Friday, December 11, 2015

Onobrakpeya exhibits at Temple Muse


Temple Muse 

is delighted to present works by

Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya

spanning 40 years! of artistic experimentation!
Come and see his new Aba Na Nya series, amazing line drawings, and feast your eyes on 
beautiful metal foils exploring our rich ancestry through modern interpretations.

Join us for mulled wine and gourmet bites on
Saturday, December 12th from 2-5pm 
as we enjoy the festive season in the company of our Master Artist!

RSVP essential at info@temple-muse.com


Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya, celebrated as one of Nigeria’s greatest experimental artists, is presenting a magnificent body of work for the Temple Muse Christmas Art Salon including metal foils, prints, plastocasts, as well as his new Aba Na Nya series on canvas.

Onobrakpeya has received many local and international awards including receiving an Honorable Mention at the Venice Biennale, and a Living Human Treasure Award in 2006 from UNESCO. He is one of Nigeria’s famous pioneer Zaria Rebels, an art movement he started together with Prof. Uche Okeke, Yusuf Grillo, Demas Nwoko and other students at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in the 1950’s.  Since his student days, Onobrakpeya and his group have revolutionized our art by drawing attention to our old and timeless African values while appreciating global best-practices and universal human values.
 
Despite being in his 80’s, Onobrakpeya continues to amaze his audience with new innovations and experiments;  his new Aba Na Nya works, which symbolize change in society, are a series of individual mask like faces created from engravings and multi-media collages with pieces of cloth which are photographed using a new xerograph technique. Onobrakpeya has created close to 50 such works with a vision to create a major installation of 100 faces, each representing a unique story of change within society.

The exhibition is also made up of exceptional metal foils and prints reflecting over 40 years of his outstanding career.  His deep etchings and plastocasts which he is famous for, draw deeply on the culture and language of Nigeria and his response to years of socio-political change.  Onobrakpeya is truly a Nigerian living legend, worthy of celebration!
 
Exhibition runs from December 12th, 2015  to January 23rd, 2016
Opening: December 12th, 2015
Artist Talk: January 16th, 2016, 2pm
 

Exhibition Curated by Sandra Mbanefo Obiago

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Sambisa Forest Installation and letter to the Chibok girls by Bruce Onobrakpeya.










Dear Chibok Girls,

This to let you know that our spirits are there with you in the Sambisa Forest where you have been suffering in the hands of kidnappers for a period of over 510 day.  As grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, friends, citizens of Nigeria and the world, we share your pains.  We daily work and pray for your release from the forbidden forest.  I feel intensely what you are going through because I too had been kidnapped as a child during the Ekene festival but was miraculously rescued before being taken away into the forest.
I dedicate this installation called “Sambisa Forest” to you.  It is a prayer to the supreme intelligence for your release.

In the picture protesting mothers parade behind totems which represent you girls, the armed insurgents, denied or delayed laurels and most importantly, starves of empowerment which you will receive at the end of your travail.

Finally dear girls, don’t loose hope, your present state may be a design by the creator to put you at the top of the world

Sincerely


 Obo –me-yoma
09 – 09 -2015
 


Wednesday, August 12, 2015

HONOUR FOR ONOBRAKPEYA AND AGBEYEGBE



CVL TO HONOUR QUINTESSENTIAL PRINTMAKER, DR BRUCE ONOBRAKPEYA @ 83 AND FOREMOST DRAMATIST, MR. FRED AGBEYEGBE @ 80.

The Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) under its Leader Without Title [LWT] monthly Colloquium will on Thursday, 27th of August 2015 hold a Tribute Colloquium in honour of Dr Bruce Onobrakpeya and Mr. Fred Agbeyegbe to commemorate their 83rd and 80th birthdays respectively. The Event will take place at CVL Building, 6 Balarabe Musa Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos from 2pm -6pm. The event is to honour the two art icons for their contributions to the development of Art in Nigeria. Dr. Onobrakpeya is Africa’s most important printmaker and Mr Agbeyegbe is a foremost dramatist in Nigeria.
Ahead of the Colloquium, a one week exhibition of the best of Dr. Onobrakpeya’s artworks and paintings will be open to the public from the 20th – 27th of August from 9am – 5pm at CVL Building. Works consisting of metal foil pieces, prints, serigraphs, plastocasts, sculptures and paintings dating back to over 5 decades of his career would be showcased in the week-long exhibition.

