One of the most interesting aspects of the culture of the Kenyan coast, between Malindi and Mombasa, is the extraordinary production of images that inhabit and invade urban spaces. Most of the shops, restaurants, and hotels are characterized by images created by three types of decorators: the brand painters at the service of Kenya’s major companies, who fill the walls of the city with hand-painted advertising; the artists painting hotels and restaurants for western tourists, who mainly realize decorations of high technical expertise with African animals and safari scenes (“tourist art”); those who paint signs, for shops and homes of local people, who produce figures characterized by a language that is more cursive and elementary, but equally effective in communicating the message. The images created by this last category of artists are particularly ephemeral, as they are subject to destruction, depending on the rapid change of destination of some spaces. All these artists tend to sign their works by calling themselves “artists” and leaving the telephone number to be contacted by new customers. Most of them prefer to work for large companies or for European clients, who are able to understand the artistic value of their work.Through the analysis of a sampling of images and of interviews with those who act in the complex artistic situation of the coast, the purpose of this paper is to define the role of “artists,” “clients,” and “users” in building, within a context made intercultural by tourism, peculiar and typical urban spaces, sometimes halfway between store and market, where the traditional western categories of “inside” and “outside,” “domestic,” “private,” and “public” are redefined.

In a Savannah of Images. Artistic Production and Public Spaces along the Kenyan Coast

Capriotti, Giuseppe
2020-01-01

Abstract

One of the most interesting aspects of the culture of the Kenyan coast, between Malindi and Mombasa, is the extraordinary production of images that inhabit and invade urban spaces. Most of the shops, restaurants, and hotels are characterized by images created by three types of decorators: the brand painters at the service of Kenya’s major companies, who fill the walls of the city with hand-painted advertising; the artists painting hotels and restaurants for western tourists, who mainly realize decorations of high technical expertise with African animals and safari scenes (“tourist art”); those who paint signs, for shops and homes of local people, who produce figures characterized by a language that is more cursive and elementary, but equally effective in communicating the message. The images created by this last category of artists are particularly ephemeral, as they are subject to destruction, depending on the rapid change of destination of some spaces. All these artists tend to sign their works by calling themselves “artists” and leaving the telephone number to be contacted by new customers. Most of them prefer to work for large companies or for European clients, who are able to understand the artistic value of their work.Through the analysis of a sampling of images and of interviews with those who act in the complex artistic situation of the coast, the purpose of this paper is to define the role of “artists,” “clients,” and “users” in building, within a context made intercultural by tourism, peculiar and typical urban spaces, sometimes halfway between store and market, where the traditional western categories of “inside” and “outside,” “domestic,” “private,” and “public” are redefined.
2020
978-83-955375-4-7
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Capriotti_Savannah-Images-Artistic_2020.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 12.06 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
12.06 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11393/270724
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact