Years after leaving Ghanatta college of Art and Design, firmly believing that European art was art at its highest peak, Daniel Tetteh Nartey discusses his struggle to find his identity as an artist. Having spent the start of his career trying to mimic the works of ‘The Masters’ and exploring typical art forms like cubism made popular by Pablo Picasso, he found himself feeling restrained and restricted.
I vividly recall some of his earlier works, which took this form and bear no resemblance to his work today. Having followed his journey on Instagram for a little while, I distinctly remember the moment when I started to actually take notice of him and be able to distinguish his work from others. Looking at his collection of canvases it is very clear that DTN now knows who he is and what he wants his canvases to depart.
Using a striking blue to paint the skin of his African subjects, Nartey subverts the notion of what Africanism is, moving it away from the colour of one's skin and focusing on everything else that could encompass one’s sense of being. Painting blue figures, who are devoid of facial features, the young Ghanaian creative hopes to play a role in reclaiming the narrative of the African body. He describes the blue he uses as an extension of life. He believes that the serenity that the colour blue offers one’s soul allows his audience to connect with the subject in a way that brown hues may disrupt or divert, due to preconceived notions of race.
Blue is life! It is the air that surrounds us and the water that quenches our thirst, the source of energy for all things living. It is the colour of our souls, no matter the colour of our skin.
This I learnt from Daniel Tetteh Nartey when I visited him in his home studio in Dodowa, Ghana, a town an hour outside of Accra.
As I entered the compound, I was welcomed by all the sounds and sights of a typical Ghanaian home, which made me feel at home. Daniel’s father greeted me with the commonly used phrase ‘You’re invited’, used by Ghanaians when they are eating and in the presence of others to show that whatever they have they are willing to share. We are one big family. Immediately, I felt comforted as the weight of the fabric of Ghanaian society and culture, woven with the silk thread of humbleness, embraced me.
We passed through the living room where the sound of the news unravelling the latest events and conspiracies from the current ongoing election dominated the space- a room that was Ghana Today. Leaving the living room and crossing the threshold of his home studio, I found myself in an environment that embodied the spirit of contemporary African art: free from the shackles of the old imperialist images of Africa that made it synonymous with poverty and African art all about silhouetted animals, sunsets and long limbed maasai warriors and women carrying loads on their heads. Once inside, soothed by Daniel’s calm, cool nature and the energy in the room that was sedate yet intentional, my eyes slowly cruised around the room leisurely absorbing the genius of this Creative.
Despite having never met each other in person before, there was a strange sense of familiarity. This no doubt was down to the fact that we have had a secret window into each other’s lives via instagram. I have watched him evolve as an artist and he has watched me travel the world, collect art and settle into a new life in The Seychelles.
Very quickly we got to business. Daniel sat back whilst I interrogated his space, getting a feel for the tone of the interview. After carefully placing colours, lines and shadows, we got started.
How would you define yourself?
Since I love art in general - fashion, music, anything adventurous like extreme sports, and play basketball- I would say, in a nutshell, I’m a creative person. So although I paint professionally - I still see myself first and foremost as a creative person, so I would define myself as 'A Creative'.
Are you formally trained as an artist and where did you train?
I completed my professional studies at Ghanatta college of arts here in Ghana. It is the college where a lot of artist came from: Kwesi Botchway, Amoako Boafo and so much more.
Where did your professional career begin?
From childhood days I loved art. But professionally I’ve taken this journey for 5 years now-right from art college I decided I should make a living out of this, I should make it professional. Since then I began trying to learn a little by going from one studio to another picking up ideas and tuition from art instructors and senior artists that are in the industry working.
What was the defining moment for you when you realised you had become ‘A Creative’?
When I graduated from art college I was painting a lot, trying to define myself. I was painting cubism at the time, despite being good at landscapes and other styles. I think really I was trying to do the Picasso thing. Then at some point I began trying to break free from styles whilst keeping it together, so that I’d be able to wake up and say, “let me try this or this.” I had to tell myself to try and find something and be free. I soon discovered my current style and instantly I was free from anything I had to go through before painting. Before, there was always such a great thinking process I had to go through before I put the work down on the surface. Now with this style, the process was shorter, it was so much like a free moment for me.
How much did the classical European art you were taught influence you when you started?
