RP-Department of Art and Design

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    Assessing The Sustainability Content in Kenya’s Interior Design Curricula
    (Editon Consortium Publishing, 2022) Oduho, Rose Achieng; George, Vikiru; Mireri, Caleb
    This study aims at providing local pertinent facts on the level of sustainability content integration and pedagogical methods used to deliver Interior Design courses in Kenya's training. A systematic audit of undergraduate curricula was undertaken to understand the extent to which sustainability content was included in Kenya's Design education. Document analysis was employed to gather information from four of Kenya's University curricula for Interior Design. Heads of Design curricula from sampled Universities were also interviewed to corroborate the facts gathered from the respective universities. The data collected were analysed using descriptive methods of statistics. Findings suggest that sustainability content included in the curriculum is minimal (6.3%), yet students are more likely to adopt practises that promote a healthy indoor environment when integrated. Consequently, this significantly reduces problems linked to Sick Building Syndrome. In this regard, sustainability content should be increased in Kenya's interior design curriculum to ensure future designers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to promote sustainable interiors that focus on Indoor Air Quality, water efficiency, green materials and technology
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    Creation of Indoor Sculptures Using Metal and Glass Inspired by Selected Swahili Kanga Inscriptions
    (EANSO, 2024) Atieno, Onyiso Sachbear; Muoki, Matthews; Wango, Kamau
    The ‘Kanga’, a colourful printed cloth wrapper, is one of Kenya’s coastal region’s most well-known cultural items and has deep cultural, historic and economic significance. In their creation, the Kangas contain inscriptions on them that propagate sayings, proverbs, and pithy phrases in Kiswahili. The inscriptions are located on the lower border and are frequently surrounded and highlighted by various patterns or background colours. The Swahili inscriptions not only impart specific messages to the viewer but are also used to convey feelings, thoughts, and inspire. Despite sculptures being traditionally used as avenues for artistic expression based on many sources of inspiration, this study found no evidence to indicate that Swahili Kanga inscriptions have been used as inspirations in the creation of sculptures in Kenya. It is envisaged that it is possible to extract meaning from inscriptions and interpret the embedded meaning through a three-dimensional artistic genre such as sculpture from which viewers can draw meaning and visually subscribe to. In view of this gap, this study sought to develop the creation of indoor sculptures placed in public spaces that derived their creative inspiration from selected Swahili inscriptions printed on the Kanga. The sculptures were executed using a combination of metal and glass. The proverbs used in this study were already documented and published and the inherent meaning was therefore already transcribed. Creativity of the artist was applied to generate ‘visual meaning’ based on visual interpretation derived from and responsive, as much as possible, to the meaning contained in the proverb itself. However, the proverbs were purposively selected to best navigate and demonstrate the interpretation process from written to visual. Hence, this study applied an exploratory research design in exploring Swahili inscriptions on Kanga. The paper presents data on sculptural idea development and creation of indoor sculptures.
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    Creativity and Aesthetics: A Case of Women's Beaded Ornaments in the Kenyan Coast
    (2013) Orchardson-Mazrui, E.
    Available literature on traditional African Art virtually ignores women's creative and aesthetic sensibilities in artistic production. When women's traditional African art is mentioned, focus is made within the crafts, giving an impression that crafts are less significant than art forms such as sculpture; which are produced by men. This situation obscures the significance of African women's art in society. Hence, through an in depth analysis of selected women's beadwork from the Kenyan coast, this paper examines creativity, aesthetics, and symbolism in these works of art. The paper is of the opinion that women's beadwork can be placed within the realm of poetic idiophones as found in poetry where the repetition of words, sounds, and rhythm heighten a poem's aesthetic effects and invoke various images in the reader. It is our contention that women's beadwork is a valuable contribution to the stylistic and aesthetic continuum peculiar to the East African coastal strip. Further, using the headwork under discussion, the paper shows the interrelationship between Mathematics and Art and Design demonstrating that coastal women created aesthetically pleasing beadwork using elements and principles of art, and certain mathematical formulas. The paper employs functionalism and formalism theories to interrogate its concerns. The functionalist approach recognizes that the aesthetics in artefacts seek to satisfy psychological, social, economic and cultural needs of the society. Even though the functionalist theory has come under sharp criticism and waned in interest, it is useful when applied to beadwork under discussion. However, since aesthetics is often culture-bound, we need to appreciate functionality within the context of the society or community under discussion. Additionally, the paper utilizes the formalistic theory, which looks at the application of elements and principles of art to achieve a unified formal quality in an art object.
