Teach about Black Artists Feature: Chris Ofili

 Chris Ofili | Sartle - Rogue Art History

 
Chris Ofili was born in Manchester in 1968. He studied at Tameside College and then at the Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. He was very successful at a young age. At just 30 he became the first Black artist to win the prestigious Turner Prize. In 2003, he also represented Britain at the Venice Biennale, an important international art show.

Ofili lived and worked in London for many years but now divides his time between the Caribbean, London and New York.

In 2017 he was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his services to art.

SOURCE 

Popcorn shells by Chris Ofili 

Chris Ofili Popcorn Shells 1995© Chris Ofili, courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro

Early on in his career Ofili drew attention because he used a very unusual material in his paintings: elephant dung!

When he was 23 he won a scholarship which allowed him to visit Zimbabwe in Africa. During his time there he was amazed by ancient cave paintings made from hundreds of dots. He was also intrigued by the small round elephant droppings he saw on the ground. He even managed to bring some elephant dung back with him!

The artworks he made after visiting Zimbabwe show the influence of the dotty cave paintings and the curious dung. Sometimes he stuck small balls of dung to the surface of his paintings, and often used them as little feet for his artworks to stand on. Not everyone thought that art should contain a material like this, and some people were really angry about it. What do you think?

By using a material like dung, which is usually considered worthless, Ofili makes people think about the value they attach to things.

SOURCE

Ofili, Chris, b.1968 | Art UK 

 

Ofili was also heavily inspired by music, particularly hip hop and also jazz. He saw these types of music as celebrations of Black culture, saying: 'I wanted to paint things that would feel like that music'.

Ofili would sometimes cut out images of Black music stars from magazines and use them in his paintings. By doing this he was celebrating their talent and acknowledging that his artwork was linked to theirs.

 

 

Untitled (1998)  

This is an artwork made up of 30 portraits of Black women. Ofili chose to present them as characters who are subtly different. He wanted to highlight the diversity of Black identities.

The miniature paintings celebrate the women's Afro hairstyles and colourful clothes. 

 


Previous
Previous

Joseys Art School Episode #79: Georgia O'Keefe Landscapes Meditation Art...

Next
Next

joseys art school episode 188: Flamingo art lesson painting drawing happ...