Still on '...the Curse c 
Krydz 
Ikwuemesi 
l i , r<,H», strange 
' " " " ' 
And besides, how far can todav's Afrim 
supertechnology, and how much of h i , o 
. Find it rid.culous that an artist whose ' 
and pr,Vat,ons should bother l l S 
•
Onuxulike 
Ozioma, 
Stoneware, 1997. 
'Africa: Stories of 
Pain, stories of 
Hope'. 
dulypointed ou, in the leoc 
and theories wh,ch do not practically ben 
African Quarterly 
on the Arts 
Vol 2/No. 4
her environment. For art in Africa, even beyond the so-called traditional era, has refused to 
be completely severed from Africa's holistic concept of life. We must not swallow, hook, line 
and sinker, every concept advanced by the West just in order to remain contemporary in 
the eye of the West. 
I had said this much and more, before I made the declaration which Ezeh focuses on. 
Nevertheless I must confess that I was very delighted that there were no installations in the 
Biennale. I confess also that in the particular essay, I was being somewhat subjective - 
purposefully. But the views expressed there were not the official position of PACA. 
PACA's contentions over the years has been that our art - African art - should be made 
and propagated 'on our own terms', that is on Africa's terms, without prejudice to the West's 
attempts atcultural and curatorial monotheism. PACA does not advance any stylistic paradigm 
nor does it align itself with any ideological Zeitgeist. Rather it encourages free thought and 
creative adventurism among its members and associates. This is obviously why each PACA 
Biennale is left without themes or agenda 
What I did in the essay was to warn of the dangers of post-modernism with its tendency 
to transform art into a whore in the supersonic brothel of science. Even at that, I did not 
pronounce a blanket condemnation of postmodernism. I merely expressed apprehension at 
the anti-artistic nature of what may be called 'extremist installation,' which are, to my mind, 
If 
iicated 
sting on 
t World, 
lined by 
i essay, 
rruption 
efit his/ 
Ihad said this much and more, before I made the declaration 
which Ezeh focuses on. Nevertheless I must confess that I was 
very delighted that there were no installations in the Biennale. I 
confess also that in the particular essay. I was being somewhat 
subjective - purposefully. But the views expressed there were not 
the official position of PACA. 
redundant, empty, and ephemeral. This is regardless of whatever opinion the art world may 
hold about them. As I pointed out in my essay, such installations and techno-art, being 
inventions of the West, are clear echoes of the death-pangs of Western art. Like the legendary 
phoenix, Western art is dying. It may have to burn itself once again on the urn of African art 
in an attempt to rise and blossom again. 
Yet one point remains to be made. What does one mean by installations? And did we 
not have installations in Africa before the advent of postmodernism? Or how does one describe 
classical African public sculptures and other functional sculptures which were used in village 
squares and other places? Or even the beautiful installations one finds in local wood markets 
for instance? When an artist creates sculptures in the round, is he/she not 'installing'? Every 
work of art whose form or content is enhanced by space is fundamentally an installation. To that 
extent, we have many installations at the last Biennale. What was being decried - albeit from 
a personal point of view - is the classic installation. 
The argument, of course, does not undermine my belief that all art is legitimate, even when 
it fails to appeal to some people. I agree with Mr. Ezeh that 'Censorship is the very worst that 
can happen to any domain of art, or intellectual enterprise.' But I also believe that one day, some 
of us would wake up and ask - bemused - 'Where are our artists?!', and perhaps, 'Who 
wrapped the Reichstag!?' GR 
African Quarterly 
on the Arts