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    ‘Derivation of Subject Matter/Content from Themes among University Fine Art Students - Analysis of Selected Paintings by Students at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
    (East African Nature and Science Organization, 2023) Wango, Kamau
    In certain painting unit requirements, students are expected to interpret themes and generate appropriate subject matter that ultimately expresses or depicts how they artistically interpret given themes and generate painted pictorial compositions that showcase the same. Themes are specific compartments or clusters of the description of life in its natural existence or manifestations. Themes may feature the environment, nature, manifestations, occurrences, perceptions, and philosophies that are segmented in a way that is orderly and comprehensible to human beings. Hence themes are as broad-based as the entire body of manifestations that underscore human existence, endeavours, and behaviours. Without this demarcation and description of themes, it would be difficult to understand the myriad of ways in which human beings respond to their existence. Since themes are broad and exciting from an artistic context, they are, in essence, infinite and have to be broken down into fathomable subject matter that the artist can accommodate, justify, and explain; and the audience can, subsequently, appreciate and rationalize. Fine art students are, in this regard, introduced to the importance of themes as consolidated lenses through which the world is viewed, but more importantly, the need to develop the skill of deconstructing themes into tangible subject matter or digestible content. The ability to break down themes into specific content is of importance to student artists as they learn to construct their ideas. These ideas, whether or not they bear a certain element of spontaneity, are based on some form of focused response to a given inspiration. The issue of spontaneity and precision of thematic interpretation can often be confusing to students and artists alike but while they all must be aware of the need for a thematic approach to their work, they must be at the same time mindful of the need for expressive freedom and space. This paper seeks to determine the extent to which subject matter is used by students as a strategy for expressing themselves and, further, the extent to which the content they develop within this subject matter is successfully derived from themes as a source of inspiration. The paintings featured in this paper were developed during the course of the semester at Kenyatta University and were in specific response to the derivation of subject matter from themes. The students were, however, free to interpret themes in the way they found appropriate and were not bound to depict certain contents or contexts in their work. In keeping with the general belief that paintings are themselves not necessarily based on the dogmatism or rigidity of themes in their expressiveness, and in being careful not to stifle the ability of students to express their ideas, the students were encouraged to display a level of spontaneity in their work which is a hallmark of the beauty of the painting. This paper pre-supposes, therefore, that an effective approach to the development of good paintings is found in their spontaneity just as much as it is found in the interpretation or breakdown of themes.
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    Design Thinking as a Consumer-Centric Approach in a Segmented Market
    (Africa Design Review Journal, 2023) Owano, Elizabeth; Vikiru, George; Baya, Chai
    According to Peppers and Rogers (1993), the evolution in the art of marketing over time is glaring. Today, marketing focuses on the consumer, as they tend to buy the experience of a product more than what the product (or service) offers. This is possible as the market is not generalized but is segmented enabling consumer cohorts to think about and expect different results from a single product. It is therefore imperative that to sell, producers must understand the needs and expectations of their target consumers. This approach is called consumer-centrism. It is similar to Design Thinking, a process that demands re thinking the creative process to incorporate co-creation and end-user engagement. Some brands, however, are ignorant of this process, which eventually has a negative impact on their market success and the brand loyalty of their target consumers (Shute & Becker, 2010). The objective of this paper is therefore to demonstrate a methodological presen tation of the Visual design thinking process, a type of consumer-centric approach in a seg mented market. A case study design was used in the study, which employed qualitative research methods. The study was carried out in the Department of Fine Art, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. The subjects of the study are two segmented groups: mil lennials (born 1979-1995) and centennials (born 1996-2010). The results were presented in four phases of the Design Thinking process, which were applied to re-designing the publicity materials of the Kenya National Library Service, a State department of the Ken ya government, based on the needs of the target consumers. With a thorough application of design thinking in marketing, it is expected that the brand equity and loyalty of the redesigned publicity materials will enable the millennials and centennials to be more responsive to the institution and the services it offers.