The theme of the colloquium is: Art As Bandage and the panel of discussants include: Prince Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon (Founder, OYASAF), Mr. Kolade Oshinowo (Veteran Artist, Master Painter and Portraitist), Mrs. Nike Davies Okundaye (Founder, Nike Art Gallery), Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters (Founder/CEO, Terra Kulture) and Mrs. Melinda Akinlami (Senior Presenter & Producer, Art House, Channels Television). Prof Pat Utomi, the Founder of CVL will moderate the Colloquium.

In the 24th Leader Without Title Colloquium, CVL honoured Chief (Dr) Ernest Shonekan for his contribution to the growth of Public-Private Partnership in Nigeria. The conclusion of the panel discussion at the event agreed that for Nigeria to have a meaningful development, there is urgent need for the public and private sectors as well as development partners in the country to work together.

Other distinguished persons honoured in the past under the LWT Colloquium are: Mr. Akintola Williams, Dr. Michael Omolayole, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, Mr. Richard Kramer, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Chief Chris Ogunbanjo, Prof. (Mrs.) Oyinade Elebute, Chief Folake Solanke, Elder Felix Ohiwerei, Dr. Gamaliel Onosode, Chief Philip Asiodu, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Dr. Christopher Kolade, Prof Grace Alele-Williams, Mrs. Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Chief Festus Marinho, Dr. Thomas John, Prof Itse Sagay, Alhaji Rasak Akanni Okoya, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, Engr Vincent Maduka, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, , Chief Arthur Mbanefo, Chief Michael Ade.Ojo, Otunba Michael Balogun, Dr. Pascal Dozie, Dr. Alex Ekwueme and Mr. Martin Ikediashi. A post-humus LWT was also organized in honour of late Prof Chinua Achebe.

CVL initiated the Leader Without Title (LWT) Leadership Tribute Colloquium to honour outstanding sector leaders for their special contributions in the sector where they worked. The LWT programme is in keeping with CVL’s commitment to affect the generation next to be leaders without care for title. It is an honour for people who are 70 years and above who have left a mark worth emulating.

Nwaulu Modestus
Project Team Lead

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

TRIBUTE TO PROF. OLUSEGUN ADEWOYE BY BRUCE ONOBRAKPEYA

Monday, February 16, 2015

The Relevance of Art and Culture, Prospects in Schools and Society



The Relevance of Art and Culture,
Prospects in Schools and Society
By Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya, MFR
At Lagoon School
Lekki, Lagos.

I have to thank the management, teachers and pupils of Lagoon School, Lekki, for honouring me with an invitation to come and talk to the pupils on the subject of “The Relevance of Art and Culture in schools and society”. In this regard, I will be speaking from the perspective of the visual art, an area I have been practicing in for over six decades.
I’d like to inform you that coming here evokes a nostalgic feeling of my beginning as art teacher, first at Western Boys’ High School, Benin City, after then at Ondo Boys’ High School, Ondo and finally at St. Gregory’s College, Lagos, where I spent 17 years before retiring as a teacher. Beyond my career as a teacher, I still interact with pupils in their scores whenever the annual Harmattan Workshop I organize holds and when schools come with their pupils to visit me at work in my studio. One thing I have come to realize as an art teacher is that every child is born with a talent and has something to express and art is usually the primary medium through which they express it. The beauty of children’s art is that their simplicity, directness and innocence will make even great and experienced masters want to be able to repeat those attributes in their art. This was the case with me particularly in the 60s at St. Gregory’s when I sometimes copied pieces of my students. A specific one I can recall was the drawing of a strange animal which the student called a cow. Over the years I could not reconcile the name to the image until I named the animal Ubido, which is an Urhobo word for one of the animals in their folklore. I know some of you here are naturally talented in art. My advice to you is that some works of art produced by you now should be carefully kept and if you can, glazed. You will be amazed at the beauty and freshness when several years later you bring it out to view.
Art and culture can be described as two sides of a coin. One is incomplete without the other. Art and culture are innate to man. In other words, man did not have to go school to acquire the knowledge of art and culture even though education in those subjects is very important. The earliest men made drawings and images in one form or the other to communicate. We have the cave drawings discovered in caves around the world and some of these drawings scientists tell us are thousands of years old. Over the years, man has developed what he probably acquired by instinct. And this is where education is very important for it is through education that he can scientifically develop what was a natural talent.  The school environment helps the child to recognize particular innate talents and teaches him or her skills to develop them. So what is Art? One dictionary definition of art is “ human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature”. Another definition describes art as “ the conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colours, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium”. In the two definitions, the word Nature, Colours, Forms, Movement and beauty should be borne in mind especially with regard to visual art which is what we are concerned with.

