Nostalgia as a Source for Creative Emanation of Subject Matter in Painting: Analysis of Paintings of Students of Fine Art at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

When artists create artwork, they always have an intent, whatever the description it may bear. At times, this intent is used to express a point of view as social commentary, or to express personal emotions, upheavals, triumphs, or other experiential oscillations such as joy or sadness. A significant segment of this intent is based on the concept of nostalgia, where artists tend to recall certain important occurrences that significantly impact their lives and psyche and subsequently could be of visual essence to audiences. The intent of an artist is in itself motivated or informed by various factors, depending on the type of art. The intent to show natural beauty in a landscape painting, for instance, may be motivated by outdoor observation of unique scenery; the intent to highlight a certain social phenomenon as social commentary may be motivated by the profoundness of its occurrence in a given setting. The intent to show certain perils may be triggered by experiential occurrences that culminate in specific inherent emotions. From a preliminary enquiry, this paper determined that one such factor that motivates an artist’s intent in painting is the concept of nostalgia. The study sought to examine varied paintings of students of Fine Art to determine whether nostalgia features as a major motivating factor in their expressive work and whether or not it is indeed possible to identify the visual permeation of nostalgia in the paintings. The study featured 28 paintings selected from several painting units where students were expected to produce work based on their own generated subject matter and preferred personal style. Ideally projected to produce certain outcomes, but students were free to create paintings that featured a variety of themes. The selected paintings were mainly realist in execution, and it was deduced that students felt more at ease expressing their innate nostalgic feelings using this style since it resonated better with the audience. The paintings were analysed through formal analysis through the use of elements and application of principles of art, which addressed the visual elements of the paintings themselves as works of art, but particular attention was also paid to the visual indicators of the manifestations of nostalgia. The elements included the use of line, shape, colour, texture, light and shade as well as mass and space. The principles included the use of balance, proportion, harmony and rhythm. Descriptive analysis of the paintings in terms of their content and contextual setting was useful in helping to determine the intent of the artist, his or her motivation and the efficacy of the paintings as works of art to elicit some emotive reaction related to nostalgic recollection of an event or an occurrence in time or place as a result of direct visual resonance with the audience. It can be deduced from this study that paintings bear a significant manifestation of nostalgia both in their contextual setting as well as in their content and style of execution. The study posits that artists often deliberately feature a considered aspect of nostalgia as part of their intent, which is a result of an array of images.