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    Drawing With My Students’ - The Role of Surrealism in Self-Expression among University Art Students. Analysis of Selected Surrealistic Work by Fourth Year Students at Kenyatta University
    (International Journal of Advanced Research, 2021-02) Dr. Wango, Kamau
    Surrealistic art is one of the most engaging and intriguing art genres. Surrealism itself is considered to have been the most influential art movement of the 20th century. Started in the 1920s as a literary movement that eventually took on a visual dimension, its foundational principles have continued to influence the thought process and style of many modern artists in the realm of self-expression. In their studies of many disciplines in the art including genres of painting, drawing and sculpture, students of art at the University usually find the concept of surrealism initially difficult to decipher mainly because of the uniqueness of its own description. The dream-like imageries of surrealism are derived from dreams and the unconscious mind; hence, the students have to contend with the derivation of subject matter from an unusual source. This is challenging for most of them since they are used to formulating subject matter from a purely academic perspective and from themes that they ordinarily relate to in their environment or can easily reference. Although students embark on drawing from their first year of study, they are introduced to surrealistic drawing as a unit in their final year. With their drawing background, it is presumed that by their final year, they have attained adequate levels of drawing skills for application in any artistic challenge. This study examines, through analysis of selected works, firstly, the extent to which students are able to internalise the concept of surrealism and apply it in the construction of the artistic composition, and secondly whether their drawings demonstrate an individual capacity for self-expression and the derivation of meaning, through dream-like imageries drawn from the unconscious mind. The students were exposed to preliminary studies and examination of surrealistic work, discussions of subject matter, origination, style and technique in the course of their unit programme. For the purpose of uniformity of medium, they were instructed to work only in pencil. They were subsequently accorded adequate time and space to embark on their work with class presentations and discussions at prescribed intervals. The resultant drawings were many and varied and the ones selected are those that displayed good artistic execution and/or displayed a certain profoundness of meaning or interpretation.
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    ‘Drawing with my Students’ – Development of Clothed Life Drawings among University Fine Art Students. Analysis of Selected Drawings by Second Year Students at Kenyatta University
    (East African Nature & Science Organisation, 2021) Kamau, Wango
    Students of Fine Art are introduced to drawing in their first year and human figure drawing in their second year. It is presumed that they have already had some element of earlier exposure in other levels of prior studies. The objective of human figure drawing or life drawing is to get the students to a level of applied skill where they can be able to draw and utilize their skill in other aspects of self-expression in other disciplines of Art. This is because life drawing is a fundamental requirement in all disciplines of art from basic sketching to detailed paintings. This paper examines selected work of students to determine the extent to which they are able to achieve this objective within the unit prescribed duration of one semester. The paper also seeks to determine whether the work produced meets the standard of drawing required at this level which then enables the students to subsequently embark on other units of drawing moving forward. This is critical since they are required to apply their life drawing skills in other units as a matter of routine individual expression. In this regard, if they are required to draw or paint an imaginative composition, they would be expected to depict human figures which not only fit within the composition and are well executed but also express the students’ ability to interpret themes and formulate subject matter. For the purpose of these exercises and in order to focus solely on the objectives of human figure composition and detailed development, the students were confined to the use of pencil for the layout, shading and detailing of their work. This is because pencil provides a wide range of manoeuvre for this kind of exercise. In this series of drawings, the students used one particular female model which provided them with the opportunity to visually interact with the individual model and be able to study and observe how the life model adjusts to various poses. This was designed to help draw inspiration as well as make the drawing exercises methodical, enjoyable and purposeful
