Adelaide Damoah, Art Success

How to Make £1Billion!

2011-11-30T21:19:00.001Z

Never before in my life time have I heard more fuss and talk about money, the economy, banking systems and banking products. Never. Not even in 2008, with the shit really hit the fan with the global financial crisis. It is endless.

As usual, the news is full of doom and gloom, but this just feels different. The public are more knowledgeable and something is building. This 99 % movement is growing rapidly. We are the 99% after all. I will come onto how I am going to make £1Billion a bit later. Lets get some background out of the way first...

I was in Venice last week and was got to go to the Biennale for the first time (Big cheesy grin).

The world financial situation was represented in the art at the exhibition and there were placards and notices all over the city, in the strangest of places. It was inspiring to see artists and the people responding in this way, especially with recent events in Italy. More pics below.

I digress... I don't claim to be an expert in financial matters, but with all of this going on, we, the public, don't seem to have a choice but to learn. It is interesting that some rumour about a company can cause it's shares to come crashing down in value over night. It is interesting to me that countries are on the brink of bankruptcy and their leaders are being forced out and replaced by ex leaders of the real rulers of this world, banks. Well Goldman Sachs to be precise. Goldman Sachs rules the world. Just ask Berlusconi.

Right up to country level, we appear to be in this nonsensical position which means that you borrow money (which does not really exist) at a certain interest rate. You pay the money back, but something happens because yes, bad things happen in life sometimes and you can not make your monthly payment for a month or two. What happens then? The loan company puts on a whole heap of charges and hikes up your interest rate to add pepper to the stew. All of a sudden, you owe more money than you borrowed in the first place and what you have been paying off for the past five years counts for absolutely nothing. How utterly depressing. The longer you are in that position, the more hopeless it becomes, and so the cycle continues. When individuals are in that position, what can you do but moan, continue in your JOB (just over broke) and keep trying to make those payments knowing at the back of your mind that unless you win the lottery, your going to be paying that shit off for life. Sucker.

But wait, why do banks loan money (which does not physically exist) to people who have not got a hope in hell of ever paying it back? Why did the European economies lend money to each other- and I am talking billions of pounds to each other when the countries they were lending to were broke as hell and never had a hope in hell of ever paying back? Wait, the lenders themselves were already broke right? Where did they get the money to lend?

I got this quote direct from a video which I think explains the mess pretty well:

"When banks make loans, they create additional [bank] deposits for those that have borrowed the money." These 'bank deposits' are just the numbers in your account.

Martin Wolf, the chief economics editor at the Financial Times, says that "The essence of the contemporary monetary system is the creation of money, out of nothing, by private banks' often foolish lending."

Here is the video:

Here is another one which breaks down the European situation in a humorous way.

Very funny.

I am no economist. I am an artist with an interest in what is going on. All of this got me thinking. I think I had watched yet another news story about all this financial doom and gloom and all of a sudden I was inspired. Nothing deep. I just decided to create my own currency. Create my own mini economy! Ha! I want lots of money, I guess you could call me a capitalist artist, even though, clearly, money is not why I do what I do. I am no Damien Hirst. Well not yet. In any case, I want lots of money. These days lots of money is a billion plus. So why not MAKE lots of money. Not in the conventional sense. I'm not going to get a high flying job, or set up some cash generating business. Nor am I going to start illegally printing bank notes. I am just going to make my own paper money. I have started already. I have a prototype. They are small notes. Each one has it's own value. Each one will have some markings on it representative of what we see as paper money today, but I will put my own spin on it and it will have my name on it. My target is to make £1Billion worth of my currency. I have no time limit and there are no rules apart from, I am not going to make a one billion pound note or a million pound note. That would be pointless. I will make notes that range in value depending on what I decide to value them at. It could be because of time spent or some special technique. We will see how it evolves.

Now I know this has been done before in a way. Artist Dadara started the Exchangibition Bank. An interesting project which raises interesting questions about the value of art and indeed the value of money. His pop up banks have appeared all over Amsterdam and he has had quite a lot of press attention as a result.

I guess you could say what I am doing is similar. Maybe my aims are a bit different. I do want to raise questions and get this discussion going within the art community. He makes reference to the fact that money is often hoarded in banks- true and not true when you consider that essentially the majority of transactions these days are done electronically with fictional money that the bank has created as a virtual deposit. In any case, I will be stock piling my money until I get to a billion. So, there will be no literal exchange of art for money or money for art when it comes to my currency. Therein lies the fundamental difference I think. Physical exchange will only occur when I get to the billion mark. For that reason, I must keep my currency stable, at the same exchange rate, regardless of what happens to the pound.

My currency is called ADM. It stands for the initials of my full name. Not very original to name a currency after me, but hey, what can I say, it is my currency so my rules right! The Adelaide Damoah. Right, so I am setting my own exchange rate against the GBP for simplicity.

1AAD= 20 GBP

By my calculations, that means that I will have to make 50 million ADM's in order to make £1Billion.

I still need to come up with my currency symbol. Working on that. My website logo is way to complex...

Artists, I challenge you to join me if you want. We can create our own mini economy with our own rules. This is where things could get interesting. Imagine we are all making our own currencies in our own names with our own exchange rates. We could have our own stock exchange under our own control. I wonder what would happen if we let it go to a free market economy. Would traders be trading artists currencies on some artist stock exchange in the same way as the real life stock exchange- without any real exchange of the currency. All numbers on a computer. I don't think we should allow that to happen, but it would be interesting to see if it is evolves into something like that. To see if we would make the same mistakes as the (w)bankers.

I think we should maintain a difference between our "system" and the banking system. The difference between us and the banking system will be that because of who we are, our notes will have real value. We are artists and each unit of currency will be unique in its own right as a piece of art and that is what will give it value. We can make up the rules as we go along. There is no time limit. I could spend the rest of my life doing this, but hopefully I will get to the Billion mark before I expire out of this world so that I can exhibit my 50 million ADM's.

They will not be for sale for now- I guess that means that technically, I can not call it an economy. Not until they go onto some sort of market. Anyway, it is not about that. It is about the journey. The evolution of the project. Will it grow to encompass other artists, or will it just end with me? I will keep updating on the blog with pictures of my latest note and I will figure out a way to keep an online count of what figure I am at.

Please share if you think this is interesting. Artists, please add your thoughts and join me if you want. We can create a twitter hash tag #artcurrency or #artmoney, one of those could work... It is a real tangible response to what is happening in the world today, but above all for me, it is fun!

As side note, the central banks of the world- The Federal Reserve, Bank of England, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada, and Swiss National Bank- today announced that they were going to create more liquidity in the banking system. What this essentially means is that all of the major banks have been given "more money" to lend at a lower interest rate. The aim being in simple terms to encourage them to lend, as banks have been holding onto their money for fear of what could happen. Anyway, it is now cheaper to buy dollars. The markets are smiling. For now... Read about it in more detail if you like. Links at the bottom.

I thought it was interesting that this injection of cash happened today, the day when I decided to publicise my new money project. How funny. Images of my currency coming soon...

On the BBC

The Economist website

The Perpetual Return of IT

2011-11-27T18:29:00.002Z

IT, you are not my friend or my muse right now.

IT, you have turned into an insatiable beast, biting at my insides with increasingly sharpened teeth.

IT you have decided to hang around daily instead of the usual 10 days a month.

IT, I am beginning to hate you for all you have taken away from me.

My lover gone. Replaced by a nurse and friend.

Work done while in bed when I can open my eyes long enough to concentrate.

Social life, what social life. Networking, all out of the window. No more Insanity for me. No more exercise WTF? Travel, painful and frightening. I dare not go anywhere alone in case you decide to show your ugly face.

IT, you are jealous of my zest and passion for life, so you are trying to take it all away from me with your greedy grip on MY body and MY life.

That part of my body may be weak, but the rest of me is tough. My mind is stubborn and hard.

There is nothing I can not do. What did you expect me to lie down and die? Did you expect me to never travel, never socialise, never work ever again? I have found other ways, and I will continue to do so while simultaneously fighting your ugly arse all the way.

Oh, so now you have nothing to say. The painkillers have silenced you for a while. I'm staying on top.

IT. Jealous, selfish, evil, sadistic fucking bastard monster. If you think you have won, if you think I will spend the rest of my life in this bed writhing in pain and cursing your repugnant name, you have another thing coming. Bitch, I will cut you out like a cancer and reclaim my life and live it to the full once more.

