Henry Tayali
Encyclopedia
Henry Nkole Tayali was a multi-lingual Zambian fine artist, sculptor, printmaker, raconteur and lecturer. He has been described as Zambia's most famous painter, and most revered and pre-eminent artist.
in the British Colony of Northern Rhodesia
(later to become Zambia), a town near the site of the Nsalu 12,000-year-old rock and cave paintings. His father, the first born of five children, had won a scholarship to study at a South African University, but never took it up because his own mother died suddenly, and he chose to stay and look after his younger siblings. In order to support them, Tayali's father emigrated from Northern Rhodesia to work in Bulawayo
in Southern Rhodesia
, ending up in the Department of Housing and Amenities.
Henry Tayali was the oldest of seven brothers and sisters (see also ). The siblings grew up in an atmosphere full of written and oral literature, drawing inspiration from local folk stories, and of European tales of adventure and exploration. Their father Edward was also an accomplished teller of traditional stories and African idioms and quotations, and had an easy wit. As a result, Tayali was an extremely well read and politically aware artist who, by the time he was eighteen, had read his fair share of the great literary novels of the West from authors such as Alexandre Dumas, père
, James Fenimore Cooper
, Robert Louis Stevenson
and Mark Twain
amongst others. Some of this influence can be seen in his early watercolour paintings.
In early 1967, before his Cambridge 'O' Level Certificate results came out, Tayali left Rhodesia (the Southern was dropped when Zambia gained independence in 1964) for Zambia, and applied for a bursary from the Zambian Government - expressing an interest in Architecture with Art. With help from his father (who went to school at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali
in Northern Rhodesia with the likes of Kenneth Kaunda
(President of Zambia 1964 - 1991), Simon Kapwepwe
(Vice President 1967–1970), and Wesley Nyirenda and others, and who lobbied the Ministry of Education at Ridgeway in Lusaka on his behalf), he was awarded a Zambian Government scholarship to study at Uganda's Makerere University
in Kampala, where he graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Shortly after Idi Amin
seized power in Uganda, Tayali returned to Zambia and then started work at the University of Zambia
where he joined the Institute of African Studies in Lusaka
as a lecturer in African art
and later as University Artist. In 1972, Tayali got a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD
) scholarship to study for a Masters in Fine Arts
at the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
, West Germany
, breaking new ground along the way - he was the first African artist south of the equator to be awarded an Arts scholarship by the DAAD.
His professor, Gerd Weber, said of him, "Of all the foreign students who have worked in my class, Henry Tayali is by far the most talented of them all. His work constitutes a synthesis between the traditional African art, the tools and techniques of the modern era.".
After graduating in 1975, and fluent in German (in addition to English, Bemba, Ndebele, and Ngoni), he returned to Lusaka to the Institute of African Studies.
In early 1978, Tayali returned to West Germany to embark on a Doctor of Fine Arts
degree at the Akademie für Bildende Künste, but unfortunately, the arrangements did not work out and he returned to Zambia bitterly disappointed.
, and is also an accomplished artist in his own right. He started painting when in his early twenties, and has been regularly holding exhibitions in Germany since the late nineties. He is based in Cologne
in Germany. Tayali's daughter, Katwishi, lives in Lusaka and has also taken up art.
Tayali died on 22 July 1987 while visiting his eldest son and family friends the Moiks / Moik-Becker in Aachen
, West Germany, after attending his youngest brother's wedding in Southampton
, England. He was buried at Leopards Hill Cemetery in Lusaka.
and woodcut
s, a few of these were printed as greeting cards and sold through newsagents and book stores. Tayali held exhibitions in Lusaka, Bulawayo, Aachen, Düsseldorf
, London (Commonwealth Institute
, 1983), Alberta, and Toronto as well as in Zambia, where a few of his exhibitions were opened by Kenneth Kaunda
, the first President of Zambia. He was associated with artists, authors and politicians, including Simon and Cynthia Zukas, Andrew Sardanis and American Professor Melvin Edwards at home and abroad, many of them becoming lifelong friends. There were also joint exhibitions and support, such as that provided by the Alliance Francaise.
His works still continue to be exhibited in Zambia and across the world. Perhaps appropriately too at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe . Numerous examples of Tayali's works are held in private collections across the globe.