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    The Dynamics of Art and Craft Curriculum in Enhancing Child Growth and Development
    (East African Nature & Science Organization, 2020) Ogutu, Wanyama
    As the government of Kenya is geared towards achieving sustainable development goals and Kenya Big 4 Agenda, the Ministry of Education rolled out the new education system 2-6-3-3-3 dubbed “Competence Base Curriculum” whose mission is to nurture every learner’s potential. It received overwhelming appraisal from different stakeholders;- locally and internationally eliciting debates in the local media, radio and television talk shows. Prior to this bold step in the curriculum, the government of Kenya set up various taskforces to review the 8.4.4 curricula in 1992, 1995, 2002, 2009 and 2011, reviewed by the late Professor Douglas Odhiambo which asserted the atrocities of children not developing to their full potential and its negative effect in threatening the realization of Kenya Vision 2030. The paper has established diverse ways in which the curriculum in art and craft is enhancing the growth and development of a child’s emotional, physical, cognitive, and creativity. It has hypothetical employ qualitative analysis to examine art and craft in terms of the art stages of growth and development of a child. Further, the paper has briefly observed that naturalistic child growth and development of Leonardo Da Vinci - (A high renaissance artist of 14th century)- and the researcher’s teaching experience, as the case study and scope. It has concluded that any curriculum design ought to consider art and craft because it has an inherent psychological and development power that develops a child into full potential.
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    The Dynamics of Art and Craft Curriculum in Enhancing Child Growth and Development
    (East African Journal of Education Studies,, 2020-08) Ogutu, Wanyama
    As the government of Kenya is geared towards achieving sustainable development goals and Kenya Big 4 Agenda, the Ministry of Education rolled out the new education system 2-6-3-3-3 dubbed “Competence Base Curriculum” whose mission is to nurture every learner’s potential. It received overwhelming appraisal from different stakeholders;- locally and internationally eliciting debates in the local media, radio and television talk shows. Prior to this bold step in the curriculum, the government of Kenya set up various taskforces to review the 8.4.4 curricula in 1992, 1995, 2002, 2009 and 2011, reviewed by the late Professor Douglas Odhiambo which asserted the atrocities of children not developing to their full potential and its negative effect in threatening the realization of Kenya Vision 2030. The paper has established diverse ways in which the curriculum in art and craft is enhancing the growth and development of a child’s emotional, physical, cognitive, and creativity. It has hypothetical employ qualitative analysis to examine art and craft in terms of the art stages of growth and development of a child. Further, the paper has briefly observed that naturalistic child growth and development of Leonardo Da Vinci - (A high renaissance artist of 14th century)- and the researcher’s teaching experience, as the case study and scope. It has concluded that any curriculum design ought to consider art and craft because it has an inherent psychological and development power that develops a child into full potential.
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    Effect of Viewing Emotionally Laden Paintings on Attitudes of Male Sex Offenders
    (International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 2021-02) Oguda, Benta G. Adhiambo; Vikiru, George; Wasanga, Christine
    Creative arts are overly caricatured as non-essentially flossy and unmerited luxury particularly when executed in a jail setting. However, research suggests that art-based prison programs can significantly bear upon the lives of offenders. In this paper the authors make reference to this connotation in order to investigate the potential for an art-based prison program involving repeated viewing of emotionally laden paintings to influence attitudes towards crime among male sex offenders. Towards this goal the authors used a one group pretest-posttest quasi experimental design to assess the participants’ general attitudes to offending (G scale), anticipation of re-offending (A scale), victim hurt denial(V scale) and evaluation of crime as worthwhile(E scale). Rape and defilement convicts aged 18-45 years from Nairobi West Prison participated in sessions that were facilitated three times a week during the 5 week program. A paired T- Test showed statistically significant improvements between post-test1 and pre-test (t=-3.117, p-value=0.003) and between post-test2 and pre-test (t=-2.161, p-value=0.035). Positive results were found for three attitude measures; G scale, A-scale and E-scale. The findings suggest that participation in art prison programs involving repeated viewing of emotive artwork can be an effective intervention resulting in attitude change among male sex offenders.
