THE ART OF TURTEL ONLI

Friday, May 20, 2022

"Rhythmism Lives!"

In 1983, for the 25th Anniversary convention of the National Conference of Artis, I was selected to create an illustration for the convention's program book. I took this as both a great honor but also a fantastic opportunity to display Rhythmism. They gave me a one-day deadline, which was something in my illustration practices was very common. Future-Primitif it was. Looking both ways. Forward and backward. learning and retaining. Planting and harvesting. From one's collective primary consciousness to one's bondless untold imagination. Needless to say, there was incredible push-back from most of the participants of the "Black Art Movement" and the Cultural Nationalist types. They were intensely orthodox. They robustly insisted it was simply "Black Art"! That Rhythmism could not be since art should or could not be categorized.

Then as now, their thesis of "Black Art" was a nexus of poor to limited technique and skill. With the subject manner derived from traumatic episodes of Black and African suffering from slavery or colonialization. Plus, images of selected Black or African historical figures or personalities. They valued a lack of skill as being more authentic.

Thus, really more "Black"! That having competitive skills and technique fit for an Oba or a Pharoah was actually being caught up in a "White Art Thing". And taking on the challenges of commercial competition,,,,,well that was totally demised as "selling out"!

"Femme Chat" Circa 1977. Created for MODE Avantgarde Magazine.

That was so not Onli. He was looking at every option to display aspects of Rhythmism as a Future-Primitif genre to expand the constricting canon of the international visual art world, Fine and Commercial. This was a simple iconic moment. The NCA or National Conference of Artist was the oldest organization for the celebration and promotion of Black and African Visual Artists.

"Rhythmistic Fatherhood" circa 1974. Acrylics on canvas. 18" X 40".

Destroyed in a studio fire in 2001.

But beyond the novelty of being a Black person making art about the narratives of the Black experience, it was pretty stale to me. Onli was bringing the heat. The fiya, flow and funk plus a cascading skill set that included illustrating for some of the largest publishing & broadcasting companies of that era.

Published in the Paris Metro American English Magazine in 1978 as the "Punk" scene was exploding.

NOTE: The credits in this illustration included a statement about Onli and his first international

Rhythmistic Art solo exhibition at the FIAP.

Onli was seriously taking the artistic fight to the belly of the beasts,,,,known as systemic racism, heterophobia, classism, and agism. Onli still does!