Mark it on the wall.

Pleasure Pain. Oil on Canvas 2008

Pain. Oil on canvas board. 2002

Top Arts Events and Artists to Look Out For in 2012

2011-11-13T12:17:00.001Z

With new artists emerging on a consistent basis and shows opening practically every week, the sheer volume of all of this information can sometimes feel a tad overwhelming. Here are just a few of my personal favourite artists to look out for in the new year and one or two interesting and potentially important shows to attend.

Artists

If you know anything about me, you know that one of my philosophies for art is that it by its very nature, represents the spirit of the times. At this moment in our history, no other artist captures this sentiment better for me than Geoffrey Raymond. An American painter, born in 1953, Raymond is best known for painting controversial Wall Street CEO's , placing the paintings in the street and asking passers by to write their opinions of the subjects onto the portraits using marker pens. After the announcement of the $85 billion bail out for insurance giant AIG back in 2008, Raymond sat outside the company head quarters with a portrait of its then CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg. One person wrote, "Snarling rat bastard die! You suck. Love, Kim." Utter genius, talk about capturing the spirit of the times. Really interesting and engaging work documenting our history.

the fallen prince. 2008. Geoffrey Raymond. Copyright the artist. image from artists blog.

Artist Rebecca Fontaine-Wolfe, whom I interviewed earlier this year, is another one to watch. She is still early in her career having graduated in 2004. Her style has been described as a fine balance between the photo realistic and expressionist. She is concerned with the female form and specifically with modern ideas of image, beauty and identity through beautiful and arresting portraits. A girl after my own heart. Her career is on the up and I think she she will grow significantly in 2012.

July. 2010. Oil, acrylic and resin on natural canvas (c) Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf

Maximillian Weidman is eccentric, witty, sarcastic and intelligent in his examination of pop culture, consumerism and the media. Again, the spirit of the times is evident in his work. He uses various media including sculpture, enamel on canvas and spray paint on canvas. One of my favourite pieces of his was a screen print entitled “Quantitative Easing.” It is made up of repeating one billion dollar bills (yes I did mean to say one BILLION dollar bills) with the following phrases written on them, “Love sucks, cash rules,” “Trust no one,” and my personal favourite, “The United States of Play.” Very Clever.

Max Wiedman. Quantitative Easing. Spray Paint and Silk Screen on Canvas. 2011. Image copyright the artist. Taken from artnet

Events

If you love art as much as I do then you simply must go and see Leonardo Da Vinci at the National Gallery. Open until February 2012, the show is the largest exhibition of Da Vinci's surviving paintings ever exhibited. The exhibit focuses on the period when Da Vinci worked as a court painter in Milan.

Leonardo da Vinci. 1452-1519. The Virgin and Child. Copyright The State Hermitage Museaum St Petersburg

Unless you have been hiding under a bushel these last few weeks, you will be aware that the London 2012 Olympic posters were unveiled early in November. A number of British artists including Tracey Emin, Rachel Whiteread, Martin Creed, Chris Ofilli and Bridgit Riley designed the posters for the games. The opinions of the posters have been, shall we say varied, with some online commentators calling them “astoundingly bad,” and “incredibly lazy.” While I don't personally like all of them, I think that was going a little far. Judge for yourself. The posters are currently on sale and will be shown in a special exhibition in the summer of 2012 as a part of a special advertising campaign for the games.

Chris Ofili. For the Unknown Runner. Copyright the artist. 2011

Links:

Geoffrey Raymond: http://annotatedpaintings.blogspot.com/

Max Weidman: http://www.maxwiedemann.com/

Rebecca Fontaine-Wolfe: http://www.rebeccafontaine-wolf.com/

National Gallery: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

Olympics Posters: http://festival.london2012.com/about/posters/posters.php

50 Years of Black Art in the African Diaspora. A Brief Overview

2011-09-24T15:06:00.003+01:00

“The art history of the black diaspora is still an ‘undiscovered’ country,” Kobena Mercer 2009.

Curator, writer and critic Eddie Chambers once described black art as,

“Art produced by black people, largely and specially for the black audience, and which, in terms of its content, addresses black experience.”

A definition which in a so called “Post Black” era, is not relevant to all black artists working today.

The 1960's

The 1960's was the decade in which a new black cultural consciousness came into being. The world saw the birth of the civil rights movement and the assassinations of its most famous figure heads, namely Malcolm X in 1965 and Martin Luther King in 1968. In an effort to align themselves with the significant changes that were taking place at the time, there was a shift in the terminology that young African Americans used to describe and identify themselves from “Negro” to the seemingly more assertive “Black.”

An unprecedented increase in the use of the media to report on world issues influenced many artists, causing them to respond to the change in the media landscape in a variety of ways. Jeff Donaldson's satirical book, The Civil Rights Yearbook 1964, highlighted the power that the media had over public opinion on the subject of race.

In 1966, Andrew Salkey, Edward Kamau Brathwaite and John LaRose established the Caribbean Artists Movement in the UK. Active between 1966 and 1971, the group was created to help form an aesthetic informed by their own cultural heritage and to encourage recognition of West Indian art forms in the UK. The movement went on to inspire many black visual artists to produce work in this vein and included artists Ronald Moody, Errol Lloyd and Winston Branch.

The 1970's

Many black artists of the 70's seemed to move towards abstraction. Abstraction provided a medium through which black artists shared their mood and ideals. Artist Jack Whitten acknowledged that being “black” showed itself in his work, without actually being able to define precisely what was black about it. Frank Bowling, a Guyanese born artist, trained in the UK became most known for his controversial essays on the subject of blackness in art, especially his 1971 essay, “Is Black Art about Colour.”

Artists were afraid of depicting black people as nude until the sexual revolution of the 60's and 70's because of fears of being accused of being either a racist or pornographers according to Richard Powells, “Black Art A Cultural History.” The historical assumptions of social scientists that black's were morally depraved contributed significantly to this self censorship. From then on, different artists used the black nude to conceptualise various political and social themes. Artist Dana C Chandler, in his 1971 painting used an erect black male penis, chained and depicted on the inside of a jail cell against the backdrop of a mock American flag to depict his feelings about the anxieties of the black power movement. Artist Faith Ringold examined feminist themes from a personal and political perspective through her depictions of the black female nude.

Dana C Chandler. American Penal System. 1971. Copyright Dana C Chandler

The 1980's

1980's was defined as the decade of art institutionalization in the African diaspora and was marked in the USA by the Smithsonian museum purchasing countless works by black artists.

In the UK, the 80's defined a generation of artists influenced by the many political issues and events, including the 1981 Brixton riots. Artists including Claudette Johnson, Keith Piper, Donald Rodney and Marlene Smith formed the BLK Art group in response to an overriding feeling that despite achieving world wide success, it was difficult for black artists to be accepted at the top of the art establishment. In 1988, Eddie Chambers, one of the founders, curated the landmark exhibition “Black Art: Plotting the Course.” Chambers also worked with Sonia Boyce, a black British multimedia artist whose work referenced race, identity, feminism and contemporary urban culture.

Keith Piper. The Black Assassin Saints copyright Keith Piper 1982

In 1989, the all black exhibition entitled“The Other Story Afro-Asian artists in post-war Britain, shown at the Hayward Gallery, had a significant impact on the scene.

One of the most iconic black artists of the 80's, Jean-Michel Basquiat, often used words in his neo-expressionist work which incorporated his cultural heritage. One of his most famous works produced in 1981, the “Irony of the Negro Policeman” illustrated the control that wider white American Society had over African Americans at the time.

Jean-Michel Basquiat Irony of The Negro Policeman. 1981

The 1990's

The 1990's was marked by the term “Post Black.” A term that curator Thelma Golden claims to have coined with artist Glenn Ligon. The term was used to define an artistic genre, including a group of artists who refused to be defined by their race, yet who examined complex notions of race and racism through their work. The movement was an attempt to include marginalised black artists into the discourse on Western Art History.

Golden went on to further examine the 90's in the context of mass marketing by stating in an essay that “Artists live in a world where their particular cultural specificity is marketed to the planet and sold back to them.” Various artists produced work in response to mass produced marketing materials depicting racial and sexual stereotypes including African American artist Renee Cox.