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    Efficacies of 2-D Animation in Health and Security Communication
    (Chemchemi International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2015) Vikiru, George
    Health is categorized as a security issue as its lack causes individuals to fall ill, be disabled or die. Being deficient of health can therefore disrupt entire populations, economies, and governments. The Copenhagen School proposed the Securitization Theory that could be applied in the identification and response to given health threats. Part of the theory’s strategy is the use of effective communication in mobilizing groups that would combat identified health threats. Other studies have reported the use of 2-D Animation, a type of ICT-based solution, as gaining currency in situations where it is important to get the message through to communities and have it correctly internalized. This paper puts a case for the utilization of 2-D Animation for effective communication in society for health and security. It reports a study that sought to establish whether 2-D Animation was effective in communicating good hygiene practice messages to children in Githurai Location, Kiambu County, Kenya. The study first identified how good hygiene practice messages were being communicated in the area. An experimental target group was then treated with a 2-D animation developed for study before psychometrics were applied to determine its efficacy in effectively communicating the messages. Data obtained was analyzed using independent t-tests and a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings showed a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group that had not been treated with the animation (t (292) =5.031, p ˂ 0.001). The findings further indicated a significant difference in all the thinking skills of the Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives of the Cognitive Domain except evaluation. The results therefore put a case for 2-D Animation’s consideration as an ICT mitigator for effective communication in society for health and security.
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    Exploration of Human Figure Drawings Using Charcoal Pencil - Analysis of Post-Graduate Drawings by Zephania Lukamba
    (East African Nature and Science Organization, 2021) Wango, Kamau
    Human figure drawing is undertaken and ultimately used for a number of purposes. Artists use it to continually sharpen their skills in order to apply it in the execution of their work in artistic disciplines that pertain to self-expression. Students and other groups as well as individuals embark on human figure drawing in order to acquire and horn their skills for purposes of artistic development that is then applied ultimately to their respective artistic endeavours. However, the drawing and acquisition of skills is a process and people render their human figure drawings to different levels of success and finesse at any given stage. In this process, one draws human figures using certain prescribed guidelines. It is expected that as one works within this process, particularly in a formal learning environment like studio-based work, following these guidelines become essential and helpful in attaining a proportional and accurate human figure drawing. In analysing the featured work executed on toned paper, this paper seeks to determine the extent to which the artist applies the basic tenets of human figure drawing and whether the drawings themselves attain this threshold. The analytical framework includes the depiction of correct proportions, the study of gestures, the suggestion of movement and application of value. Within the development of personal style, the artist specifically explores the effect of charcoal pencil on toned paper as his medium of choice. His methodology includes the application of a variety of tones and the use of focused illumination upon pertinent areas in the drawings to create deliberate effects that highlight the drawings, enhance gestures, suggest movement and add dynamism to the drawings. The drawings include photograph referenced male and female figures as well as separate studies of hands and fee
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    Folklinguistic Perceptions and Attitudes towards Kenyan Varieties of Swahili
    (Quality Content of Saxony [Qucosa], 2017) Githinji, Peter; Njoroge, Martin
    This paper examines the perceptions of Kenyans towards the way other Kenyans speak Swahili from a Folklinguistic perspective. The study involved two main tasks. In the first task, informants were provided with blank maps of the country and asked to identify areas where they thought there was a distinct way of speaking Swahili. In the second task, they were provided with the same map showing Kenyan’s eight provinces and asked to rank them in terms of correctness, attractiveness and closeness to the way they speak Swahili. The results show little or no difference between the rankings of correctness versus pleasantness of Swahili varieties. The study also shows that Kenyans do not identify with the normative variety modeled on the standardized or Kenyan coastal Swahili which is used in the schools or mass media. Similar to other studies in perceptual dialectology, the informants’ judgments were influenced by their background knowledge and stereotypes about different regions that have little or no relationship with linguistics factors per se. Unlike other studies in perceptual dialectology however, languages that are not the object of study have a strong influence on respondents’ perceptions. Beside the ethnic stereotypes that characterize Kenya’s multilingual discourse, Kenyans’ attitudes towards varieties of Swahili seem to be filtered through the lens of a competitive hegemonic language that has enjoyed historical advantage. As a result, the promotion of an idealized variety of Swahili in light of the dominance of English and the continued use of local languages is not likely to increase its acceptability as a national and official language.
