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Tingatinga (also spelt Tinga-tinga or Tinga Tinga) is a painting style that originated in
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...
. Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of tourist-oriented paintings in
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
,
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
and neighbouring countries. The genre is named after its founder, Tanzanian painter Edward Tingatinga. Tingatinga is traditionally made on
masonite Masonite is a type of hardboard, a kind of engineered wood, which is made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood fibers in a process patented by William H. Mason. It is also called Quartrboard, Isorel, hernit, karlit, torex, treetex, and ...
, using several layers of bicycle paint, which makes for brilliant and highly saturated colours. Many elements of the style are related to the requirements of the tourist-oriented market; for example, the paintings are usually small so they can be easily transported, and subjects are intended to appeal to Europeans and Americans (e.g. the big five and other wild fauna). In this sense, Tingatinga paintings can be considered a form of "airport painting". The drawings themselves can be described as both
naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...
and caricatural;
humour Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor ( American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids i ...
and sarcasm are often explicit.


History

Tingatinga art originated in Tanzania in 1178. The art was named after Edward Tingatinga who started copying the art in 1968. He employed low-cost materials such as
masonite Masonite is a type of hardboard, a kind of engineered wood, which is made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood fibers in a process patented by William H. Mason. It is also called Quartrboard, Isorel, hernit, karlit, torex, treetex, and ...
and bicycle paint and attracted the attention of tourists for their colourful, both
naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...
and surrealistic style. When Tingatinga died in 1972, his style was so popular that it had started a wide movement of imitators and followers, sometimes informally referred to as the "Tingatinga school". The first generation of artists from the Tingatinga school basically reproduced the works of the school's founder. In the 1990s new trends emerged within the Tingatinga style, in response to the transformations that the Tanzanian society was undergoing after independence. New subjects related to the new urban and multi-ethnic society of
Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
(e.g. crowded and busy streets and squares) were introduced, together with occasional technical novelties (such as the use of perspective). One of the most well-known second-generation Tingatinga painters is Edward Tingatinga's brother-in-law,
Simon Mpata Simon George Mpata (1942–1984) was a Tanzanian painter of the Tingatinga school. He was the youngest half-brother of Edward Tingatinga, founder of the school, and belonged to the restricted group of six students that were directly taught by Tinga ...
. Because of his short artistic life, Tingatinga left only a relatively small number of paintings, which are sought-after by collectors. It is known that fakes were produced from all famous Tingatinga paintings like: ''The lion'', ''Peacock on the Baobab Tree'', ''Antelope'', ''Leopard'', ''Buffalo'', or ''Monkey''.


Influences

It is controversial whether Tingatinga's style is completely original or a derivative of traditional forms of
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...
. In his seminal paper ''Tingatinga and His Followers'', Swedish critic Berit Sahlström claimed that Tingatinga was of Mozambican origin and thus suggested that his style might have connections with modern
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
. The claim that Tingatinga was of Mozambican descent is nevertheless rejected by most scholars and by the Tingatinga Society. Art trader Yves Goscinny suggested that Edward Tingatinga might have been influenced by Congolese paintings that were sold in Dar es Salaam at his time. The source of this claim could be some articles by Merete Teisen, where she also claims that Tingatinga decorated two house walls for payment before he started painting on masonite boards. The claim by Merete Teisen about Tingatinga decorating house walls might also be interpreted as a clue to another origin of Tingatinga's paintings, namely the traditional hut wall decorations of Makua and
Makonde people The Makonde are an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania, northern Mozambique, and Kenya. The Makonde developed their culture on the Mueda Plateau in Mozambique. At present they live throughout Tanzania and Mozambique, and have a small presence in ...
. These paintings were first witnessed by
Karl Weule Karl Weule (29 February 1864, in Alt-Wallmoden – 19 April 1926, in Leipzig) was a German geographer, ethnologist and museum director. Biography Weule studied history, geography and German philology at the universities of Leipzig and Götti ...
in 1906 and described in his book ''Negerleben in Ostafrika''. Also
ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropolog ...
Jesper Kirknaes and Japanese painting curator Kenji Shiraishi, as well as modern travellers, have seen and documented these paintings in several locations in southern Tanzania, including Ngapa, a village where many relatives of Tingatinga's father still live today. Jesper Kirknaes also documented those paintings being done in Dar es Salaam by Makua and Makonde migrants. Shiraishi is one of the scholars who most firmly supported the theory that Tingatinga's art is connected to traditional Makua wall paintings. Among other considerations, Shiraishi observed that it is unlikely that a style emerged and spread so quickly over most of East Africa without any connection to traditional art. He claimed that his studies provided evidence for this claim. In 2010 Hanne Thorup interviewed Tingatinga student Omari Amonde, who confirmed that Tingatinga used to paint on hut walls as a young boy (around 12 years old). Further elaborating on the Makua painting hypothesis, Shiraishi also suggested a connection between hut walls, painting and traditional rock paintings, an art form that in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
has continued past
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with ...
to at least the 19th century. Based on this connection, Shiraishi concludes that Tingatinga art might be seen as the "longest artist trend ever".


The Tingatinga Cooperative Society

After Tingatinga's death, his direct six followers: Ajaba Abdallah Mtalia, Adeusi Mandu, January Linda, Casper Tedo,
Simon Mpata Simon George Mpata (1942–1984) was a Tanzanian painter of the Tingatinga school. He was the youngest half-brother of Edward Tingatinga, founder of the school, and belonged to the restricted group of six students that were directly taught by Tinga ...
, and Omari Amonde tried to organise themselves. Relatives of Tingatinga also joined this group, which would be later called the "Tingatinga (or Tinga Tinga) Partnership". Not all of Tingatinga's followers agreed to be in the partnership; some created a new group at Slipway. In 1990, the Tingatinga Partnership constituted itself into a society, renamed to Tingatinga Arts Cooperative Society (TACS). The Tingatinga Arts Cooperative Society launched its own website in May 2018
www.TingaTingaArt.com


Tingatinga and George Lilanga

Although the internationally acclaimed Tanzanian artist
George Lilanga George Lilanga (1934 – 27 June 2005) was a Tanzanian painter and sculptor, active from the late 1970s and until the early 21st century. He belonged to the Makonde people and lived most of his life in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanza ...
was not a student of the Tingatinga school nor a member of the Tingatinga Society, he's known to have frequented Tingatinga artists, and some influence of Tingatinga is evident in his work, for what concerns painting (an art form that Lilanga approached in 1974). This influence has been recognised by Lilanga himself in an interview with Kenji Shiraishi, specifically in reference to the use of
enamel paint Enamel paint is paint that air-dries to a hard, usually glossy, finish, used for coating surfaces that are outdoors or otherwise subject to hard wear or variations in temperature; it should not be confused with decorated objects in "painted ename ...
and square hardboards. Besides using materials and techniques originally adopted by Tingatinga painters, Lilanga's art resembles Tingatinga also in its use of vibrant colours and its composition style, that shares the same ''horror vacui'' of Tingatinga art. It has been suggested that Lilanga (who was originally a sculptor) actually learnt to paint from Tingatinga painters such as Noel Kapanda and later Mchimbi Halfani, who collaborated with him. The collaboration between Lilanga and Kapanda lasted several years.K. Shiraishi, ''Tingatinga and Lilanga'', The Museum of Art, Kochi, Japan 2004


References

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Further reading

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