In this week’s class we have discussed the existence of postcolonialism art and its significance in the world of art as it pertains to society. We read several pieces on this subject but there is one piece that definitely portrays the notion of postcolonialism best. Olu Oguibe’s “The Culture Game” is a fascinating literary discussion on Occidental manipulation of art, specifically African art. Oguibe uses an interview between an occidental critic from America named Thomas McEvilley and an Ivorian painter named Ouattara to exemplify his objective on what postcolonialism does. Although seemingly innocuous, McEvilley inquistions Ouattara in such a manner to truly suppress his (Ouattara) ability to “speak for himself.” There in lies the oppression of the western culture. McEvilley asks him questions setup so that the answer is a representation of the constructed stigma and image occidental culture has on the “others” or those labeled savage and beneath those not a part of western civilization. What Oguibe expatiates so well is the method by which those from more “civilized” cultures subvert and diminish those in the orient so as to perpetuate their status as inferior. The method is the primary focal point because in order to counter this effort by occidental culture so those outside can free themselves from such oppression one must understand how those oppressing are doing so. In this I find Oguibe’s words most significant. Oguibe stresses in high quantity that when an artist rites, paints, or sculpts his is “enunciating.” This ability to make a statement that expresses who you are and what you individually represent is the fundamental basis for artistic creation. But as the interview in Oguibe’s piece demonstrates, the artist, Ouattara is forced to answer questions such as: where are you from? What tribe are you a part of? With these questions the one enacts his power over another and forces them to implicitly deviate from their individuality and reiterate what western culuture depicts modern African art as. Possibly Oguibe’s most notable point is that without the ability to enounce or speak, an individual has no way to become personalized and is consequently “defaced” in which the anonymity resulting from this makes the modern African artist just another blank face depicting what the one already knows about the other. This process that Oguibe describes so brilliantly is why postcolonialism has been able to hold modern African art in the same inferior location for so long.