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In his artist studio in Dzorwulu, Accra, the capital city of Ghana, Wiz Kudowor talks to Safia Dickersbach about his life and work as one of the leading visual artists in Ghana. Discussing some of his art works, Wiz Kudowor explains in this interview how his paintings reflect his experiences as a person and visualize how he relates to his environment, looks at the world in general and perceives the vibrations that come along his way. Summarizing the essence of his artistic work, Wiz Kudowor says that the philosophy behind his art is just life in all its facets and manifestations.
Wiz Kudowor points out that artists should appreciate the skills and talents that they have been given and make use of them to serve and benefit the community and the people around them. The skills should be utilized to process life with the means of an artist.
As Wiz explains, art has to trigger a reaction. It does not matter for him if somebody does not like his paintings because the important task of an artwork is to generate some form of response, be it positive or negative. No artist wants to see his audience being left cold and indifferent by the work that he created and the worst thing would be no reaction at all.
Wiz Kudowor emphasizes the creative process. As an artist he says he is more interested in the process of work than in the final product. This did not prevent him from creating some of the most memorable paintings of contemporary Ghanaian art which are now part of both public and private collections and exhibited in major museums.
While drawing upon the rich heritage of artistic tradition and cultural symbols in Ghana’s history, Wiz Kudowor developed his uniquely personal style of artistic expression with reminiscence of Cubist and Futurist shapes and designs. When asked to describe his place in the art world, he simply replies: “I am just Wiz, an artist who lives and works in Africa. I don’t see myself as doing African painting. If you feel Africa through my work, it is because I live here. And I am African. But I regard what I do as art on the same level as art in Europe or America or Asia. I don’t tag myself. Let others do the tagging as it is done all along …”
Watch the TEASER: http://youtu.be/j9FVzyp3M84
Watch the TRAILER: http://youtu.be/FWV9KqIZY5I
Read about the project on “This Is Africa”: http://bit.ly/16ejiHb
Editing: David Picard
Camera: Enes Hakan Tokyay
Photos of the paintings: Ben Bond
Music (for the questions): Ayo Nelson-Homiah — “Express”
Music (for the credits): Sarkodie (feat. Kesse) — “Azonto Fiesta”
A film by Safia Dickersbach
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SHOWCASE/203245376412487
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