By Tajudeen Sowole
(First published, Tuesday, February 02, 2010)
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| Children art workshop at Young@Art of Biodunomolayo Art Gallery, National Museum, Onikan, Lagos. |
ART and Design, it has been argued, are the pillars upon which a vibrant society rests.
This submission came from a member of Nigerians In Diaspora
Organisation (NIDO), Manitoba, Canada Chapter, Segun Olude who was the
resource person at the seminar, Issues in Art and Design organized by
Canada-based group, Indigo Ink Studios in
collaboration with Department of Art and Industrial Design, Lagos State
Polytechnic, (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu, Lagos.
Held on January 26, 2010, Olude declared, “art and design are foundation of every vibrant society.”
Olude, who was also in Nigeria last year at a similar gathering held at Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (ACOED), Lagos, spoke on how professionals in art and design could advance development of their immediate communities.
Olude, who was also in Nigeria last year at a similar gathering held at Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (ACOED), Lagos, spoke on how professionals in art and design could advance development of their immediate communities.
He made reference to “Save Our Seine
River Environment” project designed to rescue the ecological degradation
of the Seine River and its environs. According to him, the project
benefited from his professional skill. Its master-plan, he revealed, was
done by Indigo Ink with the employment of what he termed “Visual
Communication,” a sub-theme of the seminar.
Visual representation of information, he stressed, is basically a purpose of communicating an intended message.
Visual representation of information, he stressed, is basically a purpose of communicating an intended message.
He supported his argument with examples of tremendous
impact art and design have had on monuments: images of the good, bad and
ugly –past and contemporary.
Under the topic, ‘Heroes, Legends, Villains and More’, he noted that most of the records that remain today are those of the victors, not the oppressed.
Under the topic, ‘Heroes, Legends, Villains and More’, he noted that most of the records that remain today are those of the victors, not the oppressed.
“The heroes are
portrayed as larger-than-life,” depicted in diverse medium such as
murals, sculptures, architectures, paintings, gardens, parks, and
others.”
Taj Mahal mausoleum in India, was cited as a typical
example of how art and design could be applied to promote heroism and
enhance the status of a country. The culture edifice was built in
1653 by Shah Jahan, a Mughal Emperor in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz
Mahal who died while giving birth to her 14th child. With over two
million visitors yearly, Taj Mahal has become a central tourist
attraction in the world. It also
underscored the place of creativity in nation building.
Indeed,
Olude preached “localising visual communication” as a crucial factor in
treating the subject matter, while emphasizing the status of the
seventeenth century structure, which combined Islamic, Persian and
Indian architectures, as a confirmation of the importance of local
content in the design of a particular structure.
And from images
such as the depiction of Pharaohs mowing the Nubians; Greek’s history of
celebration of their goddess; charismatic former heavy weight boxer,
Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston – in medium such as painting,
photography and pottery – Olude captured the issue of visual
representation and challenged Nigerian artists, designers and visual
communicators to research and present the nation’s heroes in artistic
rendition.
While noting that relativity might come in on the question of who qualifies to be a hero, visual
communicators, he warned, “should record the real heroes of our society, not just politicians and socialites.”
But in a country such as Nigeria (where monuments are usually funded by
politicians in government) professionals in the business of visual
communication hardly bother on the issue of real heroes. At some
gatherings where public monuments were discussed in the past, artists
were concerned more about aesthetics and funding. The National Gallery
of Art (NGA), under the embattled Director General, Joe Musa hinted at a
gathering in Lagos two years ago that a bill on public monuments,
sponsored by NGA was before the National Assembly.
While artists
were curious to know the content of the bill, Musa said, the proposed
document was aimed at ensuring that between 10 to 20 percent budgeting
for public monument goes into visual contents such as sculpture and
design. However, with the different input of NIDO
from across America and Europe, there is hope for professionals, Olude
assured, but stressed that the emphasis should be on “Nigerian flavour,”
or local content. Such hope, he declared, had begun to manifest in
the new face of parks in Lagos landscape. He also commended the
contribution of the local artists to “few of the pubic sculptural pieces
I have seen.”
Other issues he talked about were: Figure-Ground
Relationship; Similarity Symbol and Symbolism; Balancing Talent with
Passion; and Symmetry.
Head of the Department, LASPOTECH, Akeem Balogun traced the root of the seminar to erudition Olude exhibited at ACOED outing last year. In addition to the lecture delivered there, several books on art and designs, it was learnt, were given to the school.
Head of the Department, LASPOTECH, Akeem Balogun traced the root of the seminar to erudition Olude exhibited at ACOED outing last year. In addition to the lecture delivered there, several books on art and designs, it was learnt, were given to the school.
On bending the line between commercialisation and service to
the community, Olude noted that most professionals “forget that our
gifts and talents are not only to make a
living but to change the community in which we live for the better,”
therefore, the creative minds, he insisted, must also be “a coach,
mentor, teacher, tutor, or help someone else to rise.”
On the role
of art and design over the issues of environment at the global front, he
argued, that the Western culture of individualism and so-called freedom
of expression are not helping situation, generally. This, he noted,
offers a lot of challenge to artists and designers to apply their skills
in educating people on the collective consequence of certain habits.
“For
example, when we drive vehicles that run on one litre of petrol per
kilometre, we hurt not just the planet, but everyone else; a pack of
cigarette a day causes problems for the smoker and hurts those around
them, especially children – asthma is on the rise, heart disease is on
the increase and liver disease too!” He therefore asked: “why are
we still being told it
is all about the individual?” According to Olude, artists and designers
possess the required skill “that can inform the public of issues that
affect humanity, so that people can make smart decisions.”
Such
challenges, he argued, include making moderate choice in designing
better packaging that uses less material as a measure in conservation.
For example, “Planned obsolescence” in product designs, he argued,
should be reviewed because “it is anti-human.”
Another highlight of
the event was an art exhibition, Evolving Minds, which featured works of
final year and graduating students of the school. The essence of the
Diaspora movement, Olude, who is currently on the board of the
Manitoba, Canada Chapter of NIDO, explained, is to help develop “our
immediate community back home.”
Born and raised in Lagos, Olude had
his tertiary education at Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos
before going to Canada to study at
the University of Manitoba. Since then, he has been visiting Nigeria
every year to help rural communities with their community development
goals.
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