Renee Cox. The Liberation of Lady J and U.B. 1998 Copyright Renee Cox

British artist Chris Offilli used his work to critically examine black popular culture, using satire to ask serious questions about society, racism and the mass marketing of dumbed down images of blackness as was illustrated in his 1996 piece Afrodizzia.

Chris Ofili. Afrodizzia second version 1996. Copyright Chriss Offilli

2000 to Present Day

Today, there has been shift in consciousness among many black artists from producing work which was a visible symbol of the black experience to more conceptual, subtle and complex work, which declares cultural heritage while simultaneously referencing and repudiating the historical injustices associated with it.

Yinka Shonibare uses his work in complicated and challenging ways to examine various notions of identity including what it means to be African, black, British and post modern. Shonibare is known for historical installations of mannequins dressed in so called African print fabrics.

Shonibare-Scramble for Africa. 2003. Copyright Yinka Shonbare. Image courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

Significant awards have been given to black artists during this time, cementing their place in art history and recognising their contribution to it including Chris Offilli, Steve Mcqueen, Jacob Lawrence, Kerry James Marshall and Robert Colescott.

Black artists have historically used art to voice political and social concerns with little recognition from wider society. Today, they are getting more recognition than ever before and have moved on significantly from Eddie Chambers 1980's definition of black art, but in the words of Sonia Boyce...

“...Work produced is still regarded and reduced in totality to questions of ethnicity and cultural difference, outside the historical context of contemporary art. We are working towards a time when the work displayed in exhibitions is no longer cordoned off from it's contemporaries as a separate and marginal area of artistic production.”

Thanks to Sophia A. Jackson for asking me to write this piece for the October Black History Month edition of Lime Magazine. Without her, it would not have occurred to me to write it.

Please comment and add anything you feel I may have missed out of this short piece. This research is by no means exhaustive.

References

Black Art, A Cultural History by Richard J. Powell. Published by Thames and Hudson World of Art 2002

Introduction to Contemporary British Art of Black and Asian Diasporas: focus on the 1980s

Leon Wainwright, Middlesex University, 2002

http://www.glaadh.ac.uk/documents/wainwright_bibliog.htm

Variant.org:African And Asian Visual Artists Archive by Sonia Boyce

http://www.variant.org.uk/1texts/Sonia_Boyce.html

Lillian Ogbogoh interviewed me

2011-09-14T23:48:00.000+01:00

This evening, I was interviewed by Lillian Ogbogoh. It was a nice, friendly interview. It was strange making the transition back to being the person being interviewed.

If you have an hour to spare and are interested in an hearing what I have to say on life and art, click here. The interview was recorded live.

Art Success with Owusu-Ankomah

2011-08-18T21:25:00.018+01:00

I was privileged enough to interview veteran artist Owusu-Ankomah on his thoughts on success and on his up coming London exhibition. The exhibition entitled Microcron - Kusum (Secret Signs - Hidden Meanings), is on at the October Gallery from the 15th to the 29th October 2011.

I can not remember the time when Owusu-Ankomah's work first entered my consciousness, but it seems like it has always been there. I have marvelled at his intelligent depiction of the male form and puzzled over his use of symbols, which at first looked to me like depictions of the Adinkra symbols from the Akan printing tradition of Ghana. On closer inspection, they encompass symbolism borrowed from many different cultures. One Adinkra symbol that he referred to indirectly during the interview and which is a recurring theme in his work is "Sankofa." This literally translates as "go back and fetch it." Sankofa is very often depicted as a bird with its body facing forward but it's head is facing backwards. The symbol represents the notion that in order to understand our present, we must first understand our past.

Owusu-Ankomah's bold paintings have been exhibited worldwide and he has a list of achievements and exhibitions that would make any artist positively glow with pride. However, talking to Owusu-Ankomah, I got the distinct impression that he was not overly concerned with the obvious trappings of success as most of us view it. Owusu-Ankomah is concerned with the progression and development of human kind. He is man who believes that success is about striving for the progression of humanity and that art can help to achieve that aim. Art goes beyond what we can quantify. A deep, intellectual and philosophical man, there was no pretentiousness, no boastfulness or even willingness to take on his many achievements. Only thoughtfulness, humility, modesty and a playful sense of humour.

Owusu-Ankomah. Photo by Dagmar Calais. Image Courtesy October Gallery, London

Adelaide Damoah (AD): You have lived in Germany since 1986, why Germany?

Owusu-Ankomah (OA) : I don't know. Someone invited me over. A friend of the family. Actually, I wanted to go to London because I like the English language and London so much from being there in 1980. When I was going to go, the friend of the family said "why don't' you take a look at Germany, then you can continue on." Then what happened to me was that (laughing)after a year, I got to know my ex wife, so that is how I got to stay here. I speak fluent German. You have to in order to communicate.

AD: Did you learn German before going?

OA: No Not at all. I had nothing actually to do with Germany. It is only because the first secretary of the German Embassy in those days wanted me to have a show at the Goethe Institute which to my regret, my own fault, never took place. A German business man bought my art work in Ghana, otherwise, I knew nothing about Germany. I had to go to university to learn the German language. After six months, I gave up as I needed time for my work. So I learned the language through reading, and I got the rudiments, the basics through listening to interviews and talk shows on the television, and you just talk to people on the street.

AD: You mentioned that you sold a painting to a German business man in Ghana. Do you remember when you sold your first painting?

OA: (Laughing) Oh, you ask questions! I was very young I think... I was 21 years old.

AD: You had your first show in 1976 right?

OA: Yes

AD: Did you sell anything at that show?

OA: I did sell a large painting to a Ghanaian doctor.

AD: At what point did you consider yourself to be a full time professional artist?

OA: I decided emphatically to be an artist. I started painting professionally after coming out of the Ghanatta College of Art at 18 years of age. I dedicated my entire life to it. I had my first one man show at 19, that means I started painting professionally at 18.

AD: At that point were you able to make a full time living?

OA: No, not at all! (laughs). I had some support from my parents. It is through my parents that I came to this country. I did not want to. What they did was to pull away every little bit of support, so that I became totally helpless because they thought I could not make a living out of my art. In those days in Ghana, no way, it was virtually impossible without the support of my parents. So this is what they did and they succeeded to get me away from Ghana (laughs).

AD: (Laughing) So, they did that, they pushed you away from Ghana to encourage your career and force you to stand up on your own?

OA: Yes

Owusu-Ankomah, Microcron - Kusum No.4, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 135 X 175 cm. Photo Copyright Joachim Fliegner.

AD: What does success in the art world mean to you?

OA: Recognition, being taken seriously. You then have a responsibility. This is what I think every successful person should realise. You have a very serious responsibility towards society concerning your ideas. Concerning what you say. I have a great concern for humanity at the moment. Where are we going with our present form of development? Where are we going in the future? My last catalogue was titled Future Track

AD: So as an artist, you are almost taking on this responsibility...

OA: It is automatic, because as an artist, you have taken upon yourself the responsibility to go into the unknown which is our imagination, to bring forth something as a gift for humanity. Because when people look at an art work, it does something to the unconsciousness. So that the artist, automatically, becomes a prophet, he becomes a shaman, he becomes a philosopher. A painter who suggests the way that humanity should go. This is what an artist is. That is why I paint.

AD: That is deep!

OA: (Laughing) Life is deep Adelaide! Life is very deep...

AD: So based on your criteria for success, which is having recognition, being taken seriously and also taking on this responsibility, this huge responsibility onto your shoulders of producing something which is going to affect the subconscious of humanity, do you consider yourself to be a success?

OA: Well I am trying to be successful, that is it. That is the difference. You see, being successful and being successful in what you do are two different things. Are you successful in transporting your message? How do people receive this message? Do they say "aha, oh my God, I never thought about this."

AD: So what are you trying to say in your work? Your most recent work, the work that is going to be shown at the October Gallery.