Tayali was also a keen photographer, having studied photography for his Masters, and always carried his trusted Leica SLR camera with him wherever he went. On his projects for the University, he produced a huge catalogue of photographs (often developing the prints himself, and having photographic slides made) of artefacts and people - something he worked hard for as a record for posterity. Some of the photographs he took on his field trips around Zambia were turned into postcards.
Other work included efforts to establish a School of Fine Arts in Zambia and numerous field trips within Zambia to record and preserve the arts and cultures of the various tribes for posterity - including audio recordings. He was involved in organising the attendance - and was part - of the Zambian delegation at the groundbreaking Second African Festival of Arts and Culture in Lagos
, Nigeria, 1977 (FESTAC'77).
In addition to lecturing at the University of Zambia, Tayali also lectured at the Evelyn Hone College near the city centre in Lusaka.
He was also a restaurant/hotel critic - having travelled extensively all over the world - and in that role he also travelled widely within Zambia.
(e.g. his watercolours held at the US National Archive
: see External Links below) - before progressing to oil paintings. His paintings evolved from the fine art style of the late fifties/sixties/early seventies, to semi-abstract, through to abstract
, and then edging to minimalism
at the time of his death. His paintings were distinctive, blending African and Western styles, reflecting the influences on his life.
Tayali's paintings ranged in size from small scale to large wall murals - as in the German Embassy in Lusaka - and very large canvases of more than two metres in length by at least a metre and a half. Often, he would be working simultaneously on four or more paintings at a go, and different prints and sculptures at the same time - all the while with the backdrop of lecturing at the University, or undertaking research in different and remote parts of Zambia (mostly by road), or travelling internationally.
His woodcuts and silk-screens remained largely the same in composition throughout the latter half of his life, and he used them to pass frank comment on the lives of his subjects - the ordinary, common, people of Zambia (and Zimbabwe earlier) , particularly the beer gardens with their many characters, their many facets, their rich tapestry of social gatherings and social interactions (see Bier Garten below). Some critics have called some of his works 'crowded social realism'. Equally, he would not leave out depicting his observations of the lone beggar in the street, or the market trader women, or politicians in Africa. He was not averse to using his art to pass comment on any of them .
From a young age, Tayali had always been interested in sculptures and modelling - and he went on to produce sculptures such as The Graduate seen here on the banner of the University of Zambia web-page, at the UNZA Great East Road campus. Funded by donations from the Zambia State Lottery, the Anglo-American Corporation and some individuals, it depicts a graduating student in his flowing gown and mortar board hat, the book in his left hand signifying progress through learning in the modern world, and the hoe in the right hand the hard work and progress through agriculture that has underpinned the country in general. He also produced a huge sculpture of a bird (work in concrete) at the Kapiri Mposhi railway station - the terminus end of the mid-seventies Chinese built Tazara (TAnzania ZAmbia RAilway) railway, whose other end is in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania's capital on the Indian Ocean coast. From about 1976, he started working with welded metal sculptures. Initially these were fairly simple as he was new to the medium and its techniques, but by the time of his death they had a majestic complexity to them - probably the most famous example is The Bull, which was mounted on the road to Lusaka International Airport
.
His painting Destiny, produced while Tayali was still in school, has been described as "an attempt to express the profound thoughts of a serious young man, about the struggles of Mankind now and in the future" and has been exhibited around the world. In 1991, it was purchased by the Lechwe Trust, a charity which supports visual artists in Zambia. Tayali had a close association with the Mpapa Gallery, where his works had often been exhibited.
Speaking of his work in 1979, Tayali said, "My art is concerned with the suffering of the people and I want it to be the echo of that suffering. I see the problems of the continent... I am just recording what I and my people feel, but I do not attempt to provide answers to our problems ".
Writing in 1980, the American academic Bob Barde placed Tayali's woodcut prints on a par with Europe's great printmakers such as Käthe Kollwitz
and Théodore Géricault
. Tayali's woodcut subjects were usually about the common African man (and woman), and the feelings evoked by his daily travails, and the prevailing political landscape of the times. Barde described his prints as "powerful" and said that he "seems destined to play an important role in modern African art."