Culture according to my dictionary's definition is “the arts, customs, and habits that characterize a particular society or nation”. It is also defined as the beliefs, values, behavior and material objects that constitute a people’s way of life. From the definitions of Art and Culture, you will notice that they both have been with us right from almost the beginning of age when civilization started. 

In contemporary times, Art and Culture permeate the entire spectrum of society. There is nothing you touch that does not imply the prevailing culture of the place and that object touched has art as an intrinsic part. As students, most of you have for example, a mobile phone. Mobile phone ownership is almost the culture of all modern city dwellers for it is something most people cannot do without.  Art comes into the equation when one considers that the phones which come in various shapes were designed by artists at the stage before they were manufactured Culture learning which truly begins with the mother tongue at home and continued at school becomes easier as we apply the principle of moving from the known to the unknown.  Art and culture education at home and in school is to help us realize who we are as a people thereby helping us fulfill not just cultural expectations but life expectations as well. 

To drive the argument for the relevance of art and culture in the school curriculum further, I’d like to state that visual art forms the basis of any educational discipline as it runs through all the subjects.  Art helps to train the eyes to observe, the hands to mold objects and give illustration to ideas. It helps the mind to imagine and project ideas.  There are inter dependencies and inter relationships among subjects taught in schools and to neglect or eliminate art and culture is to create an imbalance in knowledge that is imparted at schools.

Visual art studies lead to graduate and post graduate degrees in our educational system.  This opens up a vast array of professions from which one can choose a career from either in government or private setups. Two of my colleagues in the now defunct College of Arts and Technology, which later became Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, are examples of people who went into art education and rose to the top.  Professors Adamu Baike and Solomon Wangboje became the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor respectively, of the University of Benin.

Another college colleague, Demas Nwoko who specialized in Painting while at the college and became one of the very few architects who have created buildings that can truly be termed African.  A great number of trained artists became professionals.  They are self - employed and produced art works in their studios. 

At this point I’d like to talk about the relevance of the visual arts in society.

1.     Art history and civilization
Art is a measure of civilization.  The first thing that puts Nigeria on the map of the world is her art.  The Nok terra cottas, Igbo Ukwu figurines, Benin and Ife bronzes and other antique works produced in the past have classed us as part of world civilization.  The works of our modern pioneer artists like Aina Onabolu, Ben Enwonwu, Felix Idubor, Lamidi Fakeye, Ladi Kwali, and others are iconic and constitute very important legacy.

The post independence period of Nigeria produced a group of artists who were members of the Zaria Society to which I belong.  Their philosophy of synthesis (recourse to the roots and fertilization from abroad) created a revolution which is reputed to have forged a direction for contemporary and modern Nigerian art.  They are Yusuf Grillo, Simon Okeke, Uche Okeke, Demas Nwoko, Emmanuel Odita, Josephine Omigie, Nwagbara and Felix Ekeada.
One must mention that El Anatsui, a younger generation artist who has gained international reputation, although Ghanaian born, but matured in Nigeria.

2.     Art and Environment
Villages, cities and town squares, buildings and parks are beautified with art.  Historical monuments like soldier Idumota (now in Abuja), sculptural portraits of Dr Nnmadi Azikiwe in Onisha, Herbert Macaulay in Yaba and, Obafemi Awolowo in Ikeja, the prancing horses at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos make visits to these places memorable and interesting. Sculpture gardens both at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and at the Auchi Polytechnic are examples of parks that have been beautified with art.  These and vast indoor decorations of murals, stained glass and mosaic in many of our buildings, including places of worship are proofs of the relevance of visual art in the society.
3.     Art and Diplomacy
Because of the art shows they hold abroad and the good image of the country that the artists’ works project, our artists are regarded as “ambassadors.”  Also, Timothy Fasuyi while holding the post of Nigerian Federal Art Adviser was on the basis of art, at the United Nations Assembly in New York to present our cultural policy.