OA: Kusum, is a Ghanaian word, a Twi word. Kusum literally means "a place of mystery." It is a place where the gods meet. It is a place of ritual. All these places that I'm mentioning are not local. It is in us. It is in our consciousness, that is Kusum in itself. It is in our consciousness that we go on this journey of discovery. But then, life becomes a ritual. All the small things that we do in life are rituals. Saying the right things. Because if you are a shaman, if you are a magician, then you must have the right mixture of potions, the right mixture of ritual language ... So life in itself is a ritual in which we must perform well and perform humbly, in that we respect the other, and love the other. These are so basic, so simple, that it sometimes sounds simplistic, so it might not be taken seriously. If we take these road signs for the future seriously, I tell you, we can change the world! If the politician would handle his duties with respect and with dedication, to bear witness to the truth, like the artist should also do, to know what is good for humanity and for the future of humanity, then it is pouring libation and saying the right words in the daily rituals of life. That for me is also Kusum. But Kusum is also a sub title for my new series of work which is called the Microcron.

Owusu-Ankomah, Microcron - Kusum No.1, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 135 X 170 cm. Photo Copyright Joachim Fliegner.

AD: Yes...

OA: The Microcron is a word that I created myself. The Microcron is... As we journey from the microscopic, up to the macroscopic, and now comes another word that I created myself, to the ultramacroscopic worlds. We have solar systems, we have stars, we have galaxies, we have the universe and what is new on the block. Physicists talk about universes. I come and I say OK, there are dimensions of universes. All of these culminate into a ball of light and these balls of light are in systems. Circular systems, circling each other, until these systems reach infinity and that is the Microcron.

AD: OK, so your piece on the October Gallery website- where there are lots of symbols in the background with a male figure, almost like an optical illusion appearing to come out of the piece. How does the viewer interpret that? Someone who does not know anything about the Adinkra symbols or you made up words... How do you want the viewer to interpret that work?

OA: If you look carefully, you will recognise only a few Adinkra symbols. The other symbols have been taken out of other cultures. I use symbols for Crop Circles, wonderful pictograms which can be found in fields all over the world. I have introduced of late Sacred Geometry in my compositions and the Crop Circles are based on this ancient geometrical principle. The figure in that painting has his right hand as if resting on a symbol and at the same time, pointing to these balls of light, the gold and red. That is the symbol of the Microcron. Each circle in the circle contains universes. This is a symbol for me of our togetherness. It is also a symbol of over abundance of life and reality. So we should all sit in a circle and share. Share all we have. Our ideas, our visions and our hopes. That is one thing. But the Adinkra symbols... I am trying to form a universal language. That is why I create my own symbols, I borrow other symbols from other cultures and bring them together. In doing that, I am saying that we are all one. All of humanity, we are one, and you Adelaide, you are humanity. I am humanity. Together, we are humanity. We are all one people. It goes so far that today mystics, and quantum physicists say, if you come to the basic level of reality, consciousness, there is only one human on this planet. Collectively, we are one. So this is what my work is about Adelaide.

AD: Do you think that if I sit in front of that painting for some time, the meaning will seep into my subconscious So even if I am not consciously aware of the meaning because I have not spoken to you, I will be able to gain some sort of understanding of the meaning?

OA: Of course. It will impress upon you that this painting has a message. The other thing is, our thoughts are powerful and what I put in there, you can understand subconsciously, even if you consciously think you have not understood anything. But you will have an impression of a positive energy on your consciousness and this I think was your first impression. An aura of positivity.

AD: So going back to the subject of success...

OA: Art IS success. To constantly have the energy to try to change all that is around you for the better, for me, that is success. To never give up. To have this dream to give yourself and others a positive change. Because presently Adelaide, WE ARE NOT DOING WELL. The whole world is not doing well. If we kill for oil, then we are not doing well are we?

AD: No

OA: OK. But there is a solution. Why don't we seek the solution and make the world a better place for us?

AD: Why don't we?

OA: Yes, why don't we? So this is what I am trying to point to.

Owusu-Ankomah, Thinking the Microcron No.2, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 120 X 140 cm. Photo Copyright Joachim Fliegner.

AD: Going back to your personal artistic achievements, just going by what I have read, which can only be a small fragment of what you have achieved, obvious things like the Armani Red campaign, the FIFA commission, the numerous exhibitions all around the globe stand out... A lot of people would consider those things to be major achievements.

OA: Of course it is an achievement. But for me, that alone is not true success. True success for me is to have the courage and the ability... Now listen carefully, and the ability to LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY. For me, that is the ultimate true success. That is for me the success story. If you have the ability to love unconditionally, then of course, you have the ability to strive for the prosperity of humanity. So that my art and my success as an artist, goes beyond what we can really positively quantify.

AD: With material goods...

OA: Yes.

AD: What advice would you give an up and coming artist, in light of everything that you have done in the art world? Do you have any specific secrets which explain how you have achieved some of these physical things to date?

OA: I think before a young artist can truly have success, he needs to be truly dedicated to what she or he is doing and have a passion for art. To try to create art by hook or by crook. To dream about it. To work at it. To have a personal style. A personal message. To me, that is the true success in art. To become a true artist, you must have a passion. Forget about all the financial success. That will come later, but you must have a passion for art.

AD: Do you think that everything you have achieved to date is a result of all of those things and your decision at the age of 19 to completely dedicate yourself to art? Right now, apart from the fact that the world is going crazy, there are so many artists who are struggling to carve out a career for themselves. You have mentioned having that drive and that passion and the will to produce art by hook or by crook. There are plenty of artists that do that, but they are still struggling to eat on a daily basis. So what do you think is your secret? Because, it is not everybody that is going to make it, even if they do all of the things that you have stated.

OA: OK, I understand now... I think, they should not be afraid. They should not be afraid and I will come to that fear later. They should have the preparedness. They should be prepared to expire out of this world like Van Gogh or like Picasso. There is the middle way, but I will go to the extremes. They should accept it. Die like Van Gogh or die like Picasso. But the most important thing is that I think there is a possibility to overcome a fear. This possibility lies, I always come back to this, lies with the ability to strive for perfection. Perfection in their art, as they are able to create and perfection as they strive to love the other. That is the only secret. That is the path that I have gone on, that I have walked, I am always trying to.

AD: Do you think your willingness to strive for perfection and your willingness to love the other as you say are the reasons why perhaps you have got to this place and there are many others that have not?

OA: Perhaps, I don't know. I remember a colleague once telling me, "most of us, we force our way to get attention, but you seem not to at all. What is your secret?" What I said was that I just "let be." I trust, I try to eschew fear, I let things happen. I allow. Someone was telling me that there is a basic law of acceptance. Allow. Let it be. Do your best and the rest will follow.

Owusu-Ankomah, Microcron - Kusum No.3, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 135 X 170 cm. Photo Copyright Joachim Fliegner.

Wise words from a wise man. Owusu-Ankomah's work will be on show at the following galleries over the coming months:

Artco Gallery in Herzogenrath, Germany 9th September- 2011.
October Gallery in London, England. 15th September-29th October 2011.
Jörg Heitsch Gallery in Munich, Germany. 12th November- 7th December 2011.
Skoto Gallery New York City. USA.

Further reading:

Owusu-Ankomah official website.

Owusu-Ankomah on Wikipedia.

Owusu-Ankomah on Tate Modern website.

Special thanks to Sophia Jackson of Lime Magazine for giving me the opportunity to interview Mr Owusu-Ankomah. An abridged version of the interview can be found on page 11 of the September edition of Lime Magazine which can be found here.

Thanks to Alana of October Gallery and of course special thanks to Owusu-Ankomah for taking the time to do the interview.

Making a Kickstarter Project to Raise Money for Yourself!

2011-08-08T23:21:00.006+01:00

Kickstarter.com is a site that many of you may know, if not, then it is a platform for artists to raise money for creative ideas.

I will explain a bit about how to make your project as well as your proposal successful, but first, I want to talk about the economy and kickstarter. This applies only to U.S. residents at this time. Although one friend in the U.S can get you around this.

Everytime we hear news about the terrible economy we all get a bit scared that there will be even less money for us. It is as though there is only a certain amount of money in the world, and a big chunk of it has dissapeared, so there is less for us all, right? Honestly, I dont think so, and kickstarter is a good example. It is a site that began in 2009, and all it does is give creative people a platform to raise money. But wait, here is the real mind-bender; kickstarter is the number one platform for raising money in the world. Literally, every month, millions of dollars run through their accounts! How can this be? In a world reeling from economic woes, there are that many patrons that are giving money to eccentric projects? The simple answer is yes. It defies our idea of what a poor economy means. It also tells us that at this point, creative ideas and projects are a survivor of the economy, for some unknown reason.