Throughout his life, Henry Tayali was indefatigable, driven to achieve his goals. A teetotaller, he espoused a dedicated work ethic, which he followed, often working - both as a student, and as an adult - very long hours each day in order to complete the tasks he had set himself. This was in spite of the fact that he was plagued by persistent stomach pains in his adult life after accidentally ingesting slivers of broken glass whilst drinking from a Coca-Cola
bottle when he was a teenager.
On a personal side, with his trademark paint-splattered jeans, he also had a terrific sense of humour to counterbalance his serious approach to work, and this sometimes broke out in - apart from the comments - exaggerated physical attributes on some of his subjects in a few of his works. The art writer, Jean Kennedy said that Tayali's work, "makes strong statements, frequently leavened with humor, about personal and communal tragedies".
He played a very pivotal and influential role in cultural and artistic development in Zambia and Africa. He was president of the International Association of Artists in Zambia (which fell under UNESCO), and represented Zambia at various international symposia and conferences. He also headed the Art Centre Foundation, the National Craft Council of Zambia, and the National Museums Board.
In reflection of his work and legacy, it has been suggested that his work Destiny is a historical piece of art, and not just an eye-catcher .
In 1989, over seventy artists from around Zambia convened at Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Sciences, and formed the Zambia National Visual Arts Council (VAC) in his honour - as the national organisation for visual artists to be run by artists in Zambia. They named its headquarters at the Lusaka Showgrounds "The Henry Tayali Visual Art Centre". The Visual Arts Council started its operations in 1991, but the Visual Arts Centre was officially opened later in 1995. It hosts art competitions, exhibitions, and seminars and it is one of the must-sees on the Zambian tourist circuit. The Ngoma Awards, sponsored by the National Arts Council of Zambia
confers the "Henry Tayali Award" for Best Two-Dimensional Visual Artist.
Early life
Tayali was born on 22 November 1943 to Edward Nkole Tayali (1914–1995) and Esnati Mumba Tayali (née Chola, 1923–1963) in SerenjeSerenje
Serenje is a district in Zambia. There is also the town of Serenje lying just off the Great North Road and TAZARA Railway. The British, during the time that Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate, designated Serenje as a BOMA . To this day, the locals refer to Serenje Town as the BOMA....
in the British Colony of Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
(later to become Zambia), a town near the site of the Nsalu 12,000-year-old rock and cave paintings. His father, the first born of five children, had won a scholarship to study at a South African University, but never took it up because his own mother died suddenly, and he chose to stay and look after his younger siblings. In order to support them, Tayali's father emigrated from Northern Rhodesia to work in Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
in Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
, ending up in the Department of Housing and Amenities.
Henry Tayali was the oldest of seven brothers and sisters (see also ). The siblings grew up in an atmosphere full of written and oral literature, drawing inspiration from local folk stories, and of European tales of adventure and exploration. Their father Edward was also an accomplished teller of traditional stories and African idioms and quotations, and had an easy wit. As a result, Tayali was an extremely well read and politically aware artist who, by the time he was eighteen, had read his fair share of the great literary novels of the West from authors such as Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
, James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
, Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
and Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
amongst others. Some of this influence can be seen in his early watercolour paintings.
Education
Tayali first started painting while at school in Bulawayo in the late 1950s. He attended secondary school in Bulawayo at Mpopoma High School and during this time produced the work Destiny. The proceeds from the sale of his paintings were held in the Henry Tayali Painting Fund, administered by Trustees who included Eric Gargett and E. H. Ashton. The money in the Fund would be released when Henry was accepted at University.In early 1967, before his Cambridge 'O' Level Certificate results came out, Tayali left Rhodesia (the Southern was dropped when Zambia gained independence in 1964) for Zambia, and applied for a bursary from the Zambian Government - expressing an interest in Architecture with Art. With help from his father (who went to school at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali
Chinsali
Chinsali is a town in the Northern Province of Zambia, and is headquarters of Chinsali District. It lies 15 km west of the Great North Road and about 180 km north-north-east of Mpika...
in Northern Rhodesia with the likes of Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda, known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia...
