The music painter
Spira Tlhankane | Friday October 21, 2016 16:32
Nico Phooko loves to have music playing in the background while he paints. Specific types of music such as Jazz inspire him to be expressive with his brush.
When Showbiz caught up with the experienced painter at Thapong Visual Arts Centre this week, he was busy doing his handiwork with a radio right beside him.
As soon as the interview got underway, Phooko continued to fill the canvas with paint as fast as he could. From the way he was enjoying his work, the environment he was experiencing also added more spice to his creative expression. The music seemed to help Phooko to be more precise and technical in his brush strokes.
The painter from Kwa-Thema in South Africa said he paints emotions evoked by music. “Music is my source of inspiration. I typically listen to this type of music because it is my freedom of expression and I reflect the music notes through my brush strokes,” he said.
Phooko said as an artist who performs percussions he paints to live music. He said he is still exploring this concept of painting to music. “I am tired of painting faces and landscapes, I want to grow as an artist,” he said. Phooko said he sees music through his own eyes and he had decided to paint what he sees in vivid images. He said he now focus on capturing atmosphere in events by painting right and there.
He said he decided to come to Botswana for cultural exchange last month. Before all this, Phooko said he had not come across any big artists from Botswana. “I have now listened to good music in Botswana and through my paintings I want to show Tswana music to people out there,” he said.
He cited Gong Master’s songs as some of the music he has encountered and liked. He said he now wants to research more about Botswana music in addition to painting it. “I have tapped into music from different tribes like Bakgatla, Bakwena and others,” he said. He said their music is powerful, happy, hopeful and colourful.
During the creation process, Phooko said he usually turn to slower, laid-back music like Jazz. “Jazz is incredible, it doesn’t have many words but it does inspire,” he said. He said the music talks to him without words. He said his paintings are self-explanatory and he leaves the meaning to the viewers. “Explaining kills it and I allow my work to speak for itself,” he said.
He described the art scene in Botswana as figurative and vibrant. “There are a lot of artworks of landscapes and portraits,” he said. He indicated that western countries are making money out of their culture therefore Africans should imitate that. “We have a rich culture and we just have to learn how to make money from it,” he said. He said local artists should be creative and take art as a serious business. Phooko will host his show entitled ‘Notes and Strokes’ on October 25 at Thapong where he would paint to music with a live band. “When they paint I would play, and as they play I would paint,” he said.