I am not an economist, but I know it all has a lot to do with faith and fear as well as optimism about the economy. On kickstarter, everyone is creating projects that feel life-affirming and positive. Maybe that is one of the cures to the economy? I can theorize like anyone else, but my thoughts aside, the site is working, and I am an example. I am in the middle of a project where of all things, I am selling non-visible art, and am getting mountains of press and have raised over $14,000 dollars so far. The project has James Franco as one of its contributors which was of course a big help, but there are many more cases on there that show you how everyone does it in different ways.

This is how I recommend you start a project.

1. First, go on to the site, register (it's free) and begin to back other projects. That is right, I am asking you to give a dollar here, a dollar there. You can feel like a big philanthropist by giving a dollar or more to a several projects. The reason I am asking you to do this, is because if you back other projects you will not only understand everything about kickstarter and how a project works, but you become part of the community and that is really important. You see, like any other social network, what you put in you get out. So trust me and spend an hour exploring kickstarter and back a few projects, you can keep your total costs under 10 bucks. You can do this from anywhere in the world.

2. Next, propose your project. You see, kickstarter doesnt accept all projects, so yours has to be accepted first. I have gotten turned down as well as accepted so I have learned a few things.

3. Make your proposal exciting, and make the rewards really cool. The focus for kickstarter is on the rewards, so it is up to you to make them really good. Look at successful projects to see what works.

4. If they turn you down, dont get depressed, try again!

5. Once your project is up, do not expect the money to just come in. You have to tell all your friends, post it on facebook, google+ and twitter, and that is still not enough. You will also have to write people direct letters asking if they would donate 10 dollars or more to your project. I know that is hard, but this is fundraising, and everything is personal. Would you tend to give to a posting on facebook, or a friend who sends you an inbox mesage asking you to please consider pledging? The personal approach is always best.

6. If you collaborate with several people, it is even better, because you will all promote it. There is one project on kicktarter called the Regretsy Tarot, where more than a dozen artists from all over the world collaboratively desinged and will make a tarot deck. They have already sold out and I think have made over $23,000 as of this post.

7. Read the blog that kickstarter writes on their site. It is filled with useful tips on how to make your project a success.

That is all for now! As you may know, I am a professional coach for artists as well as an artist myself. I help artists build theor careers professionaly and I have two textbooks coming out on professional development for artists. The first one is called Making It in the Art World and is out this October. If you need professional help in your career, I am for hire.

My project is worth seeing of course, not only because I did it and I think it's great, but because it is truly a success. I strongly encourage you to consider a pledge! Just click here to see it.

My project is also set up so that you can even propose rewards and earn money off them if they are sold on my site, but hurry up, there is less than a month left!

Feeling Great, by Doing Things Without Hesitation

2011-08-02T17:24:00.008+01:00

Guest post by artist and art mentor Brainard Carey.

In the last interview with Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf, there were moments that made it clear why she was making it after quitting her job. It was really very subtle; she believed in herself in an almost unnoticeable but miraculous way.

When asked about her success relative to other artists who are struggling, she seemed to not even notice that what she was doing was unusual.

I think this is a very powerful statement about being focused on what you want and not looking at everything else around you to compare yourself to. I am sure she also compares herself to others, but nevertheless, she is in an enviable position of what most artists would call success, that is, not having a second job to support your art making.

I think what she has done is simple in one way and complex in another. On one hand, she has a belief in herself that is powerful, and perhaps you can or cannot access the same belief in yourself as easily. But she is doing something else. She is putting herself out there, physically, all the time. Her work is being seen by all kinds of people and it is being bought.

So, to me, it is interesting that she has a belief in herself apparently, but more interesting that she acts on that belief or perhaps in spite of it.

Let me explain. Rebecca may in fact be less sure of herself that I am saying she is. However, she is ACTING as though she is sure, and as if she knows it has the chance to succeed. Those actions that she took are what her world is made of, and it is what inspires me.

This blog is not so different. Recently started, it already has good content worth sharing. That is because Adelaide is an interesting person, but even more, it is because Adelaide began publishing her blog not totally planned, but confident that she would find opportunities and she has, and will continue to.

The point I am trying to make here, is that it is not enough to believe in yourself, though that is powerful, but the the greatest power seems to come from just trying, from actions, like this blog, like the blog you might start today.

I implore all readers to do what Rebecca and Adelaide are doing, make your world the place you want it to be, and go out there and do it! (Then tell Adelaide about it).

Art Success with Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf. The Next Big Thing

2011-07-21T17:07:00.000+01:00

Here is the first video in the "Art Success Series of video interviews." I picked Rebecca to interview for this series because I feel like she has a lot of potential to be the "Next Big Thing" in the art world because of her clear talent, tenacity and spirit. I mentioned in the video the famous saying "luck is where preparation meets opportunity." This lady is that saying in action. Success in the art world seems to be a mystery for a lot of us artists, but Rebecca plainly and simply understands that you just have to keep putting yourself out there and learn what works best for you. There is no magical formula. It takes work, dedication, practice, tenacity and a will of iron.

Watch the video below. The transcript of the interview is posted underneath.

Transcript:

I first came across Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf's work in 2009 when we took part in a group show at the Opera Gallery in Budapest called "British Art in the Twenty First Century." There were several other artists involved in the exhibition, but for me, the work that stood out the most was Rebecca's work and I have been following her progress ever since, right up until her most recent success which was her inclusion in a reality TV show about art called "Show me the Monet." Rebecca's work entitled "June," a self portrait got all the way through to the end, which meant inclusion in a big group show in Central London at the Royal College of Art.

June. 2010. Oil and acrylic on natural canvas. Featured on "Show me the Monet."(c) Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf

Adelaide Damoah (AD): Rebecca, how long have you been a professional artist?

Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf (RFW): I have been selling work since my degree show which was in 2004. I worked in a gallery for a year and then after that, I really started doing it professionally and full time as well.

AD: Excellent. So you are completely full time, you are not doing anything else to back up your income.

RFW: Not at the moment no.

AD: What are your secrets to success?

RFW: Well, if you want to call it that. I would say I just threw myself in at the deep end I think. Because I worked at this gallery for a year and I was just basically working on a till and it made me really really miserable. I had my studio, but I didn't really have the time or energy after work to go to the studio and somebody told me about doing promotional work, which is sort of like giving out leaflets and samples and doing bits and bobs and you can do that as and when you please, you know, when you need it and it pays quite well and I just thought well I am going to try it. I'm going to do it. I'm gonna stop working and do these odd jobs here and there so that I can just really concentrate on my work and do it and I think that was it, just saying yes, I am committing to it. I want this, so I'm just gonna do it, give it a go.

AD: Was there anything else in addition to that? It's one thing making the decision that your going to go ahead and make a commitment to doing art full time, but were there any other specific things that you did that you feel kind of catapulted you to the point where you started to actually sell work and attract dealers?

RFW: Just getting myself out there really. I think just doing art fairs, just being online, seeing what opportunities are out there, exhibiting stuff in pubs and just sort of bit by bit starting to show work and get it out there. I think that's all it was really and then from each thing something else comes. Somebody else has seen your work or other little bits just sort of come together. So I think that would be really just it. Just trying to get your work out there and it's a bit difficult because there is no sort of set path as an artist or as a painter, sort of this is how you move up the ladder and move up the scales, so I think everybody has to figure it out for themselves and that is what the hard thing is. My mother is an artist which sort of helps as well but she works a lot more on commission, she's a portrait painter primarily, so although she is an artist, her path is quite different than my path. So although I could get support and some advice from her, I still had to figure it out for myself.

AD: That's interesting because, I mean, there are so many artists that... Well, not many artists have the advantage of having a mother who is an artist as well but, there are so many artists who are doing exactly the things that you have described and they're failing miserably. So what do you think it is about you that sets you apart from the other artists out there who are failing? I mean, I know artists that have been doing this for years and years and years and they haven't got as far as you've got.

RFW: Really?

AD: Yea

RFW: I don't really see it that way myself. I suppose you're more critical of yourself, but I keep thinking, my God, I should be much further by now and you know. It's interesting to hear that. I really don't know. I think a certain amount of luck always plays it's part doesn't it, in whatever you do so, I'd say that would be it really.

