Frédéric Bruly Bouabré
Encyclopedia
Frédéric Bruly Bouabré, also known as Cheik Nadro (b. c. 1923), is an Ivorian
artist.
Bouabré was born in Zéprégüé, and was among the first Ivorians to be educated by the French
colonial government. On March 11, 1948, he received a vision, which directly influenced much of his later work. Bouabré created many of his hundreds of small drawings while working as a clerk in various government offices. These drawings depict many different subjects, mostly drawn from local folklore
; some also describe his own visions. All the drawings are part of a larger cycle, titled World Knowledge. Bouabré also created a 448-letter, universal alphabet
, which he used to transcribe the oral tradition
of his people, the Bété
s.
Today, Bouabré lives in Abidjan
; many of his drawings are in the collection of Jean Pigozzi
. One of his emblematic drawings is saved in the L'appartement 22
Commection on the African continent: "Une divine peinture relevée sur le corps d'une mandarine jaunie", made by Bouabré in 1994 in Abidjan
.
review in The Daily Telegraph 04/09/2007
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
artist.
Bouabré was born in Zéprégüé, and was among the first Ivorians to be educated by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colonial government. On March 11, 1948, he received a vision, which directly influenced much of his later work. Bouabré created many of his hundreds of small drawings while working as a clerk in various government offices. These drawings depict many different subjects, mostly drawn from local folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
; some also describe his own visions. All the drawings are part of a larger cycle, titled World Knowledge. Bouabré also created a 448-letter, universal alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
, which he used to transcribe the oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
of his people, the Bété
Bété
Bété may refer to:*Bété people of Côte d'Ivoire*Bété language or languages spoken by them*Bété alphabet*Bété , a small citrus fruit grown in southern Nigeria. Closely related to the lime....
s.
Today, Bouabré lives in Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
; many of his drawings are in the collection of Jean Pigozzi
Jean Pigozzi
Jean Pigozzi is a businessman, art collector, philanthropist and photographer. He was born in Paris as the son of Henri Pigozzi, founder of the French car maker Simca. Pigozzi studied in Paris and at Harvard University before working for the Gaumont Film Company and 20th Century Fox...
. One of his emblematic drawings is saved in the L'appartement 22
L'appartement 22
L'appartement 22 is an independent, collaborative project founded by Abdellah Karroum and based in Rabat, Morocco.The first such space in Morocco, it has since inspired a number of artist-run spaces and collectives. From its first exhibition in October 2002, L'appartement 22 has consistently...
Commection on the African continent: "Une divine peinture relevée sur le corps d'une mandarine jaunie", made by Bouabré in 1994 in Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
.
Exhibitions
- 2004-07 "Africa Remix", the touring show has started on 24 July 2004 at the Museum Kunst Palast in Düsseldorf (Germany), and travelled to the Hayward Gallery in London, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
- 2002 Documenta 11, Kassel, Germany
- 2001-02 "The Short Century" ,was an exhibition held in Munich, Berlin, Chicago and New York and organised by a team headed by Nigerian curator Okwui Enwezor
- 1996 “Neue Kunst aus Africa”, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germania
- 1995 Galerie des Cinq Continents, Musée des arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, Paris, France
- 1995 "Dialogues de Paix ”, Palais des Nations, Geneve, Switzerland
- 1994 “Rencontres Africaines”, the touring exhibition has shown in Insitut du Monde Arabe in Paris, Cidade do Cabo in Sud Africa, Museum Africa in Johannesburg and in Lisbon(Portugal).
- 1994 “World Envisionned”, together with Alighiero Boetti, the exhibition has shown in DIA Center for the Arts in New York and American Center in Paris.
- 1993 “Trésor de Voyage”, Biennale di Venezia in Venice (Italy)
- 1993 “Azur”, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Jouy-en-Josas (France)
- 1993 “La Grande Vérité: les Astres Africains”, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes (France)
- 1993 “Grafolies”, Biennale d’Abidjan in Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
- 1992 “A Visage Découvert”, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Jouy-en-Josas (France)
- 1992 “Oh Cet Echo!”, Centre Culturel Suisse in Paris
- 1992 “Out of Africa”, Saatchi Collection in London
- 1992 “L’Art dans la Cuisine”, St. Gallen in Sweden
- 1992 “Resistances”, Watari-Um for Contemporary Art, in Tokyo
- 1991 “Africa Hoy/Africa Now”, the touring exhibition has shown in Centro de Arte Moderno in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), Gröninger Museum in Groningen (Netherlands), Centro de arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City
- 1989 “Magiciens de la Terre”, Centre George Pompidou and Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris
- 1989 “Waaah! Far African Art”, Courtrai in Belgium
- 1986 “L’Afrique e la Lettre”, Centre Culturel Français, Lagos in Nigeria
See also
- Bété alphabet
- Bété languagesBété languagesThe Bété languages are spoken in central-western Ivory Coast. There are many dialects but they can be grouped as follows*Western**Bété of Gagnoa**Kouya*Eastern**Bété of Guiberoua**Bété of Daloa**GodiéThey belong to the Kru language family....
- Contemporary African ArtContemporary African ArtContemporary African art is an expression commonly used to defined the sum of styles and national productions of the African continent, the production of African artists, the production of Africa analyzed as a hole, the artistic, cultural and institutional dynamics of the African continent, the...
- Culture of Côte d'IvoireCulture of Côte d'IvoireThe culture of Côte d'Ivoire is ethnically diverse. More than sixty indigenous ethnic groups are often cited, although this number may be reduced to seven clusters of ethnic groups by classifying small units together on the basis of common cultural and historical characteristics...
Galleries
- Kyo Noir - Contemporary African Art Investment
- African Contemporary | Contemporary African Art Gallery
- Frédéric Bruly Bouabré: A childlike world of goodness and colour -
review in The Daily Telegraph 04/09/2007