AHIS Final Paper (1)

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Oct 30, 2023

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Guzman 1 Jeffrey Guzman Professor Rodriguez AHIS 18 7 June 2023 Chéri Samba What is art? Art can have a variety of meanings, definitions, and uses, but as one of its most important aspects, it is an instrument for cultural expression in today’s world. Artists use paint, pencils, brushes, canvas, or even their voice to convey feelings, perspectives from themself or other points of view, or even a message. As time passed, African art has emerged in today’s society, giving new light to the culture and artists. One of the most prominent artists is Chéri Samba from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Who is Chéri Samba? Chéri Samba was born on December 30, 1956, in Kinto M’Vuila, Democratic Republic of Congo. He is considered to be one of the best-known contemporary African artists. He was born with the name Samba wa Mbimba N’zingo Nuni Masi Ndo Mbasi, but a little well-known fact about his name is that his name originally was David Samba. However, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there was a ban on giving people a Christian first name, which prompted him to change his name to Samba wa Mbimba N’zingo Nuni Masi Ndo Mbasi. He is the elder son of his other 9 siblings and came from humble beginnings; his father was a blacksmith and his mother was a farmer. At the age of 16, Samba decided to leave his village and school to pursue his career in art, starting off by working as a sign painter. He was slowly building success to his name, even opening his own studio in 1975, at the age of 19. Those who want to get to know Cheri Samba’s work better must know the great historical context of where he is from, the Democratic Republic of Congo. His hometown comes from a

Guzman 2 dark history of colonialism and political issues/turmoil. The country once known as Zaire was previously under the reign of Belgian colonial rule, which left a stain on the development of the country, most particularly on its cultural identity and social construct. Even after gaining their independence, they still struggled with building their society. Samba’s art style demonstrates both Western and traditional African inspiration and influences. Often including words in his art, it allows for the image to speak for itself. His work is vibrant, bright, cartoon-like, as well as realistic. Samba also depicts many different stories in the theme of his art. These stories can range from politics, sexuality, illness, social inequalities, corruption, etc. While painting different things he believed in or felt passionate about, Samba also created self-portraits. Making his first self-portrait in the ’80s, one particular self-portrait, Problème d’eau. Où trouver l’eau ( Water Problem), is one that often catches the attention of many people. This self-portrait, made with acrylic on canvas, depicts Samba in deep space seated on the nose of a rocket and surrounded by hundreds of organized stars. He chose to defy the principles of

Guzman 3 perspective and concentrate on the small details of textures, such as the planet Mars, which is about to collide with him, and his silky, blood-red suit draped as if on statues. The artist, who is holding two buckets and a kerosene lamp, appears worried about a difficult situation that needs to be solved. Like a speech bubble in a comic strip, the multilingual title and English text below it float above the scene, serving as both a header and an inscription. Another self-portrait of Samba is, Hope Keeps You Going #2. This work is made with acrylic, sequence, photographs, and glue on canvas. At first glance, you may only see Samba surrounded by houses. Looking closer, you realize there are people, planes, water crops, a boat, words, images of real-life people, and even a small portrait of himself. The sky blends in with the water on the bottom creating an almost life-like version of the ocean. The right side of the background looks as if it is a lower-class community with an irrigation system leading to the ocean. Samba himself looks as if he is dressed to go somewhere with a higher class, which leads me to believe that the title of the art piece, Hope keeps you going #2, has something to do with hoping to make your dreams come true, despite the way one may live at the moment.

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Guzman 4 One may ask, “Why create self-portraits depicting things other than yourself?” Creating a piece telling a story about oneself is the reason why Samba made self-portraits with additional background. His self-portraits were a commentary and criticism of himself, keeping the theme of discussion as he did with his other work. Although, they can also be seen as a form of inspiration, giving motivation to those who want to be an aspiring artist or are seeking a reason to keep on going no matter what obstacles stand in the way. Samba slowly but surely built a career for himself, coming from a small village and creating a name for himself outside of his home country speaks for itself. The journey of Chéri Samba is something that everyone can take inspiration from, with all the hardships he faced and giving the world a glimpse of hope. His art and unique way of storytelling give us a tale of what it was to grow up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also inspired a generation of artists, no matter where they come from. Just like Samba, these artists were given a pathway to create their own art and tell their stories, challenging what traditional art is. Works Cited Cottingham, Dale. “Cheri Samba.” Escape Into Life , https://www.escapeintolife.com/artist-watch/cheri-samba/ . Accessed June 7, 2023

Guzman 5 MoMAA. “- MoMAA | Affordable Art Gallery and Lifestyle Chéri Samba.” MoMAA | Affordable Art Gallery & Lifestyle , 6 Sept. 2020, https://momaa.org/icons-african- art/cheri-samba/ . Accessed June 7, 2023 Museum of Modern Art. “Chéri Samba. Hope Keeps You Going #2. 1997.” MoMA , https://www.moma.org/collection/works/296570 . Accessed June 2023. Museum of Modern Art. “Chéri Samba. Water Problem. 2004.” MoMA , https://www.moma.org/collection/works/296571 . Accessed 8 June 2023. Pighin, Aline, et al. “Putting the Global Art Narratives in Order: Chéri Samba's Problème d'eau - post.” MoMA post , 27 November 2019, https://post.moma.org/putting-the-global- art-narratives-in-order-cheri-sambas-probleme-deau/. Accessed June 7, 2023