So, I get this random e-mail. It says “Do you know this guy?” Mind you this e-mail was not even sent to me, it was a forward from TMS Ruge. Which he got randomly from some friend of his, who just happened to run into a friend of… “this guy”. Since I have been trying really hard to find Ugandan or African artists that are doing what I would consider quality work… I guess he figured maybe I had stumbled onto him. Which of course I had not. So I look at the attachments and am…. shall we say… confused. So then I google him, and I discover a Fullbright Scholar. A man who is now living and working in Uganda… and not only that… he is working hard to make a difference in the lives of children and for the future of his country. Strange how life works.

To say that I was excited is really an understatement. This e-mail came with an invite to an artist reception for him because as luck would have it. Fred Mutebi was passing through Dallas on his way to speak in Memphis. So I go to this reception in the hopes that I might get a chance to meet him and get a better feel for his work. It is really hard to get a sense of work on the web. Remember that… if you are not familiar with an artist’s work… never judge your reaction to the work from seeing it on the web or in a book. Trust me… there is ALOT lost. I was THRILLED to see that there was a tremendous amount of his work on display. Amazing, beautiful, thoughtful, intelligent work. Immediately I knew, I need to talk about him on Project Diaspora. Well, this is the first installment in a series of posts and our very first! Podcast based on our conversation with Mr. Mutebi. There is alot of territory to cover after all: his art, his new program “Let Art Talk”, his views on the world, Africa, Uganda, the Diaspora…. uhhh… yeah like I said… series.

We hope you are as intrigued by this amazing artist and social activist as we are!
(We wish the image quality on these was better, but it just gives you more reason to go see his work for yourself!)

The Art of Fred Mutebi
I meet Fred Mutebi after a long day. He has just arrived in the US from Kampala, and it is pretty late here in Dallas, which makes it dark thirty in the morning in Kampala. He is clearly exhausted. His eyes are red, his movements slow. Despite this clear and legitimate excuse to duck out and avoid the over-eager questions from some strange white lady (that would be me). He is generous, polite and gracious. I set up a possible meeting with his friend Michael for the next week so that we can talk more and TMS Ruge can get a chance to meet him AND see his work.

My first reaction to the work is real surprise. I saw some of these very pieces on the internet and was unmoved. I saw good work, but what I am seeing now! I am immediately struck by their luminous beauty.They glow. The colors pulsate, an assemblage of rebellious vibrant colors, begging to bust through the confines of their predetermined arrangement. Sharp lines, deep hues of bright yellow poke through and around orange landscapes, only to be trapped by thick, angry sharp corners. It’s an immediate visual assault that commands my eye.

Its a trap, don’t fall for it.

There is much more to these pieces than meets the eye. There is no denying their beauty, but if you stop there you are missing the entire point. During one of my discussion’s with Mr. Mutebi he tells me…

One of the most painful things is when a person buys my work just because it is beautiful.

Most of the pieces I had the pleasure to see and discuss with Mr. Mutebi are part of his “Orange Period”. This is new work that has not been seen or exhibited in Uganda… yet.

My artistic expressions in this period depict what we all have in common: global warming and its environmental consequences, HIV/AIDS scourge, social, economical and political challenges. It is a warning that we should momentarily pause and think about the dangers and the consequences of our poor practices and if possible find remedies.

Relationships

I am first struck by a triptych. They are, on their surface, abstractions of the human face. These works jarringly remind me that Picasso was inspired by African art to become a cubist. The planes of the face are distorted, shapes imply forms, like hats, ties, eyes and noses. The palette is warm. Unlike Picasso there is no savagery here. Sadness, confusion, pain perhaps, but none of the savagery so common is Picasso’s early African inspired works. As I look closer I begin to see more than one face on each canvas. There are multiple faces, some clearly male, some clearly female. I look closer and start to see… hearts. Heart shapes abound! Hearts on lapels, hearts created by the division of the planes… hearts, hearts and more hearts. A comment on polygamy and the effect it has on the people involved, these works reveal its emotional toll. Mr. Mutebi, himself a child of a polygamous family, has witnessed first-hand what kinds of pressures these relationships can have.

