Beau Temps , 1996, Hama Goro La Solitude, 1996, Hama Goro
These paintings depict the loneliness Hama Goro felt when he visited Europe. The Artist commented modernization has consumed Western culture, and I felt his paintings where a symbolic of what the west has done to itself and other countries as well. In Beau Temps Goro depicts a human form sitting isolated from the big city in the distance. I can only imagine what the artist experienced emotionally while traveling to Europe and if the figures in his paintings are representations of him or if that represent western society as a whole. I can relate to the isolation that Goro describes. We have become very much removed from community and family as a whole, and it’s nice to know that other cultures still value what we have forfeited with our insatiable hunger for glory and improvement. The other thing I really appreciate about Goro paintings is his use of mostly nature ingredients known as Bogolan technique. It involves using substances such as tree bark, leaves, and clay, which account for the natural coloring in his works and is a tradition from of his people in Mali who also used the dye to color clothing. All of Goro’s painting have natural colors as a result and convey a link to nature. That link is so spiritual and real. Goro involve himself into his works and one can tell that his culture highly influences his creations. I feel soul and spirit in his works. Many Western works in comparison seem stiff and isolated compared to Goro. Below is a link in which in can further explore Goro’s other works.
http://www.africaserver.nl/virtual/exhibitions/hama/eng/hamthumb.htm
