What’s Black Art??

As a black African woman ( yes there are non black Africans, see Moroccans, Egyptians, Mauritians and so on) and as an artist, or a human, I don’t like being boxed in a category and yet here I am trying to figure out the constant labeling.

Why is my art, along with the art of African American artists called “black art”? I never heard of a Monet, Lempika (I LOVE HER WORK!!!!) or Warhol being referred to as a “white artist”.
They are just artists.. and so am I!!!
( PSA. no I am not putting myself on their artistry level..for now  )

But honestly, yes my art is VERY afrocentric, majority of my subjects are what I find  beautiful in my African culture. Strong beautiful black women are the center of what inspire my artistry..

but they are not the only and exclusive subjects…. so the label falls short already…

Tim Okamura and Sarah Golish, are  amazing Canadian artists that  create incredibly beautiful art that depicts black women, and yet neither of this artist is black. Should their art be called black art?

I think racially based labelling is not necessary when it comes to visual arts. Art should be the ultimate form of HUMAN expression and appreciation. The most bigot, racist homophobic person could fall in love with a piece of art if “art” its the only way they know it as.

By giving the pieces a label, said bigot now knows that the piece of art was created by a black, hispanic gay or an atheist person and now I bet they would be ready to set that same exact piece of art on fire.

What do you think? am I reaching here?

I don’t know about other artists, but my desire is for everyone with an heart to feel touched in one way or the other by my art. I want the entire spectrum of the human being species to own a Art by Abiola piece if so they wished, without feeling ex’d out or not included as if my art weren’t for them also.

What do you think? do you feel black art should be labeled as such?

On my last trip to Nigeria I had the pleasure of visiting a lot of art galleries and enjoy the beautiful art displayed. All of the works were full of Nigerian culture” women carrying their baby wrap on their backs, man with tribal cuts on their faces etc etc and yet none of that work was at any point labeled Black. it was simply beautiful ART.

Now, don’t get me wrong we are not having a Stacie Dash moment here, even though my heritage is not American and I am not a result of a slavery plagued family tree, I know whats its like to be excluded because of the color of my skin ( thank you Italy) and I understand the importance of having somewhere to feel like you belong,  you own a piece of it, you are not discriminated or you are not looked down upon I just wished art didn’t have to be one of them.

Let the piece speak for its self, more often than none the message is a 1,000 times stronger than the label anyways if you ask me.

ok I rambled far too long this time

Ciao for now,

Be art!
Aby