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    ‘Foundations of Landscape Painting’ – Colour Application, Textural Effects and Development of Holistic Composition. Analysis of Selected Landscape Paintings by Second Year Students at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
    (East African Nature and Science Organization, 2022-07) Wango, Kamau
    Landscape painting is a popular undertaking among students, particularly those taking formative painting units, some of whom have never used prescribed media such as watercolours, oils or acrylics; and others who have not been exposed to painting at the university level. In one of the second-year painting units where students study colour and its application, they are required to paint landscapes in watercolours and either acrylics or oils. Landscape painting gives them the opportunity to study and apply colour on paper or canvas since landscapes and other outdoor painting studies provide them with a very useful reference resource in terms of colour, colour tones, the transient effect of light and shadows as well as the natural environment that presents colours in their true natural setting. Landscape painting is perhaps one of the most profound opportunities for students to get acquainted with natural colours and their interrelationships before venturing into any other genre of painting where they actively apply colours and their properties for other purposes of expression. Apart from interaction with colour, landscape painting offers the students an added opportunity to delve into other aspects of pictorial composition. Landscapes as a reference resource provide a natural setting that showcases clear placement of many aspects of a pictorial composition that the students can relate with. These include the formal elements such as colour itself, line, shape, texture, value as well as masses and spaces. They are also able to apply the principles of art and design such as balance, harmony, centre of interest, perspective and rhythm. In this study, second year painting students studying colour were exposed to landscape painting for the first time as they studied colour and its application. The basic projection was that they were not expected to produce outstanding work. They were, however, taken through the basic tenets of landscape painting including pictorial composition, application of elements and principles of art as well as the essence of observation. They were expected to work outdoors but were also allowed to use referent photographs in circumstances where they found them useful. They also worked independently and were allowed to select their medium from either watercolours, acrylics or oils. This paper examines how students responded to their task and how they approached the skill of observation, interpreted the application of colour and its qualities and dealt with pictorial composition. This is important because as it turned out, the students were very sensitive to how their landscapes ‘appeared’ and their ability to showcase what they observed. Ultimately, they were eager to determine whether their paintings were appealing to their classmates and by extension, to the viewers. Even though they were painting landscapes for the first time and some were handling some media for the first time, before embarking on their work, their attention was drawn from the onset to the use of textural effects, colour tones, perspective and details of the foreground, the fading background, nature of the sky and the effect of the transient light and shadows. They were encouraged to work outdoors as much as possible and finalize their work in their rooms. Beyond this, the students were given their space to work, with only the necessary comments that aimed at helping them retain their focus on certain pertinent points. This paper selects and features sample landscape paintings that underscore how a cross section of the students dealt with the formulation of landscape painting and the extent to which they were successful.
