ART IN ALL ITS FORMS

(To Mwalimu George Ngwane and the rest of us who were at the AFRICAPHONIE workshop on Art and Culture Journalism held at the Hotel Residence Carlos in Buea-Cameroon from the 21st to the 23rd of March 2011. It was three golden days never to be forgotten.)

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

This is art, alright
But art with a difference
Just look at the symmetric contours
The concentric and bubbled sounds
The tempered comic relief
The jaded strobe lights
The indented background
It`s not oil on canvass
But you can see the subdued frescoes
Like those of the Sistine Chapel
Call them Velasquez` or Michael Angelo`s if you like
Consider the smoked silver filaments
It`s all picturesque and enameled
It may not be Gothic or baroque
But it`s deep and profound and scintillating
Just watch sky-blue and pacific love birds as they neck
Like the peace plant.

See how their golden vertical and horizontal lines blend
Oh! Don`t they march and merge and fuse and melt?
They thaw out and liquefy into one, single liquid
A slimy and viscous fluid which
Claims its own place in the sun
For how can it miss out on this second Berlin?
Forget about time, distance, speed and velocity
We are talking about architecture
So let`s all together
Gather it all up and hand it to humanity
It belongs to mankind.

Let`s return it to Mother Nature as we received it
Soft
Sleek
Sublime
Innocuous
Majestic
Fresh
New
Pure
Unadulterated
Undefiled
Immaculate
Virgin
Intact.

That`s why here and now, today
As we sit and deliberate on Carlos` throne
We know that South Africa, Ghana and Cameroon are one
United in intention and purpose
It`s several origins, one destination
Several voices, one meaning
Several visions, one object
Several tongues, one expression
Several inspirations, one art
One light
One energy
One source
One soul
One God
The infinite
Nothingness
Zero
Dissipation
Regeneration
Birth
Rebirth.

Copyright 2011