Zerihun Yetmgeta His Artistic Odyssey I first observed the works of Zerihun Yetmgeta in the early 1970s at the Belvedere Art Gallery in Addis Ababa. I met, and came to know him, in 1972 at the Lisa Gallery on Churchill Road, Addis Ababa. Later, in 1979, as an instructor at the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts, I was afforded the opportunity to work with him. As he had proved more noticeable and encouraging in his art and life (nationally and internationally, as one of Ethiopia’s foremost painters) I was interested to discover the reasons behind his successes. Contrary to the general wisdom (and my assumption), I discovered that Zerihun did not confront the unconventional artistic trend, which gave him recognition. Initially, in a subliminal attempt to break with the School’s Western Academy style of teaching (and more passionate in identifying with his native roots), Zerihun was an admirer of the traditionally taught and self -taught painters who hung around the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts. However, soon after he finished his second year courses, Zerihun was willing and eager to join the major, important western educated artists of the time--Gebre Kristos Desta and Skunder Boghossian, as well as their formal inventions, which were closely tied to Western modernist aesthetic. Zerihun described these two giant figures of 20th century African art (who were, incidentally, his instructors as well as his heroes) as the men who gave him his artistic and creative foundation for his artistic endeavors. There was a time when it was said that Zerihun was imitating one of his instructors. What was said was not untrue. However, it was irrelevant. His charismatic and important instructors literally freed the 20th century Ethiopian painting which was subjugated by the spell of Western academic painting. That Skunder was his senior, as well as his instructor and the one who exploited the modernist artists of the west, is accurate. It is also known that Skunder and Zerihun were close friends, and at some time worked together. During this circumstance, the resemblance of their work, if not the imitation, occurred. However, the artistic philosophy of Skunder (or that of Gebre Kristos, initially) was more in the spirit of research and was more sophisticated in the logic of the Western modernists artists, where as the homegrown, nationally trained Zerihun initially acted more in the role of finding, knowing and painting than in searching, although he typically based his works on the underlying artistic structure of his instructors. During the 1960s, Addis Ababa, when the criterion for all Modern Art was the same, the shortsighted criticism launched to attack Zerihun is predictable. Soon after he was acclaimed by critics and journalists and classified as an important emerging artist, Zerihun became more and more fascinated by his work, his own artistic experimentation, the reaction of the public and the never-ending mystery of art itself. He fused in his paintings, the technique, approaches and orientations of his instructors, and retains and shares their best qualities and attitudes to this day. Zerihun remains willingly and consciously faithful to his instructors’ artistic spirit and principles, which he makes his duty to continue and develop further. In 1985, several years after I met Zerihun and examined his works carefully, I wrote a short introductory note for one of his yearly exhibitions. In it, I stated what I learned and noticed regarding his attitude toward art and his work, and concluded by stating that Zerihun applies his artistic methods, approaching the style and characteristics of Ethiopian art and the rules of Ethiopian aesthetics. Why even bother to determine if Zerihun’s art has the characteristics of Ethiopian art--or even if it is Ethiopian at all? These kinds of questions are raised within the artistic circle and the public frequently. To me, what triggered my statement was not about whether Zerihun’s art being Ethiopian or not, because this is obvious. However, in the context of Ethiopian Modern Art ,which was and still is in a perpetual crises (and when the values and the standards of art are getting more and more unclear), Zerhiun, has meticulously and, perhaps spontaneously, achieved an artistic identity. His approaches and work now distinctively appear to possess more of the rules of Ethiopian - African aesthetics than they appeared to 20 years ago. I not only learned more about contemporary Ethiopian, African art and modern culture and Zerihun’s work, but I also learned more about the reasons behind his successes. Zerihun is probably the first formally trained artist who successfully and enthusiastically assimilated everything ancient and modern Ethiopia achieved. The two paths of the ancient and the modern, which seem far from each other, turn out to be one in Zerhihun’s art, establishing his successes and artistic identity. I want to emphasize one point that may already have become clear: Zerihun had no illusion of the starving or