It influenced me so much because I am the kind of person that wants everything at a high standard. As everywhere around us we were seeing European movies, this had become the ‘high standard’ we wanted to pertain to. Things here are not done that way. It was then natural to look up to these people who attain that standard, that mastery, that work, because that’s how education has positioned you to. I was influenced so much that I was trying to mimic the standard or more so trying to attain this level of perfection from this art era that is a European Art era.
I was influenced so much that I was trying to mimic the standard or more so trying to attain this level of perfection from this art era that is a European Art era.
What led you to believe that this art was perfection?
The introduction to some of these artists which contained phrases like ‘this is work at their highest peak’. When you read history and they discuss works of art that have survived 600-700 years it’s always the likes of The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Triumph of Death, The Van Gogh’s. And then the auction houses, on the news, you see the scores (of money) these works have made and continue to make. It’s just the common discussion around art.
Although I was taught about old senior artists here in Africa, namely Ghana, they didn’t seem to project the same kind of identity that was exuded through the rhetoric used around the white masters. Also if we consider contemporary Ghanaian movies, where you are seeing European art pieces hung on sets, it’s not difficult to come to this conclusion.
How did you break out of the mindset that European Art was perfection?
It started when I got involved with college artists here in Ghana. We would talk and meet up in the name of art. Together we would breathe, sleep, think and dream of art collectively. And being African brothers, undoubtedly there was African influence in the conversations we were having. So working again with these artists now like Kwesi Botchway and being close to Otis Quaicoe and Cornelius Annor I started to see that I could make it as me. In particular, seeing Amoako Boafo create that blueish brown skin, and then Kwesi with the purple, the idea that as black artists we can sell what looks like us became a reality. These are just some of the many artists in Ghana today making big score outside by sharing their images of brown skin and African textures. This, I think, helped me to know that we can still be who we are, tell our own narrative, in our own way, in our own standard which we can also argue is the international standard.
Tell me about your style?
My work is flat. I apply my colours without adding shades. Sometimes I add texture through the thickness of the paint that I apply on the surface, but not much. The skin of my subjects are blue and the face, being the main talk point of the work, does not have features on the face. They don’t have eyes, a nose or lips. Sometimes I represent the ears, sometimes not. These features of my work allow me to share my belief that despite the shade of our skin we are all humans first. There is a phrase I like which says ‘not everyone has 5 fingers’. Which doesn’t mean that we don’t physically have 5 fingers. Instead it pertains to the notion that what one person can do, another may not or vice versa - we are all unique in our own way. The featureless faces stops our gaze from seeking a definite identity of the figure. With a lack of emotion and thought portrayed, the viewer will have to create that for themselves based on their own. Thus, the figure on its own is not paramount- you the viewer make it paramount.
Why blue?
Blue is life for me. Blue is everything that surrounds us. Blue is coolness and here in Ghana we’re known to be cool people, non confrontational, welcoming and beautiful people. Symbolically then every Ghanaian is quite a cool person. THe colour traditionally explains what a Ghanaian or black man stands for; coolness and a welcoming spirit. Viewers look at my work and feel awakened. It hits you inside to see people in blue skin. For years, black people have been aspiring to be white and even bleaching their skin. If as an artist I’m pushing blue skin as something to aspire to - something metaphorical- that has a positive effect on the mind- it’s nice.
What other features of your work would you like to share?
In some of my works you would have noticed red chairs. The concept came about because I realised in life there are always times when we need to take a rest. Take a seat for a while and maybe move on. This is the moment in the African setting that we have the saying ‘if you sit for too long, you sit on your progress.’ The chair then is a symbol of hindrance, to remind us that we need to keep moving as that is the only way we can build the Africa we want. I also wanted to use the chairs to render the awkward moments. Some artists don’t like showing them. They prefer to portray only the beautiful. However, I want to play around with these awkward postures we often see everyday in our activities.
What do you feel is your responsibility as a contemporary african artist?
We all have a part to play in making the world a better place. It’s especially important for me that the next generation learn about themselves, their history, about history and pre-history. As current practising artists then, it’s about us trying to work around our stories more, portraying our stories and traditions more in our work, in our music, in our fashion. We need to let our culture grow in everything we do, and especially take advantage of contemporary media outlets. We need to see social media now as a tool to promote traditional and contemporary African stories and speak more of the people making change in Africa. Myself personally I am becoming more conscious of the colours I use, and I am using more african symbols and also using the features of african figure in my work so that even when looking at a blue silhouette you can see it’s an african. Thus my work is an embodiment of Africa.
Click the image below to find out more about Daniel Tetteh Nartey.
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