Tingatinga (painting)

Tinga Tinga is the name of one in the 1960s in Tanzania and incurred after its founder, Edward Saidi Tinga Tinga ( 1932-1972 ), named art form of painting.

History

In the sixties tingatinga began as unemployed in order to paint with bicycle paint animals, plants and village scenes on square press plates. The typical for the early years of square format resulted from the intention of the standard sizes of the press plates full advantage. Relatives and friends attacked the art form, passed it on and started to include new developments. They made sure that the tingatinga painting after the sudden death of its founder - he was accidentally shot in 1972 by a police patrol - developed into a cultural reality.

Scandinavian aid workers have been the end of the 60er/Anfang 70s attention to the works of Tinga Tinga and organized during 1971 in Dar es Salaam inaugural International Trade Fair in cooperation with the competent authorities ( National Development Coop., National Arts Comp. ) Features a comprehensive exhibition Tinga Tinga that helped the art form to a breakthrough. The results referred to as " square or lacquer painting" a slowly ripened Tinga Tinga idea became socially acceptable and always achieved higher prices. After this successful exhibition, the National Development Corporation became a collector of his entire artistic production and its only official and seller

One of the main representatives of the Arts Cooperative Society Limited tingatinga today include Mohamedi Saidi Chilamboni, Jaffari Mimus, Daudi Tinga Tinga, Salum Mussa, Rashidi Saidi, Yussufu Maulidi, Abdalla Saidi Chilamboni, Mr. Rubuni and Agnes Musidadi Mpata.

Characteristics

The tingatinga painting deals with forms that have evolved over centuries of East African culture. Thematically they processed everyday scenes as well as ritual and treats topics that are of importance for today's Tanzania. An important place to take magic and sorcery as a cultural phenomena that are rooted in the Tanzanian daily reality and present.

More often, there are depictions of animals - not uncommon in quiet scenes - which are embedded in Tanzanian or imaginary landscapes. Sometimes we find animals in their reverie simultaneously both ostensibly real and symbolic of life associate. The facial features of the animals depicted often reminiscent of the style of the mask and tie the painting so that in a long -standing cultural tradition a.

Certain motifs emerge since the dawn of Tinga Tinga painting again and again. Many images are marked by an impressive simplicity, without losing the " Naive " slipping " to individually is their coloration to flourish, their compositional schemes to distinctive and rhythmic their lines. " Of all the known motives of ESTingatinga fakes are later been painted and enters the art trade.

Current Situation

1 The current debate about Tinga Tinga art or Tinga Tinga Crafts relates to various aspects. Considerable differences of opinion, there is already the name of this art movement. For some time now the tingatinga Arts Cooperative Society ( TACS ) endeavors in Dar es Salaam / Tanzania with considerable media effort to establish the name " Tinga Tinga ". These experiments explain alone against the background, to promote the international sales now mass-produced Tinga Tinga paintings and other handicraft items. Is underlaid this, inter alia, with the historically inaccurate assertions that tingatinga painting would be the continuation of the quasi in southern Tanzania occasionally to be found hut paintings and " Tinga Tinga " if it were a " Tanzanian cultural heritage ". The name " Tinga Tinga " has actually never played a serious role in the international art scene. The only correct name is the term Tinga Tinga ( art, paintings and so on ), which is a tribute to the founder of this East African art movement Eduardo Saidi Tinga Tinga.

The dubious role played by the TACS today is underlined by the fact that this organization, which also represents only a portion of the Tinga Tinga artists, sold the rights to use the words " Tinga Tinga " at a film production company in England ( Tiger Aspect Production) has. This is the more remarkable because the TACS never was or is the holder of the rights to that term.

2 Another current problem point is the attempt to monopolize the internationally highly respected and died in 2005 tansansichen artist George Lilanga as alleged Tinga Tinga artists. This, too, has only sale strategic reasons. In reality Lilanga was never an artist of Tinga Tinga direction and has - occupied by several interviews - felt the Tinga Tinga Tinga Tinga style or groups not belonging. In fact, the artistic roots of Lilanga are not even in the Tinga Tinga - square painting, but in the Makonde carvings and starting from the 1970s during his time in the House of Art ( nyumba Ya Sanaa ) in Dar es Salaam, drawings, batiks and subsequently in etchings, with which it has then been brought Lilanga in the 1980s to a remarkable championship. All of these techniques are still used by either ES Tinga Tinga his so-called disciples or followers.

Tinga Tinga, Traditional murals and Felsmalkunst

Whether there is a relationship between Tinga Tinga, the traditional murals and the Felsmalkunst, is not scientifically proven and remains open as a question. Some researchers question whether the Tinga Tinga art has its roots in traditional murals that we saw in the huts to the place where Edward Saidi Tinga Tinga was born. Many murals were there in person by Daniel Augusta testified in the village Ngapa in 2009, where the father of Edward Saidi Tinga Tinga family still lives ( see photo). The same findings were also made by other explorers: on the first known and documented encounter with the wall paintings in 1906 in southern Tanzania wrote Karl Heule in his book " Negro life in German East Africa ", Leipzig, 1908 More photo documentation of the murals came from. ethnologist and photographer Jesper Kirknaes. And there is yet another researcher who traveled as far as southern Tanzania and the local villages of ES Tinga Tinga visited: it was Kenji Shiraishi, an art curator from Japan. Although we know the rich tradition of the Makua - murals, Tinga Tinga public art is presented as an artistic form without any historical roots. Berit Sahlstöm 's article " Tinga Tinga and his followers " for example seeks to elucidate the tingatinga style in comparative connection with the modern Mozambican art ( Malangatana, Idasse, Jose Craverinha and John Muafangejo ). Yves Goscinny examines the roots of tingatinga Art in the encounter between the ES Tinga Tinga and in Dar es Salaam sold Congolese paintings ( "Art in Tanzania 2010" - in search of employment opportunities he Tinga Tinga noticed many paintings from the Congo, which were sold in the shops in the city and decided to try his luck to try ). The original source is probably Merit Teisen ( " To survive, the desperate ES Tinga Tinga came up with an idea to make Rien times to Sell "). In their article published in 1984, it also claims that ES Tinga Tinga two walls against payment decorated before he began to paint on small plates. But economic factors alone can not explain the tradition of decorating the walls of buildings within the same community in Dar es Salaam, which was documented and photographed by Jesper Kirknaes. This community was in the front row of the Makonde and Makua immigrants from southern Tanzania, who brought their traditions in Tanzania 's business capital. In 2010, Hanne Thorup interviewed the students of IT Tinga Tinga - Omary Amonde. He confirmed that E.S. Tinga Tinga as a young boy ( about 12 years old ) painted on hut walls. ( Tinga Tinga, Kitsch or Art, 2010, page 22; Article: Off the walls to Hard Board and Canvas; What inspired Tinga Tinga Hanne Thorup & Chitra Sundaram? ). It makes more sense to say that the root of the tingatinga stuck art more in the tradition of wall paintings than in the economic intentions of the modern Mozambican art. Therefore, it is not surprising why the researchers claim that the Tinga Tinga art has its roots in the murals.

Tinga Tinga and George Lilanga

In the Japanese book called " Lilanga 's Cosmos, Africa Hoy ", page 7, asked the curator of the art Kenji Shiraiji why Lilanga began painting at Tinga Tinga style. Lilanga replied: "It was solely my idea to incorporate this style. No one has suggested it to me, that I should do it. In the Tinga Tinga style I use enamel paint on hard disks. Such plates are wonderful to get fresh colors. " Tinga Tinga and Lilanga have many similarities and are interconnected. Although Lilanga is not Tinga Tinga artists, he was surrounded by the tingatinga painter and was inspired by the tingatinga techniques - Enamel colors and square paintings. This technique was already used in 1968 by the tingatinga painter ( Yves Goscinny, Popular Art of Tanzania ), but Lilanga only began in 1974 to paint ( Kamphausen, George Lilanga ). The Italian curator Cesare Pee writes in his book " George Lilanga - Colours of Africa " (2007, ISBN 978-88-8929-832-9, page 136): " George Lilanga moved in the artistic circles of the Tinga Tinga school. " but it is not only the tingatinga material and techniques used George Lilanga. George Lilanga used the same bright and shiny colors like Tinga Tinga painters. ( Catalogue Raisonne, George Lilanga, Enrico Masceloni, page XII: Lilanga borrowed from Tinga Tinga colors, with an extraordinary, fantastic color potential, yet increase the already high degree of vitality in the pictures ... ). Without Tinga Tinga there would be no Lilanga because Lilanga the material, techniques, colors and compositions used, the horror of emptiness evoke, which Tinga Tinga is known. In the book " Tinga Tinga, Kitsch or Quality " claims the curator of the Art Hanne Tine (2010, ISBN 978-87-992635-1-6, page 68): " When he [ George Lilanga ] hit the art of Tinga Tinga school, had this has a strong influence on his artistic Tun George Lilanga did not know how to paint with Tinga Tinga art, he was not able to handle the colors and brushes; he was a Makonde carvers. The paintings were painted for him by Noel Kapanda and later by Mchimbi Halfani. ( Daniel Augusta: www.lilanga.org, Felix Lorenc: www.makonde - carvings.info ). George Lila gas works of art were exhibited on many occasions along with the Tinga Tinga artwork - one of the last exhibitions were at the City Gallery in Ahlen. The name of the exhibition was " The hand is the instrument of the soul ." In the exhibitions also artworks by Noel Kapanda, signed name with George Lila gas, which was underlined in the legend below the images were. George Lilanga traveled with Noel Kapanda, the Tinga Tinga painters, on several occasions to Japan, where he made exhibitions. Organizer was the art curator Kenji Shiraishi. He even wrote a book " Tinga Tinga and Lilanga " (The Museum of Art, Kochi, Giappone, 2004). From the above examples it is quite clear that there are similarities between Lilanga and the Tinga Tinga art. These two Tanzanian artistic styles - Lilanga and Tinga Tinga - no live separated lives, but interact and enrich each other to this day.