AD: Yea. Well they do say that luck is where preparation meets opportunity and you seem to be constantly prepared, so maybe that has something to do with it.

RFW: I try to be...

Njeri. 2011. Oil and acrylic on natural canvas (c) Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf

AD: So what would you say your main objectives are for sort of the next twelve months going forward? What are your goals?

RFW: Some of the artists from the "Show me the Monet" exhibition have decided to put on another exhibit with our work because it wasn't open to the public, so we're doing that from the middle of August. But other than that I think it will be just working on my actual paintings and where that's going. I've got a couple of ideas of the direction I want it to go into, but I think I need to really crystallise that and work on it because sometimes I feel that my work could be that much better and you know, that much more powerful and really that's where I want it to be. I want to be feeling completely happy with my work which I don't know if that's ever really possible to be 100 per cent happy and think yes, this is it. But, that's what I'm aiming for anyway.

AD: Yea, as artists, we are always struggling with that. I can testify to that. But, you mentioned "Show me the Monet" again. Tell me a bit more about how that actually came about.

RFW: Well it was a competition to get your work seen by some art critics. A competition to get onto the BBC. A reality show where you get to present your work to the art critics who would then decide whether you went on to show in the final exhibition which was going to be at the Henry Moore Gallery at the RCA and was going to be attended by industry professionals and sort of other critics and gallery owners and things like that. I was quite reluctant to take part in it or to even apply for it because of the fact that it is a reality TV show and I wanted it to be more about my work and not about me. I know the format of reality TV and I know that it can be quite cruel so, it's a massive risk you know, if they don't like what you do, you could be humiliated in front of millions of people essentially. My mum kind of said, you know, why don't you do it and my boyfriend did as well and in the end I thought, well I might as well try, I probably won't get in anyway and, but then I did. Then I sort of decided, well I might as well go for it, you know and it worked out really well so. It was definitely one of the hardest things I've had to do, but it was really good yes.

AD: Definitely worthwhile because your prices went up double after that.

RFW: Yes.

July. 201. Oil, acrylic and resin on natural canvas (c) Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf

AD: So any artists out there who get the opportunity to go on reality TV, would you advise it? Take the risk?

RFW: I'd say yes. I think the thing is, you've always got to be, if you really believe in what you do, you've got to be willing to take that risk don't you. So I think yes would be the answer.

AD: Good, so do I. So you mentioned that you have got your show with the "Show me the Monet" people coming up, are there any other shows where people can come and see your work?

RFW: I haven't actually got anything lined up at the moment, but things will come in. I'm doing the "Untitled Art Fair" next year in June. So that's quite far in the future but yea, I'll be there. With my mum as well. She is going to be exhibiting, so we will be doing that together which will be quite nice.

AD: Very sweet. OK, so what about long term goals? Where do you see yourself in five years?

RFW: I don't know if I would dare to say where I'd see myself. I can say where I hope to see myself and really it's about having a permanent gallery space and being represented by one gallery exclusively and yes, just having that. Having solo shows with them and group shows with them. Not just in terms of status, but also, sometimes it gets really complicated when you've got work in different places and your working with different people, you have to be very careful not to piss anyone off or not to sort of overlap or anything like that and it does get quite complicated. It would also be nice to have somebody else who deals with all the business side of things and to be in a place where I can just focus purely on painting, purely on work and have somebody else do all the other stuff. That's ideally where I would want to be in five years time.

Ipek. 2010. Oil and acrylic on natural canvas (c) Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf

AD: And your ultimate dream for success?

RFW: Ultimate dream would be I think what every artist wants which is to be able to create something lasting, something that has a lasting impact on people that will be remembered for years to come past your lifetime and will sort of play a big part in art history. I think that's the ultimate goal that I think most of us have really, deep down.

Reflection.2011. Oil, acrylic and resin on synthetic fabric. (c) Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf

AD: Yea. OK. So, where can people see your work online?

RFW: You can see it on my website which is http://www.rebeccafontaine-wolf.com/. I have also got a facebook page which is the same name, just Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf art and on a few different art websites, but if you type my name, then you will find me on google.

Watch the full interview below.

View some more of Rebecca's work on her website.
Click like on her Facebook page to receive regular updates.

Comments please! Subscribe to my youtube channel as I have a number of interviews lined up which I would not want you to miss. If you are an artist, you might just learn something, if you are a collector, you may stumble across your next obsession... Anybody else, well, I am only interviewing inspirational people, so you may just be inspired...

View some more of Rebecca's work on her website.
Click like on her Facebook page to receive regular updates.

Brainard Carey. Artist, Art Coach, Writer...Review

2011-07-18T02:25:00.000+01:00

About Brainard Carey

Brainard Carey is an artist and art careers coach. As co founder and director of "The Art World Demystified," Brainard has been advising artists for the past twenty years as well as working himself as a successful artist. He has walked the walk that many of us artists are struggling to walk now and is using his experience in all of the business and marketing aspects of being an artist to help those of us who need the help. Having exhibited at the Whitney Museum in New York as well as other gallery shows and having owned and run a successful gallery and art magazine, Brainard knows exactly what it takes to succeed in the art world. He imparts his wisdom succinctly and with great attention to detail with weekly tips, audio interviews and helpful stories in his weekly newsletter which is exclusive to subscribers.

Coaching

I am a subscriber have been receiving coaching from Brainard for a few months now. If you follow my blog, you will be aware that I have had a rather rough fifteen months or so. Without going into detail, I have divulged some pretty personal feelings about my state of mind regarding my struggle with work as a result of tragic real world circumstances taking a toll on me psychologically and physically. Stress makes my endometriosis and adenomyosis symptoms flare up big time! Everybody goes through bad things, that's just life. You have to roll with the punches etc... You know the drill. The time came a little earlier this year when I had to drag myself back up and focus on myself and my career. I was struggling. So I looked for help and I found Brainard. Brainard managed to somehow, get me to feel excited about work and life again and to focus on my vision and dream. In his friendly, charming and honest manner, he has helped me to again start to visualize my future as it should be and to focus on the small goals that I need to achieve in order to reach the bigger goals. I have never NOT known what I want for myself, for my career. I don't think any coach can tell you what you want, but they can help you to see clearly through the fog and to focus on what is important. They can strip everything down to the basics and then build you back up again so that your path is clear once more. Click here for more information on coaching from Brainard and his email newsletter.

Income Strategies For Artists

The subscription meant that I got a copy of Brainard's DVD Income Strategies For Artists. If you are an artist and you choose not to subscribe to Brainards email newsletter or to sign up for coaching sessions, you still need to get a copy of his DVD. Brainard clearly and succinctly gives you lots of ideas for generating income as an artist with real world examples based on artists that he knows who are successful. I took notes through the whole thing and have watched it twice so far. You don't have to be starving to be an artist, Brainard has plenty of examples of artists who are doing very well thank you very much. If you don't believe me, you can read plenty of reviews on Amazon.

Art Success Series
I will be interviewing Brainard for my "Art Success Series" very soon. Brainard was kind enough not only to agree to an interview, but also to occasionally write helpful guest posts for my blog! Keep your eyes peeled for his first blog post and interview. I will tweet and share all over the internet and hope you will too. Brainard is an inspiration to me and to many other artists, so we can't be greedy and keep him all to ourselves, we must share!

Oh, did I mention that he is also a published author? No? He is, and you can pre-order his book "Making It in the Art World: New Approaches to Galleries, Shows, and Raising Money" on Amazon. It is due for release in October 2011.

My First Interview

2011-07-08T20:20:00.000+01:00

I filmed the first instalment for my Art Success Series Interviews today! The interviewee was a beautiful talented artist named Rebecca. Her full name will be revealed when the video is posted. I will be posting it before the end of next week.

I finished the interview feeling inspired and happy. So I picked up my pencil and started to draw. I will call the result "For Rebecca." Simply because the image came to me after speaking to her. It is on auction now on Ebay for 10 days. Voila.

For Rebecca. 8.3 x 5.8 inches. Pencil on 125g paper

Till the End of Time

2011-06-23T11:14:00.000+01:00

I came across this beautiful touching song and music video a few days ago. It affected me so much that it brought tears to my eyes and gave me goose pimples. It made me feel things and remember that feeling of feeling so close to someone that you could just melt inside them forever and just be. I have watched the video many times over the past few days during my rest breaks. Every time it made me feel something different or remember something different. I sat down with my pencil and drawing pad and listened again and closed my eyes. Then I opened them and began to just make shapes while allowing the feelings to flow through me. The result is below. It will be on Ebay from soon.

