The Art of Inequality
Abstract
This article attempts to understand the social implications manifested in the visual arts such as Graphic designs. Graphic design organizes visual communication within the society. It is concerned with the efficiency of communication, the technology used for its implementation, and the social impact it effects, in other words, with social responsibility. The article attempts to understand the social context of Sudan through the contemporary arts of two young visual Sudanese artists. Through their art work we challenge ourselves to take part in their creative take on their local culture and political dynamics. The article proposes that art is used as a way of collective social expression and can also be used in the efforts to advocate for concepts such as peace, justice and equal economic distribution.
We live in a world that is profoundly shaped by art. As the “smartphone generation” arose there has been critical change in the nature of visual art, we now find ourselves surrounded by the work of graphic designers. Graphic design, as Maud Lavin points out in her new book (Clean New World: Culture, Politics, and Graphic Design), is intricately embedded in the larger culture, reflecting its characteristic patterns as well as its ambiguities. It is safe to say that an art piece is never a completely independent variable, it is a rather complex equation created by the interlinking of social reality and the imaginative human mind.
As art, in all its forms, expresses the emotions and struggles of the society it emerges from and inspires communities to cope and even revolt! We live in a world characterized with inequality in the distribution of income, material wealth and political power, and in the military means to assert and defend them; and inequality in culture — values, belief systems, traditions and worldviews. Our modern-day art becomes greatly affected by that; it becomes a manifestation of our reality and a manner in which we expose injustice or celebrate a triumph.
In this article we intended to illustrate how societies can be analysed through a combination of anthropological and graphic design approaches; understanding the social dynamics where the art has been created; and the logics of production and consumption of art, as well as various approaches to graphic design and its cultural context. The analysis is based on the contemporary art of graphic design in Sudan, through the works of two young visual artists; Nihal Kamal and AbdulRahman Al-Nazeer Ali.
The role of technology in Sudan and the impact of the so-called digital revolution has been much-hailed and well-documented in areas such as media, social change and political activism. During Sudan’s 2019 revolution — as people mobilized across the country with sit-ins, marches, boycotts, and strikes — artists helped capture the country’s discontent and solidify protesters’ resolve. As social platforms played a huge role in the life of the Sudanese revolution visual digital arts became very popular. With the fall of the past regime, many more visual artists have found their calling as Sudan has now become a more art-friendly environment and there are many social projects promoting creativity as a mean to fight all issues faced by the local communities. The success of Sudan’s nonviolent revolution and the creativity that buoyed it are reasons for celebration, however, the inspiring art pieces produced by young Sudanese artists is still much needed to inspire the people through the difficult but crucial transitional period.
“Art is such a powerful thing I believe that art can change the whole world and can change people minds too.” Says Nihal Kamal, the young artist behind Nihal Kamal Illustrations and founder of ART AL7LA.
Nihal Kamal is a 20 years old Sudanese woman, born and raised in Saudi Arabia but still very connected to the Sudani culture. In a conversation with Nihal she says “In my artwork I always focus on how I could reflect my ideas with a mixture of Sudanese culture, that’s my main goal”. In all her art work Nihal successfully integrates the local culture with her imagination giving her audience aesthetically pleasing pieces that speak of the Sudanese reality. Many of Nihals pieces portray and celebrate the beauty of the Sudanese community and even art, as Nihal uses her creativity to build a visual image of music and poetry. Through Nihals journey of culture appropriation, her art has also portrayed the socio-political dynamics of Sudan.
Through Nihals work we are able to see many different aspects of the Sudanese society. The artist was able to portray the social concepts of patience and also the power of social coping mechanisms with economic frustrations. Not only that but her art has also addressd issues of wars and violence. As Sudan has suffered gravely from the impacts of war and the constant use of violence, many changes occurred to the political, social, economic and judicial spheres. Not only that but with her use of music she highlights the role played by arts in the collective expression of the local reality.
A three piece artwork from the Archieve22feb, creatively integrating Van Goghs Starry Night with the military wear.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUv91Pgm-c/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
AbdulRahman Al-Nazeer Ali, a 23-year-old Sudanese artist, is the founder of Archive22feb (a digital visual achieve) and is the Art Director at Apocypha (an experimental project aimed at strengthening social visual memories).
AbdulRahman is a young political activist and human rights enthusiast as he pursues his education as a lawyer. His enthusiasm towards socio-political issues is clear to his audience as he depicts his concerns and ideas to improve the social reality. The atmosphere of injustice and inequality is very dominant in the local communities, that is why AbdulRahaman believes that this injustice should be archived to our collective visual memories. By doing so AbdulRahman builds a visual archive of the past, present and future of the beauty and suffering found in the Sudanese culture, integrating other forms of art such as poetry and musical audios creating complex visual pieces with extremely rich context.
Abdulrahman designs pieces that please the audience’s visual senses by combining classic art embedded in our visual memories with images from the everyday life in Sudan. He succeeds in the use of abstract concepts that are connected to the social visual memory of the Sudanese people and by that he takes on a trip to understanding this reality. This reality is one that is filled with military presence and religious leader, all connected in the collective mind of the people with economic injustice and the excessive use of violence. Abdulrahman correspondingly produces art inspired by Sudanese music integrating audio into visual productios, he choses music that reflects the struggles faced within Sudan.
The incredible visual art created by these two young artists gives us a glimpse of the Sudanese society and celebrates its traditions and struggles. We come to understand the diverse complexions of this reality, filled with hope and tragedies, that is glued together by acts of solidarity. The Sudanese context is rather complex but we are able to sense inequality and violence, the lack of basic needs such as food security, education, healthcare and transport. Their art work is like a quick dive into the Sudanese culture beautifully integrated with abstract concepts, all done with a modern twist into it making it trend between Sudanese youth.
Art is able to educate us about the reality of others, projecting the dynamisms of human life and its interaction with nature. It enables us to engage with the ‘sorrow’ of poverty, making us more aware of the sadness caused by injustice, and its visual context brings a ‘rebalancing’ to our lives. The art domain holds within it a huge potential to address the various issues faced by the global society such as global inequality. This is a potential that the art domain should seek to meet intentionally to a greater degree, for the sake of both the weak, oppressed and for the sake of producing and creating powerful and inspiring art.
