Zimpapers Logo

Knowledge Mushohwe
Audiences of an artwork may laud or criticise it but links should be noticeable between one piece of work and another by the same artist.
For instance, Baroque movement painter Rambrandt’s dramatic, realistic and ornate artworks, almost always with the source of light outside the composition, are unmistakable.

Innocent Mpofu’s thick line work and simple yet deliberate treatment of facial features make his editorial cartoons stand out.
Similarly, most listeners would identify a Macheso song well before he starts singing because the musician has developed a style that can only be associated with him.

Artists aim to create a distinctive and therefore recognisable style that represents their ideas through visual expressions.
The mistake that many young visual artists make is assuming style can be acquired overnight. Development of an artistic style is a matter of hard work and dedication.

It takes years for one to develop an exclusive technique because there are a number of factors one has to consider, such as the answer to the question, “what and who am I making the art for?”

Art can be a marketing or an informative tool. Graphic designers in advertising use computer programmes to create compositions meant to sell a product, idea or service while their counterparts in the media employ both visuals and text to make graphics that provide information relevant to readers.

The style that either graphic designer develops should ensure that the end product is understandable, relevant and achieves the desired reaction from the targeted audience.

A style is also dependent on the artist’s influences and sources of inspiration. Thankfully, most Zimbabwean institutions offering art qualifications such as Chinhoyi University of Technology, Harare Polytechnic and ZIVA ensure freedom of the artist while they expose their students to various art disciplines.

Student artists therefore can draw inspiration from art history or other art forms for their specialised domains. Others go even further by fusing disciplines to create their own original art style. It is not unusual for one to employ fine art techniques to create a sculpture, or using screen-printed images in graphic design.

Exposure to many art forms does not just provide the student artist with a wide range of career choices, but also gives sources of motivation from which one can fully develop into a recognized original artist.

Art institutions in Zimbabwe may be partly responsible for artistic styles inspired by things outside personal experience. Art student may be inspired by anything from art history to great pieces of art by the old masters. There is value in exposing young artists to art history, contemporary practice and various art disciplines.

The only downside to what is currently offered by art institutions in the country is the seemingly deliberate exclusion of talented artists that have little interest outside the practical aspect of their work.

There is little chance that a sculptor with no required academic qualifications and absolutely no interest in books and reading and research would ever learn about art by the Yoruba tribe in West Africa, or Salvador Dali and Joan Miro’s surrealism representations.

The lack of exposure to other art forms limits artists’ sources of inspiration and their styles may be developed based on the little they know or have experienced.

During the early days of art development art was considered a hobby by some and most artists, did not live off the products they made.
Today, art pays, and there is always a danger of one thinking about the financial returns without putting the required efforts needed for the development of a distinct style.

An example of this is the emergence of a vibrant roadside art industry that simply replicates one sculpture and makes several copies for sale to tourists and interested locals.

When one makes the same product over and over again, the creativity is likely to suffer. There may be money to be made but without some form of originality, the artist may never develop his/her skills.

Visual art is at any given stage “work in progress”. That is why even the greatest of painters such as Leonardo da Vinci or Vincent van Gogh still made changes to aspects of their styles as they got older. Others find psychological value in the notion, “less is more” with experience or old age.

There is need for artists to adjust their style to suit both the changing audience and even changes from within themselves.
Most artists, for example, inch towards some sort of abstraction as they get older due to either lack of stamina or poor eyesight or both. But the spine of their styles hardly changes. All their work may be categorised based solely on the manner of their execution.

Originality is everything in visual art, and style is central to this. The reason why Dominic Benhura makes so much money and why he is such a household name in Zimbabwe sculpture is that he has developed a distinct style that is keenly followed a large audience. He has also developed his brand through exhibitions and vigorous marketing strategies. There is no reason why others cannot follow suit.

It is not about making something similar to Dominic’s, neither is it about sticking to Benhura’s signature on a sculpture. It is about taking time to develop an exclusive technique and ensuring that it communicates with an audience that understands and appreciate it.
Style is the artist’s fingerprint, it is distinct and exclusive. Without it, there is no art.