Dr. Philip Kwesiga (PhD)
Using the African family and traditional Ugandian pottern as his medium. Kwesiga comments on contemporary issues through beauty. As both artist and teacher Kwesiga both inspires and been inspired by the next generation of African artists. Unlike many of his contemporaries who are challenged by societies view of art and its creators, Kwesiga believes that artists holds an important and respected position in our communities.
You indicate that you are a painter and ceramist - what about each medium do you enjoy? What are the challenges of each medium?
I mostly enjoy ceramics because I use it as a painting surface where messages can be transformed to create an interesting ceramic surface, pot or vase. Because I teach ceramics at Makerere University, I have grown to appreciate the medium as one of my favoured expressive mode.
The challenges of working in ceramics in developing countries, is that the communities still take it as a gender [specific] practice- often associated with food and attracts less values in terms of sales compared to other fields like painting an sculpture. To overcome this I decided to combine all artistic elements in the ceramics mainstream in my work. While we have abundant materials for ceramics, achieving refined materials involve the use of machinery making it almost impossible for an ordinary potter. It is the ordinary potter that I want to associate with. Painting has it limitation with most of the materials imported into the country. You never get the right canvas and even the paint quality. Whenever I travel abroad, I take off some of my savings to get the right materials especially for painting. Some of my works have been executed in those countries especially UK.
Your portraits on the ceramic pieces seem to look like a family. What are the images modelled after?
Indeed the images on my pottery are a reflection/message/icon from the ever endangered African family and community. Families have to survive amidst new changes in culture, economy, and social transformation. The family to me as a smallest unit is the most affected of all. The images take on the characteristics of the African family and in particular the Western Uganda family that have been submerged into the global appeal and economy. The social aspects of the devastating plague like AIDS also feature in the portraits on my ceramics. These are also eminent in my works of painting and design. I also enjoy but advocate for the preservation of our natural environs and have been very instrumental in some project undertaken in UK such as the SUN project. The sun project was an awareness programme to celebrate the contribution of the sun to nature especially in terms of biodiversity and environment awareness issues using artists working with communities especially young people: www.sutton.gov.uk/environment/sunproject/
Can you talk specifically about the piece on the home page of your AfricanColours portfolio?
The work that appears on the AfricanColours.net portfolio covers some of the issues I have highlighted before but one may specifically mention the need for a shift from the ordinary (Ugandan) pottery that needs to change to fit the prevailing national and international demands and appeal. The issues of control of resources in relation to gender also feature in the work.
What is ordinary Ugandian pottery?
Local or ordinary Ugandan pottery is where potters use hand methods like coil and fire the wares using traditional open bone fire methods. The pots usually earthenware are fired at very low temperatures but are specifically formulated to endure open fires while in use without cracking or breaking. Some of the purposes include but are not limited to water containers, beer jars, cooking pots and serving foods. These pots are not glazed apart from a few burnished wares which were used by high class citizens and now have become decorative wares.
Do you create work for yourself or others? (Meaning do you base it only on your own taste or the taste of past or future customers?)
While in my creation of artworks or an idea may target a particular ‘market’, my artworks are a reflection of what I feel for the self. I take myself as the first client and in most cases when I am not happy about a certain work of art, it is likely that a lot of viewers will put more questions on its meaning. This may indirectly mean that the work does not represent me from their understanding and interpretation. But I have always argued that the self is mostly determined by the other (outside). But at times I work from some of the aspirations and comments from previous product that I have already presented. My work seem to reflect change and stability in the social, economic and cultural arenas in the various communities that I have been able to come across.
How do you describe your creative inspiration?
My creative inspiration covers almost my life time experiences right from the pottery practices by my people and more specifically my grandma. The way I looked at issues in my life has been largely striving to achieve artistic excellence and creativity. My contribution to community learning stems way back in my primary school education where teachers used my skills to illustrate to the rest of learners. I am afraid I have continued with those trends even up to date. I always strive to excel. But I must say I am grateful to my parents who did not stop my creativity when everyone expected a more than the artist I became. The teachers especially at (my art) formation stage were encouraging and later the personnel in the university who shaped me as an educator and artist if I may say.
How did you develop your unique aesthetic language?
I have always cherished my long lost cultures and peoples. To create work that brought such living memories has been a major driving force in the symbolic development in my work.
How has your work evolved over the years?
As mentioned earlier, my works have continuously reflected the ever changing landscape of the peoples I have lived and interacted with. The political elements in the societies in Africa have been evolving. People in African communities no longer have to carry on their heads in pots (at least I am talking about my small village in Uganda).
Describe your art training? Did you study formally or are you self-taught?