Till the End of Time. 8.3x5.8 inches. Graphite and coloured pencil on 125g paper.

This is the song and the video. Just watch it and listen to the lyrics, then you will understand.

My ebay page

Comfort.

2011-06-15T10:45:00.000+01:00

When you are in the depths of despair, they will hold you up and comfort you.

Comfort. 8.3x5.8 inches (A5)

Nothing

2011-06-15T10:31:00.000+01:00

Let me introduce you to my little water colour entitled " Nothing." It signifies the materialisation of ideas and dreams. As she visualises her dreams, the dreams start to take shape and form... Something can come out of nothing. Look out for it on ebay next week.

Nothing. 10x7 inches

Being Social

2011-06-12T22:08:00.000+01:00

Any one who knows me will know that I am a hermit by nature and have become more and more isolated over time. I am quite happy to stay here working for weeks on end without seeing another human being apart from the Tesco delivery man. Working from home affords me that luxury (or curse, depending on your outlook). Of course, the people that care about me try and drag me out from time to time, but for the most part, they understand my nature and know that when I am ready to be social, I am more than capable of being the life and soul of any real life social gathering. I was thinking about being social in real life and being social online as I was falling asleep a few days ago. I was thinking about all of the social connections that I have online. I am connected to rather a lot of people through various social media channels. I am constantly "plugged in" either on my lap top or on my phone on the rare occasions that I actually venture outside. Apart from when I am asleep, there is rarely a time when I am not "connected" so to speak. I know many people like this. Social media addicts, not necessarily hermits or course. Being a hermit is not really a "normal" existence is it. Many people are addicted to being plugged in, but not necessarily interested in connecting with people in real life. Or is it just that we don't have time? Or is the perceived lack of time for really connecting with people just an excuse? An excuse for me to stay locked away in my bubble. Anyway, my late night musings prompted the following drawing which I will post on ebay for sale in the next few days... Voila..

Connecting and Automatism

2011-06-09T13:01:00.000+01:00

I started a drawing last night, an automatic drawing as explained here and here...

I started working on this tiny drawing while thinking and feeling things about relationships. Male/female relationships. Sexual, and soul connections. I just let my hand and my mind dance around on the paper, kind of in a moving meditation while still being fully conscious of what I was doing. So maybe not pure automatism, but something close. I felt warm and fuzzy feelings while I was drawing and reminiscing on experiences. It felt good to draw something out of a feeling love instead of pain for a change. Voila...

It is very small- A5 paper size, which is 8.3 x 5.8 inches. It is pencil and sepia pastel on 125g paper. I will be placing it on ebay in the next few days. Then after that, every week, I will auction at least two drawings for one year. You could think of this as a one year project and this is the first of the one year series. I think I shall call it Automatism...

Art Success Series Interviews

2011-06-09T12:41:00.000+01:00

In my quest for knowledge and success within the art world, I have decided to document everything I learn from some of my role models and teachers. This documentation will be in the form of a series of video and audio interviews with some well established artists and up and coming artists. Called the "Art Success Series," we will have the "Established Artists" series and "The Next Big Thing"series within it. Watch this space. I already have an exciting person lined up for the Established Artists series and that video will be launched very soon! I also have an established artist lined up as a guest blogger who will be writing interesting and helpful articles relevant to the art world. The series will be useful for up and coming artists and established artists alike. We all need inspiration and the people I am going to be interviewing are exactly that.

Video Blog

2011-06-02T12:10:00.000+01:00

I have decided to do a video blog series and I am calling it Egocentric Masturbation, Art and Randomness. LOL! Thanks Lionel... The purpose is to document my artistic journey and sell some work online along the way. I took my Supermodel's video blog down previously due to my stupid embarrassment and self consciousness. I promise not to do that this time. I realize now that there are people who get something from my experiences, so I will try and share as much as I can while shamelessly massaging my shattered ego. No pity party going on here folks, just honesty, self expression and learning. It is a rocky road ahead, but we will get there.

Egocentric Masturbation

2011-05-31T11:20:00.000+01:00

I had an unexpected and touching response to my foul mouthed outpouring of painfully honest truth the other day. Unexpected in that it came from someone who I have met only a few times but who barely knows me. Unexpected in that the email made me cry and laugh at the same time. I cried like a baby because what he said showed me that although he does not know me particularly well, for some reason, he genuinely cared. For some reason, he was touched by my brutal honesty. Touched enough to come out of his shell and send me a long and deep email. When we first met, we had an involved conversation about how I came to art. Apparently, that conversation affected him so much that he told my story many times to people that he knew in an effort to inspire them. He felt inspired to once again start making art.

He made me laugh because he came up with this hilarious term, egocentric masturbation. I can't define it better than he does so I'm gonna quote him "Usually, I don't bother read people's shit as usually its full of egocentric masturbation. Sometimes people are trying to talk about how intelligent they are or how important their thoughts are regarding some crap or other. Thankfully, for my sanity, your's wasn't." There, thats some egocentric masturbation for you. I inspired someone, pretty major material I think.

So after much trepidation, I am glad that I spilled my guts so to speak. It felt good and I feel better. For those that have expressed concern, I am not going to kill myself any time soon. There is no danger of self harm. every now and then, when things are getting hard, it is good and healthy to have a gut spilling session, in whatever way suits you. Publicly like me or privately to friends. everyone has their cross to bear. Everyone falls down. It is not the falling down that count's it is the getting up. So I am continuing to fight my personal and professional wars. Everything in life, all the shit, as well as all the good stuff enriches and adds to it. Frida Kahlo used all of her guts, everything in her to produce interesting, beautiful, surreal art which served as punctuation points in her short and interesting life. Hopefully my guts will serve the same purpose. Real and true. So the game continues.

To Be Honest...

2011-05-29T17:31:00.000+01:00

To be honest with you, I am struggling with the idea of chronicling my struggles as an artist and my personal life. To be honest with you, I am worried that the impact such honesty will have on me personally and my career. To be honest with you I am terrified of giving so much away of myself that others can criticize and say things to cause me more pain than I am already feeling. Maybe I should just feel the fear and do it anyway. That's one of those things people say. To be honest, I am petrified of being seen as a complete and utter failure.

Fuck it. No one's life is easy. All suffering is relative and worth talking about. Better in the context of problem solving rather than complaining. That's what I always say. That's why my blog is mostly empty. One post this year I think. A disgrace. The reason, I don't feel comfortable complaining, but lately, that seems like all I have to talk about. complaints. Isn't it funny how when life knocks you down, all those friends are no where to be found? Ha bloody ha. Fucking hilarious.Times like this you know who your real friends are.

I am going to be real about my situation for a change. For what purpose? I don't know, other than purging myself to an extent. I am not even touching the sides in terms of what has gone on this year in the Damoah family. Shit has hit the fan big time for all of us. I am tired of pretending that I am fine, THAT WE ARE FINE. Why do we do that? Why are we socialised to always say "fine thank you" when someone asks how we are? Is it because we are afraid to complain because there are so many other people far worse off? There are people with no arms and no legs who go round doing motivational talks about how great their life is and how lucky we are to be alive in this wonderful abundant universe. The classic one, there are people starving in Africa. What about homeless people? At least you have a place to live. Food and water. Electricity. Etc etc etc. Blah fucking blah. Hold your gratitude rock. Do affirmations. Live in the attitude of gratitude. Read motivational quotes. I keep striving, keep making phone calls, keep coming up with new ways to make money, keep promoting my work, keep looking for representation, keep building the Damoah brand. Never give up. Never give up.This is what I have been telling myself to do. This is what I always advise others to do. I want to SCREAM. If I was to be honest the answer would be "I am fucking terrible and there have been times when I have contemplated suicide. There have been times when I am in a really dark space in my head. There have been times when I have wanted to jump of a bridge with a noose around my chubby fucking neck. There have been times when I have felt completely impotent when shit was hitting the fan so hard in my family that I felt like all I could see hear and smell was repugnant fucking shit. I need help. We all need help. Can you please help me?" Yep, and that's just the tip of the ice berg.

If you don't have anything nice to say better not say anything at all. Why the fuck not? No one cares anyway. So what is really the point.

