The Beginnings Of An African Art Style
Working as a nighttime cleaner Edward Saidi Tingatinga struggled to support his family. In desperation for more income and inspired by the sight of tourists buying small, sugary paintings on the streets of Dar es Salaam, he converted his kitchen courtyard into a workshop and began to paint. He used what was at hand – high gloss bicycle paints and inexpensive ceiling boards, on which he painted simple renditions of the animals of his childhood. A stray bullet killed Tingatinga in 1972. He had painted for only four years when he died,...more
