BY HAFTU GEBREZGABIHER
Born and raised in the capital Addis Ababa, Bizu’ayehu Girma a realist painter, who began career as aide to his friend, has been capturing various moments of life for about 30 years.
Working from his uncomfortable workstation around the vicinity of Shiromeda, he has strong belief that the craft business has abundant potential but it needs to be transformed into its advanced stage that can portray the real life and beauty of the country.
Bizuyehu as he spoke with The Ethiopian Herald tells his ambition of raising the standard of his work to a national level and help build the image of the country.
“Currently, I am striving self-standing realist artist in which most of my works are related to depicting the Ethiopia Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC) portrayals. I am planning to raise the standard of his work to a national level for my own sake and build the image of the country.”
He added: “I was exposed to art sector by my friend. I have been accumulating knowledge and skills with him. It was like a formal education. I acquired more skills this way. The skills I have got from my friend were as equal as or more than the formal training given in colleges. At this time, I am working it independently. I am receiving orders mostly from the Ethiopian Orthodox churches in different parts of the country. I am working in this sector both for a living and my skill development. “
Gustave Courbet is often considered the leading figure of realism in history. He laid the groundwork for the movement in the 1840s, when he began portraying peasants and laborers on a grand scale typically reserved for religious, historical, or allegorical subjects, according to the literatures in the matter.
In the middle of the 19th century, artists in Europe adopted a new style of art- realism characterized by unprecedented attention to everyday subject matter. This art movement transformed the western art world.
Though, today, this interest in ordinary iconography may not seem noteworthy, it marked a major shift in the history of art.
Realism in the visual arts is a term which has four main meanings. In the most general sense, the term is applied to works which depict scenes from the life of the poorer classes or that could be described as ‘ugly’ rather than scenes of conventional beauty. In a more specific sense the term refers to works that are the opposite of ‘abstract’ or works where subjects are not distorted. ‘Realism’ is linked closely to the idea of ‘naturalism’ where the subjects in works aspire to be like natural objects.
Finally, realistic is the opposite of idealized and almost the equivalent of ‘individualized’. In the broadest sense, realism in a work of art exists wherever something has been well observed and accurately depicted, even if the work as a whole does not strictly conform to the conditions of realism. The quest for ‘realism’ in the visual arts has been a current in the arts since very early times. While the art of ancient Egypt, for example, had very rigid and artificial conventions for the depiction of important personages, minor figures and animals were often very well-observed and lifelike. This same concern for ‘realism’ is also witnessed in sculptures and paintings from ancient Greece and Rome.
In the Early Renaissance, the development of a system of linear perspective in Italy and the inclusion of naturalistic detail in Early Netherlandish painting both contributed to the advance of realism in Western painting. One of the earliest artists to take advantage of these innovations was the Northern European master, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). Dürer’s watercolours mark him as one of the first European landscape artists, while his ambitious woodcuts revolutionized the potential of that medium. While Dürer is most famous for illustrating Biblical stories, he was also one of the first artists to view animals as a subject worthy of attention.
At the beginning of the 16th century the natural world of animals and plants was becoming a focus of interest as explorers and travelers were returning from distant lands with examples and illustrations of new species.
Widely thought to signify the beginning of modern art, Realism was an art movement that discarded the traditional elements that had previously governed artworks. This shift allowed subject matter and scenes to be depicted as they were truly viewed. The Realism Art movement created artworks that were as realistic as possible, as artists attempted to portray their subject matter in an honest and accurate light without disguising the more unpleasant elements of life.
Realism, sometimes referred to as Naturalism, appeared within France during the 1850s, after the 1848 Revolution. Following this upheaval, the right to work had firmly been established in France, with this movement depicting the average, working-class population, as well as their current settings and everyday scenes, in a new light. Thus, common individuals were suddenly seen as interesting and respectable subjects, with artists beginning to represent the broader society within their works.
The depiction of ordinary and common subjects has long appeared within art, with the Realism movement bringing this style to the forefront. Through its development, other forms of Realism have developed throughout the history of art. The most notable progressions of Realism were Pictorial Realism, which begun in the United States as a way to create unsentimental records of contemporary life, and Social Realism, which was the Marxist aesthetic of Realism within the Soviet Union from the early 1930s to 1991.
The most notable innovators of Realism Art were artists Gustave Courbet, Jean-François Millet, Honoré Daumier, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, who created art that coincided with the naturalist literature of Émile Zola, Honoré de Balzac, and Gustave Flaubert. In addition to art, Realism has influenced other forms of creation, such as literature, theater, cinema, and opera.
The choice to bring everyday life into artworks was seen as both an appropriate Realism art definition and an early demonstration of the avant-garde urge to combine art and life, which was spurred on by a complete rejection of traditional artistic techniques. Whilst the Realism movement may not be seen as such a significant movement today, its exceptional attention to everyday subject matter marked an important transformation in the history of art.
Ethiopia has roots of realism that is mainly practiced by individual artists and mainly serving the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido church, hanged on or painted on the walls of the church. This long roots however hasn’t transformed in a way that make the artist profitable and help the industry in general. Bizu’ayehu indicates the art work demands energy and time one could imagine. Depending on the size and content of the matter, it might take him some four days to a week to portray his work. His production is usually challenged and delayed as there is lack of convenient working environment and materials. Bizu’ayehu is hopeful that great times would come to the sector if supported by policy and formal education. That would transform the huge potential and domestic knowledge. The sector however couldn’t be transformed through this traditional way.
This sector is running by the artists and some individuals with local knowledge. This should be changed. Most of them (those in the sector) are working from home, according to Bizuayehu.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 3 JULY 2022