From Mr. Mutebi’s artist statement:

This set educates the world wide community about the repercussions and consequences of promiscuity. Polygamy was largely a practiced norm in most African communities. It has, however proved to be more of a problem than pleasure for people who practice it. The consequences are innumerable… The first in the series examines One man two women: the man gets a round face because both women will pull him to their either side. Next, one woman multiple men: this is equally disastrous as she will also be divided up in parts. Finally one woman one man: There is peace, love and calm. There is therefore happiness and they can afford to smile…

Abannyunyunsi

Some communities in Africa drink communally from one big pot, using long straws. In Uganda we call it ‘malwa’. As they drink, they keep replenishing the big pot so they don’t run out. Take the pot away and put our mother Earth. Led by our greedy politicians, we seem to be sucking the world without replenishing enough to match the rate exhaustion. We should therefore think about adding more to mother Earth to make it a better place for us and generations to come. Let us plant more trees, especially in Africa as the ultimate solution to our environmental problems

Both and ecological and political statement we see all intellectuals and common people all sucking from the malwa. Politicians, in the form of marabou storks, watch as the pot is emptied. The image of the malwa, as a symbol or our shared resources on this earth remind us of our interconnectivity and how our consumption effect us all. This image marks a departure from the cubist abstraction we saw in the Relationships tryptich. This work is more figurative and more concrete. Still highly symbolic with multiple layers of meaning. On one level it is just a scene of commumity life, on another it is a commentary on selfish consumption and on yet another a commentary on political apathy when it comes to ecological issues.

Uninterested Buyers? Interested Buyers? Future At Stake!

This is the drama of women selling food stuffs through the windows of en-route buses on the highways of Uganda. If you invert reality however, take away the food stuffs, replace it with political ideologies, let the women sellers be politicians and passengers in the bus be the electorate. This is a story of what I saw in the recently concluded elections in Uganda – some people where tired of the same political ideologies after a long time, they became uninterested. Hence: Uninterested buyers? On the other hand, a faction of politicians took advantage of the loop holes in the system and presented the same ideologies in a different packaging to the electorate. Amazingly, many people where rushed for the merchandise. Hence, Interested buyers? Did these people really understand the treachery of politicians of turning things around to hide the truth? As a social critic whose concern is the future generation, I end it by showing the ultimate victims: THE CHILDREN OF UGANDA. Future at stake!

My wish

We are a poor nation with many problems and hence cannot afford to be in fighting forever. Let’s put down the arms, hug and look for solutions to our other problems. The hugging icons are the two big but poor parties in Uganda, NRMO and FDC.

I really like this piece, it is not as “pretty” as the rest, but it is so rich in visual symbols. The dove flies over head with the olive branch, not a thriving green one mind you, but a slightly worse for wear browned one. You can barely tell one figure from the other. They hug and blend into each other so that is it difficult to tell where one begins and the other ends. What is all this battle about? In the end is either party really that much different than the other? This piece was specifically inspired by the elections in Uganda. However, its themes are universal. Take out the specific parties and this image applies to the recent upheaval in Kenya. Mr. Mutebi’s call to lay down your arms and unite it one that should be heard through out Africa and the world.

Dancing Crane

Typical of his earlier works this piece this work focuses on the splendor of Uganda. The gorgeous color and graceful repetition gently echoing the dance of the crested crane. However, like all his works, this piece tells a story. The story of a beautiful bird that is becoming more and more rare. The particular birds that inspired this work could be seen every day like clockwork, in the same spot, dancing their dance. Sadly, they no longer come to that spot and dance, pollution and urbanization have driven them off.

The Technique
Mr. Mutebi’s uses a print making technique known as the progressive reduction method. This technique is very rare these days. He works with six colors, one plate and every step is done by hand. I don’t know if there is another artist working today that uses this labor intensive, error prone process. I am hugely impressed by Mr. Mutebi’s skill and patience. Having done silkscreen prints with three colors once upon a time and nearly pulled out every strand on my head from the stress, well lets just say; I can relate.

Look for our video post coming up soon showing Mr. Mutebi’s process, step-by-step.