Rant over.

Drawing Surrealism and Life

2011-02-26T23:14:00.000Z

It has been a while since I have blogged consistently. Sometimes life takes over and you have to go into hibernation for a while to recover. Crazy stuff happens you know. You just have to roll with the punches and keep going, keep living, keep working. Inevitably when you are being hit by an onslaught of seemingly never ending crap, blogging becomes less of a priority as you try to wade through it all, reaching for the light at the end of the shitty tunnel.

I am out of the tunnel, still creating, always creating.

Last year, I signed up to the draw365 day challenge on Twitter. During the year, I have done more than 365 drawings! I have lost count. I have a pile of sketchbooks. Last years drama meant that I was away from my social media platforms for a while so did not post the pics. Today, I posted about 13 drawings- mostly recent creations via twitter. Some from my imagination and one or two are quick sketches of surrealist works from Francis Picabia and Giorgio De Chrico taken from the Visual Encyclopedia of Art on Surrealism published by Scala.

Homage to Giorgio De Chrico. "The Uncertainty of the Poet." 1913. In my head, the bananas are really plantain and the arse in my drawing is a little bigger ;)

Consciously or unconsciously, I have been influenced by the surrealist movement ever since I was a child. If I can find the crazy sketches I made from my dreams when I was a child I would make adult versions of my childhood dreams. That would be interesting I think.

In 1924, many artists considered that "the time had come to liberate expressive form, to release the world of the subconscious of dreams and of pure psychic automatism."

"They were willing to give shape to their nightmares, paranoia, suppressed eroticism, and the dark side of the mind."

"The surrealism defined by Andre Breton was outside all aesthetic or moral preoccupations"

(All of the above quotations were taken from the Visual Encyclopedia of Art on Surrealism published by Scala)

I just adore that description. It feels so much like where my thinking comes from in terms of the birth place of my work. Where I started from when I would sit in my bedroom as a hormonal teenager, daydreaming and drawing crazy otherworldly things that always felt just beyond the grasp of my own reality. This is what I am going back to now. Hopefully, in studying, reflecting and allowing my dreams to impinge upon my reality through my work once more, I will be able to go back to the place where I began and really go deep inside of myself and bring out something true and real but at the same time unreal that causes you to wander. Wander about yourself, about life, about things that we humans may have difficulty in comprehending in our conscious minds while at the same time confronting the reality of what is.

Seasons Greetings

2010-12-24T15:01:00.001Z

Seasons Greetings to you,

They say that Christmas is a time for giving, sharing and magical moments. My wish is that this principle is one that is carried all the way into 2011 and beyond.

This year, I have been busy working on a project which I hope to share with you soon.

Have a fabulous Christmas and a prosperous new year.

With love from

Adelaide Damoah and the Team @ Damoah Arts
x

Self Censorship

2010-04-23T15:59:00.001+01:00

“The ultimate grip and success of censorship occurs when it becomes part of one’s internal system; and, like termites, it corrodes the insides, till one day it destroys the body it has occupied. Subsequently, censorship becomes the normal, natural state, such that one is no longer aware of its presence, as one’s thoughts, words, art and acts are perpetually filtered through a new sense of carefulness.”

If you have read my bio, you will see the following statement about me“An artist who is inspired by the inner recesses of her being”..

I am acutely aware of the fact that I have not been that person in my work since before I was consciously producing work for the public...

A conversation with a lawyer friend of mine reminded me of something I have had at the back of my mind since I started producing art for public consumption. In some ways, I have become a self censoring artist. I don't live under a dictatorship that demands censorship of its citizens. I live in a capitalist society that believes in freedom of speech. A society where racist buffoons are allowed a public forum on national television to voice their beliefs. There is no dictator that says that I can't paint naked women if I want to, or reverse the skin colours of noted icons. There are films and video games out there depicting extreme violence and sex which appeal to the most depraved element of our psyche as human beings. Yet, I am guilty of self censorship.

Why?

I have wanted to express the dark desires that pervade my soul. I have wanted to express more than conscious controlled thoughts about society's ills and let people see the real me, but some THING constantly holds me back.

What is that THING? The self censorship THING. IT is a disease that is eating up my creativity. I feel the need to exorcise IT. To cut IT out like one would cut out cancer. To irradiate IT and blast IT into non existence. But then, I might do my OCD thing and literally vomit everything that comes to mind with no sense of inhibition onto the canvas. Constantly spewing out all of the nasty, crude, vulgar and sick things that come to mind and that I suppress as well as the beautiful touching things that make me feel alive. Would that lead to a great piece of art, or just a vulgar expression of basic human emotion that no one wants to be confronted with, lest they confront themselves?

I have no problem expressing my emotions, my thoughts and feelings. I can do that when I want to and quite eloquently if I may say so. But something stops me from doing this in public. I feel like I need to do something about it before it destroys my creativity. I need to be more intuitive in my work. I want people to feel me when they see my work, I need that to be the case, so I have to let go.

But then are the public not sick and tired of people doing this? Putting everything out there for the whole world to see? Are we not all bored of those tired celebs constantly splashing their private lives every where? I dare say, a lot of us are, but never the less, we devour all of that media information and juicy gossip with voracious appetites. But then, I am not a celebrity. I don't feel like confessing the particulars of my private life in a tell all interview with OK magazine. I just want to express myself through my work. That's what artists do is it not... Unless you are Damien Hirst or Tracey Emin, very few artists are seen as celebrities. Expressing one self in art is not quite the same as confessing dirty secrets to a tabloid magazine. It is not tacky like that is it.

So why do I do it?

Maybe its because I went to Catholic school? Maybe it was the early Jehovah s witness teachings of my Mother and her sisters? Maybe it is the total respect I have for my parents, and a fear of offending them, even as an independent grown woman. Maybe it is a combination of things. Maybe it is just who I am.

In my next piece, I will dig deeper than I ever have before. I will stay honest and true to what I see when I meditate and go deep into my subconscious and truly express those things to the best of my ability. I will try and show you those things in my work simply because that need has always been there, and that need has to be satisfied. It has been a long time coming...

No more carefulness for me in my art.

Art and Fame

2010-03-03T14:58:00.000Z

I was just flicking through last summers edition of Art Review magazine and I came across an article (Art and Fame part 1by Niru Ratnam) that struck me at the time, and it is a recurring question for me as an artist...

The article asks the question why artists who seem to connect with the conciousness of the general public (think Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Murakami et al) seem to be of so little interest to the art world? Why is it that as an artist it seems almost impossible to have both credibility AND popularity?

Artists and art enthusiasts any thoughts? Can you think of anyone that has been able to successfully marry the two seemingly opposing qualities?

Christmas Special Offer!

2009-12-10T17:29:00.000Z

Seasons greetings to you!

Since it is that time of year, everyone wants to give unique, special and affordable presents to their loved ones. With that in mind, buy an A3 signed print to give to someone special as a gift and:

You will own a print, which is individually digitally printed, to the highest quality on hard card. Each print is stamped and signed with its own registration number. The registration numbers are kept on our database.
I will personally write your Christmas message on the print for you. Simply email inquiry@damoaharts.com after purchase with your intended message of up to 15 words
Further more, be quick and you will also receive a complimentary SIGNED, DATED and STAMPED sketch by me, Adelaide Damoah. An original piece of art as a complimentary Christmas gift to the first 10 people that purchase an A3 signed print!
If you buy an A3 signed print, you will also receive a 20% discount on all A2 prints, which will be made available in the new-year.

These special offers are only valid to you if you are on the Damoah Arts mailing list. If you would like to take advantage of these offers but are not on the list, please join here: http://damoaharts.com/contact/. Instructions to join the list are at the bottom of the page.

As always, I am interested to hear your comments and suggestions for the website. It is difficult to judge internally what you like and don't like externally, so we welcome these. One of the suggestions I received from a Damoah Arts Member was to make a guest book facility available. This will be coming soon to the website and you will have the ability to submit your feedback for publishing directly on the website. In the mean time, please feel free to do this on my blog if you wish your feedback to be public, or send an email to inquiry@damoaharts.com privately.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Best Wishes from

Adelaide Damoah and the Team @ Damoah Arts
http://damoaharts.com/prints/

Venus. From "Supermodels Collection" by me Adelaide Damoah. Available in print form.