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    ‘Foundations of Still-Life Painting’ – Colour Application, Textural Effects and Development of Holistic Composition. Analysis of Selected Still-Life Paintings by Second Year Students at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
    (East African Nature and Science Organization, 2023) Wango, Kamau
    Still-life painting as a formative painting unit is important in enabling students to interact with elements of art in the arrangement of specific static objects that form a precise composition. This arrangement of objects in composition is essential in helping students to comprehend the concept of composition in creative work. Since they are dealing with arranged, static objects as opposed to flowing figures and other fluid or gestural forms that suggest movement as would be the case in regular painted pictorial compositions, a still-life composition provides an opportunity to apply the principles of art in a concise way. This in turn underscores the compositional essence of each element as it relates to any principle, the interrelation of which formulates the composition itself. It is envisaged that the execution of a good still-live composition shall assist students to apply the same compositional tenets in regular paintings. For instance, students are henceforth aware of the application of comparative proportions, the use of textural effects, illumination, shadows, balance, and placement of objects on the picture plane, as well as colour contrasts, harmony, and tones. This paper examines how students engage with still-life painting, arrangement of objects and the wider notion of composition. Since this unit provides the first opportunity for this engagement, the paper specifically seeks to determine the extent to which students internalize and subsequently apply, through visual depiction, the interrelationships between objects, their proportions, the use of perspective to create depth, textural effects, application of colours and colour tones, shadows, the effect of light and its sources, drapery, compositional base as well as the usefulness of backgrounds. In order to attract their interest, sustain their attention and enhance their creativity, the students were allowed to choose, assemble, and arrange their own objects in creating their still-life compositions. Unlike the traditional approach where students draw or paint a similar set of objects arranged before them, this alternative approach of painting objects of their choice eliminated the possibility of unnecessary comparison of work at this stage and instead provided the students with the opportunity to paint objects that actually fascinated them and spurred their imagination. Students’ attention was drawn to the visual difference between a regular, painted pictorial composition and a still-life composition. A regular pictorial composition comprises of undulating features that show movement or is expressive of a phenomenon be it the study of nature and the environment or an aspect of personal expression or social commentary. A still-life composition is static and shows only interrelationships between objects. Students were free to use watercolours, oils or acrylics and their respective materials and tools. The researcher then selected paintings that best demonstrated this internalization and suggested indicators of artistic skill at this formative level.
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    Generation and Interpretation of Sculptural Ideas in Large Scale Stone Sculptures Placed in Outdoor Public Spaces: An Analysis of the Stone Sculptures of Gerald Motondi Oroo.
    (East African Nature & Science Organization, 2021) Wango, Kamau
    This paper presupposes that there is no artwork, in this case, large-scale outdoor sculptural work, that is undertaken without a defined ‘intent’; the extent and description of which depends on the individual artist and the visual impact of the work. In examining artwork, such intent is often relegated to the sidelines and yet it should constitute the first line of information as to why the work was created in the first place and can form a good basis for the eventual interrogation and interpretation of the work itself by the audience. This paper seeks to delve into the intent of the artist in order to determine the genesis of his motivation and the source of his inspiration and subsequently, also to determine the extent to which the work itself is effective in propagating this intent. Although there is a reference to the expression and expressiveness of artwork as an avenue of understanding how artwork is generally viewed and visually examined, the core purpose of the study gravitates around the intent of this particular artist, his motivation and inspiration. However, in this regard, questions still abound on whether the artist’s individual intent is ‘all encompassing’ or whether there are, indeed, other factors that spur multiple interpretations from the audience that point to new meanings and, therefore, make the work more interactive and engaging. The work featured in this paper makes these arguments even more significant because firstly, they are executed by the same individual and secondly, the pieces were conceived and executed on-site in different countries raising the prospect of intense contextual and cultural implications. The intriguing question that lingers is whether the artist’s personal creative intent is relevant or he is entangled by communal thematic expectations to which he must conform since the work is in the people’s space. This immediately raises questions about the role of ‘outsider’ artist in some instances, in the generation of subject matter and the role of outdoor sculpture placed in public spaces which are expected, in essence, to be in contextual resonance with the local community. The sculptures are large stone sculptures placed in outdoor spaces and done in various media such as marble, granite and soapstone. The work is located in different sites in various countries.
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    How Students Think: Efficacy of Surrealism as an Avenue for the Generation and Expression of Thought among Fine Art Students at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
    (EANSO, 2024-12) Wango, Kamau
    Surrealism is one of the most fascinating expressive genres of Art and seems to engage students in a very profound manner in the way they perceive themselves, the essence of their individuality, their inherent ideas, emotions and thought processes. In retrospect, it can be viewed from the perspective that it provides a unique opportunity for individual students to express points of view from imageries that emanate from the state of their minds. At the University level, surrealism particularly in drawing, has emerged as a potent visual consolidation of the ability of students to galvanize thoughtfulness that applies to their personal psyche and general outlook towards occurrences and upheavals in their lives. This study sought to examine how students think through surrealist inspirations as a basis of their imaginative work and the extent to which they were able to internalize and embed the basic tenets of surrealism such as distortion of forms, bizarreness of composition or grotesqueness in artistic compositions of their own. The study also sought to determine if indeed these new surrealist compositions carried any social message that was derived from the drawings themselves in order to underscore possible contextual meaning. The final year cohort of students involved in this study had not done any surrealist work before and were introduced to the concept of surrealism and its potential for individual expression through the discussion of selected previous works of past students at the same level. This was deemed useful as they were able to initially internalize the nature of compositions and the possible derivation of surrealist images such as those that manifest in the subconscious mind and other dreamlike dispensations. The students subsequently produced a significant body of work from which pieces were selected for this study using the criteria of visual impact such as profoundness of the surrealism, level of execution using pencil and social message. The analysis of the work was done using the analytical framework provided. The students were engaged in weekly class presentations of their individual work that provided the opportunity for critiquing.
