role bot h at t he school and in Et hiopian modern art . Int er est i ngl y, Skunder was al so in t he exhi bi t i on Et hiopian Passages ( 2003) curat...