(President of Zambia 1964 - 1991), Simon Kapwepwe
Simon Kapwepwe
Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe was the first vice-president of Zambia from 1967 to 1970.- Early life :Simon Kapwepwe was born on 12 April 1922 in the Chinsali district of the Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia...
(Vice President 1967–1970), and Wesley Nyirenda and others, and who lobbied the Ministry of Education at Ridgeway in Lusaka on his behalf), he was awarded a Zambian Government scholarship to study at Uganda's Makerere University
Makerere University
Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...
in Kampala, where he graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Shortly after Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
seized power in Uganda, Tayali returned to Zambia and then started work at the University of Zambia
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia is Zambia's largest university, founded in 1966. It has a student population of about 10,000.-Academics:The University of Zambia is divided into the following faculties:*School of Agricultural Sciences *School of Engineering...
where he joined the Institute of African Studies in Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
as a lecturer in African art
African art
African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of people, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African...
and later as University Artist. In 1972, Tayali got a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....
) scholarship to study for a Masters in Fine Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
at the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, formerly Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, is the Arts Academy of the city of Düsseldorf. It is well known for having produced many famous artists, such as Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Thomas Demand, and Andreas Gursky...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, breaking new ground along the way - he was the first African artist south of the equator to be awarded an Arts scholarship by the DAAD.
His professor, Gerd Weber, said of him, "Of all the foreign students who have worked in my class, Henry Tayali is by far the most talented of them all. His work constitutes a synthesis between the traditional African art, the tools and techniques of the modern era.".
After graduating in 1975, and fluent in German (in addition to English, Bemba, Ndebele, and Ngoni), he returned to Lusaka to the Institute of African Studies.
In early 1978, Tayali returned to West Germany to embark on a Doctor of Fine Arts
Doctor of Fine Arts
Doctor of Fine Arts is doctoral degree in fine arts, typically given as an honorary degree . The degree is typically conferred to honor the recipient who has made a contribution to society in the arts...
degree at the Akademie für Bildende Künste, but unfortunately, the arrangements did not work out and he returned to Zambia bitterly disappointed.
Marriage and Family
In 1971, he married Regina Mary Birungi Kivubiro while still in Uganda, and just before returning to Zambia and they had a son in 1972, Rhodrick Tayali. Regina died in 1976. Tayali had a daughter in 1980, Katwishi Alanda Tayali, followed in 1983 by a son, Chaswe Angio Tayali, with Rosemary Kaluwa, whom he later married. Tayali's son Rhodrick is an object and interior designer - Diploma-Designer (FH) - by training and a graduate of the Fachhochschule AachenFachhochschule Aachen
The FH Aachen - Aachen University of Applied Sciences is one of the biggest Fachhochschulen in Germany with roughly 10,000 students, 220 professors, 300 contract lecturers, and 340 assistants. It is specialized in certain topical areas . It must not be confused with the RWTH Aachen, which is also...
, and is also an accomplished artist in his own right. He started painting when in his early twenties, and has been regularly holding exhibitions in Germany since the late nineties. He is based in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
in Germany. Tayali's daughter, Katwishi, lives in Lusaka and has also taken up art.
Tayali died on 22 July 1987 while visiting his eldest son and family friends the Moiks / Moik-Becker in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, West Germany, after attending his youngest brother's wedding in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England. He was buried at Leopards Hill Cemetery in Lusaka.
Career
Tayali was very interested in art from birth. When the family was in Bulawayo, Tayali's natural talent was spotted early on by Alex Lambeth, who ran the African Affairs Department of Bulawayo City Council. Lambeth encouraged Tayali to pursue art as a career, and enrolled him on an artwork course. This led to Henry's first exhibition in Bulawayo at the age of fifteen. His painting career took off after that, and using water colours, Tayali begun to produce varied, vibrant, dynamic works such as Sunset Road and Destiny. He also produced sculptures - amongst them The Graduate at the University of Zambia campus in Lusaka, as well as silk-screensScreen-printing
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate...
and woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s, a few of these were printed as greeting cards and sold through newsagents and book stores. Tayali held exhibitions in Lusaka, Bulawayo, Aachen, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, London (Commonwealth Institute
Commonwealth Institute
The Commonwealth Institute was an educational charity connected with the Commonwealth of Nations, and the name of a building in West London formerly owned by the Institute...
