Published on May 30, 2004
By
weree
In
Tribal Erotic Art by Alann.
When people look at my work from a distance in an art gallery, they are startled and think they are dealing with aboriginal art from Australia because they notice dots and lines, zigzags and curves with strange symbols.When they take a second look at a closer range they spot lots of erotic symbols and lots of phalusses and that’s where the average visitor is in shock, disgust or is merely amused. Then follows the usual remark: “Why do you paint like that?” and in accusatory manner they add that I have no right to use those graphics because I am not an aboriginal. As if I had stolen something or claimed something to which I am not entitled. People tend to forget their own graphics from their own culture. We had the Visigoths, Celts, Vikings, to name a few, where identical patterns could be found. Our heritage in the West is rich enough, just think of the caves of the neolithic era in Altamira in Spain or the famous ‘giant’ of Dorset in the UK. When I saw the latter at first, it gave me the feeling I wasn’t painting anything new but merely continuing what had always been there. A pleasant surprise to see how our pagan folks used to worship the lingam, the phallus as a source of fertility and devine power in a lesser abstract fashion than the stylized monolyths of Egypt or the erect marble stones in India. We all made primitive drawings as children in which we would draw only the essential lines for fingers or legs and that’s what attracted me in tribal art: the simple but accurate lines and dots and striking colors to make it all complete.
Tribal art of course is not art for art sake, everything is connected to the everyday life. Crockery is decorated to give it a life too. All graphics have a meaning whether painted on a cloth, vase or on a body. So to merely copy that would be foolish. Nevertheless, in my work I try to be narrative and pass on a message be it spiritual or erotical. There is no society that does not depict its sexual life, though some have been erased by intolerant civilisations especially during the Judeo-Christian era. Such was the case for Egypt where lots of polymorphic creatures were destroyed, it was so in Persepolis in Iran during the Khomeiny revolution and in India average Joe there is shocked to see the marvel of the Kama Sutra sculptures in Khajuraho. Even Ghandi once said that the best thing to do would be to bury the whole site again to avoid the corruption of the young minds.
Needless to say that this bigotry and falsification became the drive for my work to (re)create works of art that could defy the western Taliban censorship.
I still get censored in Europe as well as in Asia. Of course the fact that I add some homo-erotic ingredients into my work doesn’t improve the situation.
The whole thing started after my first visit to Brazil where I met my first autodidact painters in the northeastern states and in particularly in Cuiaba, capital of Mato Grosso. The art they made was called ‘Arte Primitivo’ (primitive art) or ‘arte caboclo’. A caboclo is someone with Indian blood or who lives as Indian at the fringes of the jungle. In some way one can compare their art with the Naive art that emerged in Europe with Douanier Rousseau, only their art is more indigenous if you know what I mean: A much looser style and vividly colored.
I painted my semi realistic works in the studio of the Federal University of Mato Grosso State. When I went back to Belgium it kind of lingered in my mind. I wanted to get away from the harsh topics of politics and themes like aids which I used to paint in Europe. My stay with the Xavante Indians, who adopted me in their village and their clan gave me an extra boost to steer away from anything realistic on canvas. When I finally visited Asia there was no more turning back. I saw primitive, naive art there too.It was like my head started blending everything into my subconciousness, the input of colours and graphics from India and Nepal was overwhelming. The painted scrolls, called Pothuas made by the indigenous Santhali people, the tantric paintings in Hindu temples in Nepal and India, the Rajasthani miniatures of Maharajas mating with monkeys, young men and women, skeletons mating with women on hindu temples in Nepal, Lord Shiva’s erect penis ready to fornicate with his consort Parvati – all not available to the general public-or Maha Kali’s tribal black voodoo like power send shivers through my spine.
Also Mithala art that originated in the state of Bihar in India, which was basically painted on floors and walls by women has only confirmed that I was on the right track with my way of painting.
1995 I had gone back to Brasil and witnessed a festival called ‘ Festa do Divino’ the feast of the holy spirit. Basically a replay of the crusaders in which the crusaders were the victors. During 2 weeks, masked men on horses would rampage through the hilly streeets of the city of Perinopolis in the state of Goias- they commemorate this in different parts of Brazil, but Perinopolis is stil very authentic in costumes. They wore masks representing the faces of bulls. Huge horns out of paper machê decorated with paper flowers and garlands. They’d be drunk and they’d settle scores with a foe or even when they could wouldn’t mind to the raping of a few maidens in the public. This whole atmosphere of ‘played violence’ and debauchery inpired me to scetch the men hanging from the belly of the stallion being sodomized by it or make the stallion give a blowjob to his rider.
In Thailand in 1996, I was still following that lead and thus came my reptile-like creatures to life. The men had simply lost their horns but were still fornicating with anything they lay their hands on. From that moment on they led their own life and and I invented more creatures demon or god-like, sometimes in a Aztec codex-like setting sometimes in a futuristic environment or in a tantric dance. Orgasm, ecstacy, eros and thanathos is never far away in my work.
To resume it, I would like to parafrase a native American artist who said: “ The best way to preserve tradition is to continuisly reinvent it.”