Artist's Statement
Kevin Fogelson
Afri-can Goods, Inc. is a fictitious company created to resume my study
towards commentating on capitalist/imperialist societies who take
cultural phenomenon and bank
on its exoticism. In societies, such as American, there are bursts of
selected cultural popularity
that emerge in song, food, art, etc. For instance, America was dancing
the La Vida
Loca in their new Versace shoes and coming home to watch television
that imprinted English
programming. Forget the cultural salad; corporations are notorious for
compressing cultures
into simplified can goods and making a profit off it. Just go to the
Bombay Store, they sell
replica versions of multi-cultural art with labor most likely in China
that present the average
consumer with the company’s generic interpretation of artifact placed
pieces for the topic
of party conversation.
Throughout much of the "white" man’s history it is evident that
cultures
such as England, America, France, Italy, etc. attempt to condense
cultures they have imperialistically entrenched upon and use their
artifacts as the pieces of their time capsules,
tombs, museums, etc. to show "culture depth." The ironic part is when
these cultures are
condensed into artifact and become the object of exoticism and desire,
most cultures are
considered inferior and are either assimilated, destroyed, or the
fortunate ones are able to
establish their independence.
The logo art is consistent with this concept. Working with "primitive
art,"
reminiscent of Paul Gauguin and Pablo Picasso, the complexity of the
logo’s design embodies
abstract and cubist principles that are carefully developed through
shape, form and unity. The portrayal of the African face contains a
tribal mask expression to catch the attention
of the audience and invoke mysticism. Many of the misconceptions of
African culture and
other cultures play a key role in this piece; for example the play on
light and dark; the "shady"
areas versus the light, the jewelry, embellished expression, and the
use of colors that
stretch of African notions.
Click to review the resume of Kevin S.
Fogelson
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All
copyrights for the art on this page are owned by the artist. The views
expressed are those of the Artist. This work is entered in the "Color
or
Shades of Gray" competition.