, 1983), Alberta, and Toronto as well as in Zambia, where a few of his exhibitions were opened by Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda, known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia...
, the first President of Zambia. He was associated with artists, authors and politicians, including Simon and Cynthia Zukas, Andrew Sardanis and American Professor Melvin Edwards at home and abroad, many of them becoming lifelong friends. There were also joint exhibitions and support, such as that provided by the Alliance Francaise.
His works still continue to be exhibited in Zambia and across the world. Perhaps appropriately too at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe . Numerous examples of Tayali's works are held in private collections across the globe.
Tayali was also a keen photographer, having studied photography for his Masters, and always carried his trusted Leica SLR camera with him wherever he went. On his projects for the University, he produced a huge catalogue of photographs (often developing the prints himself, and having photographic slides made) of artefacts and people - something he worked hard for as a record for posterity. Some of the photographs he took on his field trips around Zambia were turned into postcards.
Other work included efforts to establish a School of Fine Arts in Zambia and numerous field trips within Zambia to record and preserve the arts and cultures of the various tribes for posterity - including audio recordings. He was involved in organising the attendance - and was part - of the Zambian delegation at the groundbreaking Second African Festival of Arts and Culture in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, Nigeria, 1977 (FESTAC'77).
In addition to lecturing at the University of Zambia, Tayali also lectured at the Evelyn Hone College near the city centre in Lusaka.
He was also a restaurant/hotel critic - having travelled extensively all over the world - and in that role he also travelled widely within Zambia.
Works
As a young man, Tayali had started his painting using water colours, producing works of great detail, vividness and vibrancy - his depiction of human figures similar in style to the Italian Renaissance painter MichelangeloMichelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
(e.g. his watercolours held at the US National Archive
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
: see External Links below) - before progressing to oil paintings. His paintings evolved from the fine art style of the late fifties/sixties/early seventies, to semi-abstract, through to abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
, and then edging to minimalism
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
at the time of his death. His paintings were distinctive, blending African and Western styles, reflecting the influences on his life.
Tayali's paintings ranged in size from small scale to large wall murals - as in the German Embassy in Lusaka - and very large canvases of more than two metres in length by at least a metre and a half. Often, he would be working simultaneously on four or more paintings at a go, and different prints and sculptures at the same time - all the while with the backdrop of lecturing at the University, or undertaking research in different and remote parts of Zambia (mostly by road), or travelling internationally.
His woodcuts and silk-screens remained largely the same in composition throughout the latter half of his life, and he used them to pass frank comment on the lives of his subjects - the ordinary, common, people of Zambia (and Zimbabwe earlier) , particularly the beer gardens with their many characters, their many facets, their rich tapestry of social gatherings and social interactions (see Bier Garten below). Some critics have called some of his works 'crowded social realism'. Equally, he would not leave out depicting his observations of the lone beggar in the street, or the market trader women, or politicians in Africa. He was not averse to using his art to pass comment on any of them .
From a young age, Tayali had always been interested in sculptures and modelling - and he went on to produce sculptures such as The Graduate seen here on the banner of the University of Zambia web-page, at the UNZA Great East Road campus. Funded by donations from the Zambia State Lottery, the Anglo-American Corporation and some individuals, it depicts a graduating student in his flowing gown and mortar board hat, the book in his left hand signifying progress through learning in the modern world, and the hoe in the right hand the hard work and progress through agriculture that has underpinned the country in general. He also produced a huge sculpture of a bird (work in concrete) at the Kapiri Mposhi railway station - the terminus end of the mid-seventies Chinese built Tazara (TAnzania ZAmbia RAilway) railway, whose other end is in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania's capital on the Indian Ocean coast. From about 1976, he started working with welded metal sculptures. Initially these were fairly simple as he was new to the medium and its techniques, but by the time of his death they had a majestic complexity to them - probably the most famous example is The Bull, which was mounted on the road to Lusaka International Airport
Lusaka International Airport
Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is an international airport in Lusaka, Zambia, and was the hub of Zambian Airways. Formerly Lusaka International Airport, now called Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. The airport was renamed in honour of the first president of the Republic of Zambia Dr...
.
His painting Destiny, produced while Tayali was still in school, has been described as "an attempt to express the profound thoughts of a serious young man, about the struggles of Mankind now and in the future" and has been exhibited around the world. In 1991, it was purchased by the Lechwe Trust, a charity which supports visual artists in Zambia. Tayali had a close association with the Mpapa Gallery, where his works had often been exhibited.
Speaking of his work in 1979, Tayali said, "My art is concerned with the suffering of the people and I want it to be the echo of that suffering. I see the problems of the continent... I am just recording what I and my people feel, but I do not attempt to provide answers to our problems ".
Writing in 1980, the American academic Bob Barde placed Tayali's woodcut prints on a par with Europe's great printmakers such as Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor whose work offered an eloquent and often searing account of the human condition in the first half of the 20th century...
and Théodore Géricault
Théodore Géricault
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault was a profoundly influential French artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings...
. Tayali's woodcut subjects were usually about the common African man (and woman), and the feelings evoked by his daily travails, and the prevailing political landscape of the times. Barde described his prints as "powerful" and said that he "seems destined to play an important role in modern African art."
Throughout his life, Henry Tayali was indefatigable, driven to achieve his goals. A teetotaller, he espoused a dedicated work ethic, which he followed, often working - both as a student, and as an adult - very long hours each day in order to complete the tasks he had set himself. This was in spite of the fact that he was plagued by persistent stomach pains in his adult life after accidentally ingesting slivers of broken glass whilst drinking from a Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
bottle when he was a teenager.
On a personal side, with his trademark paint-splattered jeans, he also had a terrific sense of humour to counterbalance his serious approach to work, and this sometimes broke out in - apart from the comments - exaggerated physical attributes on some of his subjects in a few of his works. The art writer, Jean Kennedy said that Tayali's work, "makes strong statements, frequently leavened with humor, about personal and communal tragedies".
Legacy
Tayali was one of the first Africans to work tirelessly to raise the profile of indigenous African art and crafts in Zambia, Africa, and the world through workshops, conferences, discussions, exhibitions, newspaper articles, magazines and television appearances.He played a very pivotal and influential role in cultural and artistic development in Zambia and Africa. He was president of the International Association of Artists in Zambia (which fell under UNESCO), and represented Zambia at various international symposia and conferences. He also headed the Art Centre Foundation, the National Craft Council of Zambia, and the National Museums Board.
In reflection of his work and legacy, it has been suggested that his work Destiny is a historical piece of art, and not just an eye-catcher .
In 1989, over seventy artists from around Zambia convened at Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Sciences, and formed the Zambia National Visual Arts Council (VAC) in his honour - as the national organisation for visual artists to be run by artists in Zambia. They named its headquarters at the Lusaka Showgrounds "The Henry Tayali Visual Art Centre". The Visual Arts Council started its operations in 1991, but the Visual Arts Centre was officially opened later in 1995. It hosts art competitions, exhibitions, and seminars and it is one of the must-sees on the Zambian tourist circuit. The Ngoma Awards, sponsored by the National Arts Council of Zambia
National Arts Council of Zambia
The National Arts Council of Zambia is a newly formed Zambian organization which attempts to foster the arts in Zambia. Among other activities, it sponsors Zambia's annual Ngoma Awards. The council has also encouraged funding for Zambian artists and artistic endeavors...
confers the "Henry Tayali Award" for Best Two-Dimensional Visual Artist.
Further reading
- Zukas, Cynthia (1993) (in English). "Henry Tayali: A Re-Assessment"
- Fall, N'Gone and Pivin, Jean Loup (2002) (in English). "An Anthology of African Art"
- Pitcher, Gemma; Andrew, David; Armstrong, Kate; Bainbridge, James; Bewer, Tim and Carillet, Jean-Bernard (2007) (in English). "Africa"
External links
- Three watercolours by Henry Tayali Shipwrecked, Sunset Road, and The Omen, held by the Harmon FoundationHarmon FoundationThe Harmon Foundation was established in 1922 by William E. Harmon. It served as a large scale patron of African American art and helped gain recognition for African American artists who otherwise would have remained largely unknown. Mary B. Brady was the director of the foundation from 1922 until...
, at the US National ArchiveNational Archives and Records AdministrationThe National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...