I have had numerous art exhibitions abroad and my art works have been used to fulfill diplomatic roles by the federal government.  In 1996 my art piece was given as a present by Dr. Walter Ofonagoro, the then minister of information to Saddam Hussein, the then Iraqi president. It earned me a travel grant to visit Iraq and experience their art and culture and only two years ago, my art work “Oracle” was acquired for our President Goodluck Ebelle Jonathan as a present to President Barack Obama of the United States of America.  So many of my friends tell me they see my paintings adorning the walls of Aso Rock when the President is holding the cabinet meeting with his ministers. They see them when watching the television.

4.     Art and Politics
Artists use their works to draw attention to what goes on around them.  An example is a body of work called “Totems of the Delta” which I created to draw attention to the environmental impact of oil exploration and extraction in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

During the Nigerian pre-independence political era, a Nigerian artist, Akinola Lasekan drew powerful cartoons in the pages of the West African Pilot, which became weapons in the political struggle championed by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and others for the emancipation of Nigeria from colonial rule. In the ongoing electoral campaigns, artists use their cartoons in funny ways to disseminate information on the pages of newspapers.


5.     Art and the Nigerian Economy
Art and craft is a renewable source of wealth for any nation.  In our country Nigeria, it employs a great number of people and alleviates poverty.  Traditional crafts men and women and those trained in schools and workshops create items which we use for dressing, furniture and ornaments.  These have huge local and foreign patronage which create immense wealth for the country.

6.     Art and Tourism
Our art and craft attract a large number of people, local and foreign to our markets, boutiques, art galleries and museums, carnivals and traditional festivals. Art supports tourism which is estimated to employ eighty per cent of labour force when we consider services that have to be provided by the hospitality and transport industries.  To reap its maximum benefits as alternative source of income to oil, we need more investments in infrastructure and security for the safety of lives and property.

7.     Secondary Art Market, Art Auctions and Super Prices
Relatively new developments on the Nigerian art scene include the appearance of secondary market in which one can resell art works and the institution of auction houses which sell art to the highest bidders.  Both artists and art collectors have experienced surprises as pieces fetch high or super prices.  Auctions become a gauge for measuring the importance of an artist or an artistic trend.  They help discover new artists particularly the younger ones. Older art works and works of more established artists tend to fetch more money in those markets.

It is important also to mention that collectors would rather buy works from artists who are faithful and enduring in their commitment to the practice of art, and in the process gain reputations which invariably add to the value of their pieces.  In case you have an art work to sell you can consult any of the following auction houses which organize consistently about two times in a year. They are The Art House Contemporary Limited and the Terra Kulture Ltd. Terra Kulture is in partnership with Mydrim Gallery, Nike Gallery and recently, the Signature gallery.

8. Art and Investment
Art works now enjoy investment value in Nigeria.  Like gold, landed property, stocks and shares, one can invest in art and expect good returns.  Also, art works are now being accepted by the banks as collaterals for loans.  This development calls for a new line of study which can be called “art valuation”

9.     Art and Religion
This talk on the relevance of visual art in the society will not be complete if I do not mention the role which art plays in religion in the present Nigerian society.  First, I’d like to say that the use of art for religion is growing.  The murals and sculptures including my works in St. Pauls Catholic Church, Ebute Metta, Lagos, until recently before they were removed from the walls are an eloquent example of the use of art in religion.  Stained glass works by Yusuf Grillo and David Dale are visible in many of our churches in Lagos.  Many of the churches are replete with carvings and paintings which help convey the essence of Christianity.  However there is a kind of negative attitude which is working against the use images in holy places particularly when local figures, motifs and symbols are employed.  The issues become serious as the trend extends to decorations and art works in our city squares and public places.  A beautiful and imposing Ikenga sculpture was pulled down in one of the south eastern states of Nigeria.
Similarly, actions have been taken against sculptural monuments at the Warri round about in Delta state and on the campus of University of Ibadan, Oyo state. 

We know that visual art which is part of culture is not static but dynamic, and accept that no one should impose any idea through art on any community or society.  However, the world is now a global village, and through technological advancements, a lot of people can easily be assimilated into other cultures, thereby losing the sense of who they are.  Artists should be commended for being an important agent in the transfer of our timeless values from one generation to another.

I thank Lagoon School for the honour and privilege to talk about a subject which has given me fulfillment and recognition.  Whether one is in or outside the school, art and culture are very important.  I hope this presentation will always generate healthy discussions in and around the classroom. 
Thank you boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen. 

Bruce Onobrakpeya




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