Contemporary women artists in Ethiopia.(Exhibition Preview)(Critical essay)

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This research note explores the lives and work of six contemporary women artists in Ethiopia, both those who paint within the artistic traditions of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and those who were educated in an academic, fine art tradition and whose work sells in art galleries in Addis Ababa and abroad. What these women share is the strength necessary to become artists and the challenges imposed by a competitive, male-dominated market. Their success in this market is affected by their educational and social backgrounds, both of which impact their ability to work and their access to materials and customers. In this note, I briefly examine the historical roles of women as patrons and as subjects of Ethiopian art before addressing the roles of cultural and traditional institutions in shaping the Ethiopian art market. I also examine the strategies female artists employ to make art that fulfills their creative vision while also providing a means of subsistence. Finally, I explore how they balance their aesthetic and economic concerns.

WOMEN AS PATRONS, SUBJECTS, AND ARTISTS

Since the introduction of Christianity in the fourth century AD, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) has been the center of art production in which painting has been the dominant genre. For centuries, the ecclesiastic and secular nobility were patrons of the arts and monasteries and many monasteries also functioned as art workshops. Patrons directly influenced the work of commissioned artists and could refuse to purchase art that did not meet their expectations (Heldman 1994:90). Several studies of EOC artistic traditions have noted the strong relationship between the production of art and the exercise of social or political power. By donating paintings to, or commissioning works for, a church, patrons could acquire the religious support of the churches and monasteries they favored (Biasio 1994:552). In turn, nobles used their good-will gestures to generate respect and loyalty among their followers and even to lay claim to the throne. Particularly during periods when the monarchy was weak, nobles who fought for power used art as a means to achieve their ultimate goal of ascension, as well as to further enhance their prestige and power, particularly by building and/ or decorating numerous churches. The church effectively used this competition among patrons to its own advantage, rendering donations to important churches and monasteries essential for any claimant to the throne (Ababaw 2002:101-102).

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It is important to note that Highland, Christian upper-class women were actively involved as patrons in the construction and decoration of churches. To my knowledge, the earliest woman patron was Princess Zir Ganela, who presented an illuminated Four Gospels to her community in 1400/01 (Heldman 1972:85). In the fifteenth century, Queen Elleni, wife of Emperor Zara Ya'cob (r. 1434-68), commissioned the construction of several churches, including Mertule Maryam in Gojam (Henze 2004:2). Among the Gondarian royalty of the early seventeenth century, Queen Walda Sala was responsible for the construction of Qoma Fasiladas, a church richly decorated with wall paintings. Empress Mentewab, wife of Emperor Bekaffa (r. 1721-30), is credited with building many churches and commissioning numerous wall paintings and illuminated manuscripts in Gondar and Gojam (Chojnacki 1999:21). In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, female royal patrons such as Empress Taytu, the wife of Emperor Menelik, and Empress Zewditu, (1) his daughter, followed in the steps of their predecessors, supporting church construction and decoration throughout the country.

While relatively few Highland Christian Ethiopian women have historically been active patrons of the arts, evidence of representations of women in paintings, wall murals, and icons is much more common. In traditional Ethiopian art, we find St. Mary playing the role of mother, Birutawite as a victim waiting to be saved by St. George, the Queen of Sheba as a royal woman used to legitimize the Solomonic dynasty (1270-1974), and ordinary women as housewives and helpmates of men. We also find the representation of other female saints and noble patrons. The Virgin Mary began to occupy a significant place in Ethiopian art at the time of Emperor Zara Yacob (r. 1434-68). (2) Stanislaw Chojnacki's study of donor portraiture reveals that portraits of women can be found in church paintings (ibid., pp. 52-53). For example, female donors are usually depicted prostrating at the bottom of the painting they donated. In this way, they were able to occupy an equal position to their male compatriots, with their class playing a greater role than their gender (ibid.). Representation of women in secular themes, however, often illustrates the unequal status of women within society.