I think I have the most comprehensive training in art right from primary school, to secondary education and university. I have enjoyed every bit of it and I should admit still that everyday is a learning experience especially as concerns my work as an educator.
How do you balance commerce with creation?
I am lucky to be employed and facilitated by the institutions (Makerere University and Africa Policy Research Network) to advance my profession (artistic) and career (art educator). Since the University teaching involves a lot of research, I have taken advantage to further my practice without compromising the quality time needed to impart the knowledge to the clients.
What are the challenges and benefits of being an artist? In Uganda? In Africa?
I will deal with the benefits first before I embark on the challenges. There are quite a number of benefits in being an African artist. Firstly the artist enjoys this atmosphere of a ‘creator’, since creativity in Africa is primal such that the artist carries the persona of the sort and usually earns them community respect. Secondly, there are fewer artists on the African scene, thus enabling most African artists to enjoy the creative monopoly. Thirdly, there are plenty of new ideas available to the few artists thus giving some of the artist the niche to develop their line of communication through their art. Fourthly, artist are endowed with a number of alternative material some of them freely if not cheaply. This has encouraged cost benefits where pricing would have been rocket high. And last, African artists are likely to benefit from the Diaspora where such talents are in limited numbers.
As for the challenges there almost outnumber the benefits if only some of them could understand the inputs and outputs, that most African artist don’t value their time. Secondly, an African artist is likely to be ‘spoilt’ for being popular at the expense of quality and respect for other beings. An artist is likely to squander money from his works hoping to earn more or better only to saturate the market and end up as a public nuisance. The more the artist is internationally recognised, the more there are likely to drop there roots and identity. In Uganda some artists have had to learn the hard way that some of them have ended endangering their lives especially with the AIDS scourge. The African artist varies from community to community and country to country.
Your thoughts on creating a viable art market through the Internet?
I salute the idea of creating a market for art through the Internet, though I have to caution the artists to be more vigilant since it is difficult to create avenues that can protect the artists’ patents and rights. It seems to be lacking and one may not know that such privileges have been taken away. Most African artists do not have the capability to directly negotiate/charge clients who may be interested in their work. Indeed most African artists don’t have the capability to follow their work especially those initiated on the Internet.
Is contemporary art encouraged in Uganda? Africa?
Not so much of art is encouraged in Uganda, since the majority of the community are not aware of its benefits to the cultural and or social development of any community. A few artist living the few urban areas may be encouraged but to a very limited extent. The state does not have such policy like we find with other nations where artists can compete and get funding from organisations and state institution. Art Schools in Uganda are few and are mostly academic leaving out the-would-have-otherwise been famous artists. Most institutions are supported by academic requirements that are not necessarily of interest to upcoming artist. The community and leaders have not helped the situation since most of them despise art and artist including legislators. The Africa picture may not be far from my experience in Uganda but would point out some countries that continue to front art and culture in the development programmes like – West Africa and Kenya in East Africa. There is some kind of support and encouragement in Southern African states.
Where do you stand on contemporary v. 'traditional' art in Africa?
I very much support and subscribe to the contribution and need for embodying of African traditional art in our programmes whether political, social or economic. This has partly resulted into tribal crashes and political marginalisation of some communities that have strong background of cultural respect by other stronger communities. We need to understand the cultural diversity in all programmes of all aspects of social intervention.
Is art for art sake an African or Western philosophy? Does it matter?
To some extend it could be true that art for art sake was an African philosophy since history has proved so. Otherwise the problems of such argument call for who has been instrumental in the development of universal language. For the Africa communities had developed philosophic aspects (especially in the language and communication which to me is art) that can not simply be brushed away. The African kingdoms exhibited such philosophies as art for art sake. But since most of these kingdoms have long been abolished and or demolished, the ‘commoners’ in any community may never support such ideas as art for art sake.
Have you made your best work yet?
Each time I make a work, I aim at making it the best especially if it has not been influenced by other ‘forces’. But I think I made a lot of impact in terms of artistry when I was still young and energetic (between the late 1970s to the 1990s). The issue is that I have become more critical of my work especially during and after my postgraduate studies. But in 2005, I must say, I made a work, which I was able to confirm as being the revival of my best. The problem was that it is in painting (acrylic on canvas) that my peers may see it as a run away from my mainstream ceramics and pottery. But does it matter?
If you have any other comments please add here:
I would to encourage more artists especially Ugandans to take advantage of such facilities to promoter first, their work and second the community (Ugandans) they represent and present. I hope these interesting stories will reach far and wide as raise some awareness of what is happening in the wider world. Some pictures of my recent and other old works are available on request to be included in this compilation. I thank YOU all readers.
View his AfricanColours portfolio here
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