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    How Students Think: Efficacy of Surrealism as an Avenue for the Generation and Expression of Thought among Fine Art Students at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
    (EAJASS, 2024-12) Kamau Wango
    Surrealism is one of the most fascinating expressive genres of Art and seems to engage students in a very profound manner in the way they perceive themselves, the essence of their individuality, their inherent ideas, emotions and thought processes. In retrospect, it can be viewed from the perspective that it provides a unique opportunity for individual students to express points of view from imageries that emanate from the state of their minds. At the University level, surrealism particularly in drawing, has emerged as a potent visual consolidation of the ability of students to galvanize thoughtfulness that applies to their personal psyche and general outlook towards occurrences and upheavals in their lives. This study sought to examine how students think through surrealist inspirations as a basis of their imaginative work and the extent to which they were able to internalize and embed the basic tenets of surrealism such as distortion of forms, bizarreness of composition or grotesqueness in artistic compositions of their own. The study also sought to determine if indeed these new surrealist compositions carried any social message that was derived from the drawings themselves in order to underscore possible contextual meaning. The final year cohort of students involved in this study had not done any surrealist work before and were introduced to the concept of surrealism and its potential for individual expression through the discussion of selected previous works of past students at the same level. This was deemed useful as they were able to initially internalize the nature of compositions and the possible derivation of surrealist images such as those that manifest in the subconscious mind and other dreamlike dispensations. The students subsequently produced a significant body of work from which pieces were selected for this study using the criteria of visual impact such as profoundness of the surrealism, level of execution using pencil and social message. The analysis of the work was done using the analytical framework provided. The students were engaged in weekly class presentations of their individual work that provided the opportunity for critiquing
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    The Influence of Presentation Format on Responses of Male Sex Offenders to Digital Paintings that illustrate the Consequences Sexual Crimes
    (Macrothink Institute, 2021-03-20) Oguda, Benta G. Adhiambo; Vikiru, George; Wasanga, Christine
    Although art viewing experiences occur in varied contexts, responses of audience may be profoundly affected by the presentation format. In this paper, focus is drawn upon participation in a digital paintings exhibition and visual representation in assessing the responses of male sex offenders to digital paintings that illustrate the consequences of sexual crimes. The relationship between arts and technology is an emerging area of interest in modern research. In addition to the traditional gallery displays, digital technologies have provided new ways of audience participation in arts, enabling more involvement in the way art is consumed. The authors sought to determine the effect of viewing screen projected images in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation and in a gallery display. The study applied brief repeated exposures as described in Mere Exposure research. The study utilized temporary exhibition displays and projection by Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) where the respondents were passive participants, simply viewing the artwork. The participants were drawn from male sexual offenders aged 18-45 years at Nairobi West Prison, a male offenders’ facility in Nairobi City County. Stratified random sampling was used to select 61 male offenders convicted for defilement and rape. Respondents were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions involving viewing in projection by RSVP and gallery display. A five-point Likert scale was used to measure the participants’ responses to digital paintings illustrating consequences of sexual crimes. A Multivariate Analysis was used to assess ratings of the digital paintings against the various components of art. Findings show that painting style, colour schemes, themes and exposure frequency significantly influenced the participants’ responses to the digital paintings. The study recommends use of comparative analysis to determine how exposure to digital paintings impacts differently on other types of audiences.
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