Thursday, April 1, 2010

Contemporary African Art with George Hughes: Look Both Ways


“Look Both Ways” is a three-day residency by artist George Hughes. A Ghanaian painter and performance artist who was trained in Ghana and who currently teaches art at the University of Buffalo, Hughes will engage in a series of activities at Haverford in Lancaster, PA, including this performance piece.

Hughes’ works are “thematically dominated by visual reminders of the ubiquity of violence – in nature and in man,” representing both natural disasters and “the savage side of man” as seen in colonialism, traditional rites, and contemporary global conflicts (Eisenhofer, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, 2009). For Hughes, art is a forum through which to explore war, violence and tragedy. Born in the colonial Gold Coast and raised during Ghana’s first years as an independent state, Hughes experienced first-hand and explores in his art the combination of superstition, traditional rituals, modernization, and rapid urban growth which characterize the postcolonial period.

Exploring this juxtaposition and multiplicity in medium as well as content, Hughes’ paintings are mixed-media works, incorporating acrylics, oils, enamels, latex, dimensional fabric paints in addition to found materials. He produces three-dimensional objects which incorporate recyclage and found materials as well as performances which explore savagery along with daily routines and obsessions.

WED. MARCH 31st, 7:30 p.m.
“Rites of Blue Impediment” Performance Piece
@ Dining Center Black Box Theater

THURS. APRIL 1st, 4:30 p.m.
“Painting, Violence, and African Art at the Crossroads”
A conversation with Ruti Talmor about Hughes’ visual work, focusing on violence, history and identity, contemporary African art, and the category “African Artist.”
@ Chase Auditorium

FRI. APRIL 2nd, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Open Lunch with George Hughes
@ CPGC Café

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