the romantic life of an artist. It appears that he had anticipated, that selling his art was central to the development of his art. Art, aside from being a self-discovering, self-evaluating medium and discipline, built on a tradition old or new, had also to be a bread winning trade. Zerihun lived exclusively on the support of his art, when his generation artists’ graduates of the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts barely managed to survive by selling their works. I am unaware of any artists, graduates of the School of Fine Arts, who is as successful as Zerihun. He is the leading artist, graduate of the School of Fine Arts, to have been invited to display and promote his work in national and international art shows numerous times during the last 30 years. Even during the early years of the Ethiopian revolution, when much was condemned and trashed, Zerihun was one of the few artists determined to regularly show his work to the public. I cannot fathom how it felt for all the young and old artists, during those horrifying revolutionary days, to show one’s work at the cultural centers of imperialist countries and to be in the mouth and eyes of the militant political cadres. This alone, took great courage in a time when everyone thought and felt that it could be heard only through pomp and propaganda works and a show of power. Thanks, in part, to his undaunted spirit and commitment to his creative independence, anything that Modern Ethiopia salvaged from her 20th century visual arts achievement managed to survive. Zerihuns’s heart felt professional successes; however, came ten years after he graduated from the School of Fine Arts. In 1978, after analyzing and studying his activities, contributions and experiences in the field of Fine Arts, the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts appointed Zerihun as instructor, upgrading his credential to a much higher level. This was unprecedented in the administrative record of the School. Undoubtedly, Zerihun proved to be one of the most successful, disciplined, admired instructors; without losing his enthusiasm as he grew old. Zerihun is a brilliant, innovative artist who is disciplined in his work and life. He spends an enormous amount of time in his studio, creating numerous works. Whether it is painting on canvas, on sheep skin, on bamboo strip or wood, paint splashed, painted or sprayed, or his graphic print of mixed technique of black and white or colored, his works have always been a delight for the public to observe. Since his successful first one-man show in 1970 until approximately 1978, Zerihun’s work tended to embrace delirious and dream-like figures with a kaleidoscope of colors. Subsequently, he discovered that the conviction of the artist and what he/she does is what counts; he took a major shift in selecting themes that were timely and of contemporary issues--making his work more readable, poetic, focused and meaningful. In the 1970s, during the red and white terror, when the massacre, imprisonment and exodus of Ethiopian dignitaries and intellectuals shattered the pride and hopes of an entire generation, he looked for a way to be a witness. He expresses his thoughts and feelings secretively in a manner that would remain enigmatic to Derg and the political cadres. His subject matters reflect nothing sentimental, nor do they express romantic illusion. It focused on the court and the city gossip, political irony, church teaching and politics. Occasionally, one will notice the night life of downtown Addis and the daily anecdotes as his themes. But the most powerful dominant theme throughout his oeuvre comes from the teaching of the church. Progressively, he felt that upholding the cultural values was his duty and a necessity. He was obsessed with Ethiopian art, African art, the nation’s history, the origin of man, and the Egyptian civilization. The context in his work may be personal—or of Ethiopian society—but the themes resonate far beyond. The modern world reappears with serious subjects at other times of ironical pathos and carnival humor. The public is entertained, intrigued, informed and baffled by his show that is held nationally (and occasionally internationally). During this time of artistic crises, when all the concerned groups seemed to be disorientated regarding artistic credibility (the state and case of Contemporary Ethiopian Art), it was time to prove Zerihun’s example, dedication, courage and perseverance by giving him a full-scale retrospective-- not for the sake of his reputation, but for the sake of the situation of Contemporary Ethiopian Art. In this desperate and self-doubting time of our society, Zerihun, who is proud to be in the chronicles of 20th century Ethiopian Art, is an exemplary citizen--not because he is currently famous as an artist, but because he is an extremely hard working, self-confident individual who loves his profession. Visit Zerihun Yetmgeta's website at http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~zerihun/index2.html By: Esseye Medhin, January 20, 2004