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Adolescence, Acrylic on canvas,
150x120cm, 1999 by Dr Sukanthy Egharevba |
By Tajudeen Sowole
When the process of creating a work of art leaps from its natural and intellectual space into academic studio, it becomes a source of research, so suggests the method s of appropriation by artists Dr Kunle Adeyemi and Dr Sukanthy Egharevba. However, the two artists who earned their doctorate status in studio production attempt to strike a balance between academic and populist appreciation of art.
Adeyemi and Egharevba are among the first set
of artists whose PhD in studio productions are indigenous, specifically from
Delta State University, Abraka, South-South, Nigeria. Having proven that MFA or
PhD in Art History should not be terminal level for artists in academic
progression, Adeyemi, Egharevba and their colleagues, are not insensitive to
the long-range radar of critics. Not intimidated by the dynamics of art
appropriation beyond the sphere of academics, the two artists, are currently defending their blend of the
Ivory Tower art and studio prowess in a two-persons art exhibition titled Knowledge
Across Boundaries, showing at Quintessence Gallery, Lekki, Lagos till June
28, 2015.
While the two artists share nearly something
in common in their proclaimed "synthesis" with paintings and mixed
media on canvas base works, Adeyemi stresses the strength of art as a
philosophy or ideology just as Egharevba coalesces two cultures of Tiv, Benue
State, North-Central Nigeria and her ancestral home, Tamil, Sri Lanka. Adeyemi
brings his techniques coined paintograh
and paintocast as the medium of
expression to stress the value of philosophical content in art. Egharevba.goes
back memory lane into the visual vocabulary of the second generation of
Nigerian modernists or Zarianists, adopting the 'natural synthesis' philosophy
to express her concept of dual cultural identity.
With his paintograph
and paintocast techniques - a mixed media that produces relief texture on
canvass - Adeyemi explores the mood of Nigeria's current political sphere in
works such as satire of godfathers titled Razzmatazz of the Kingmakers series;
post-elections atmosphere, It's Time To Wind Up (the festival is over
series; Victory Beats, a gangan
drummer; Persistence of A Winner series; and Stability in the Polity,
Political Cross-currents. As an artist of the print genre, Adeyemi, in Knowledge
Beyond Boundaries keeps pushing his technique and styles out of the
confinement of a two-dimensional space to sculptural texture.
Largely
of feminine themes, Egharevba's works though do not suggest that Tiv and Tamil
women have something in common, culturally, the narratives about womanhood
across the two minorities of each country makes for incendiary creative
contents. Also, the 'research artist', in some concept swaps culture of the two
people in fashions. Some of the works
include domestic challenges of women titled The Burdens We Bear, Pangs
of Womanhood, Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice, Adolescence, My
Own World and The Way We Are series, a swap of fashion between Tiv
and Tamil women. However, in the area of traditional beliefs, Egharevba distils
slight commonality in "multiple circles, mythical sun, and snake."
And of prominence in her work is the Tamil culture of floor decoration, which
adds quite a great depth of aesthetics to her paintings.
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| Political Cross –Currents by Dr Kunle Adeyemi |
For the two artists, Knowledge Across
Boundaries is a dream come true in honour of Egharevba's father Ponnaiah
Visagapperumal (1936-2011). "We dedicate this exhibition to my father who
encouraged me to do the PhD programme," Egharevba disclosed. "He
wanted me to go further beyond his limit in art education." Adeyemi
confirms the input of the late art teacher. "We have been planning for
this show for quite a while in honour of her father, who actually suggested the
idea."
And as PhD programme in indigenous Nigerian
academia appears to have given a new consciousness to 'studio production' -
within academic environment - Adeyemi is in the frontline of the new dawn. He
has been consistent in his effort at proving that though studio production was not
exactly new in the academia prior to his DELSU experience, a post-MFA studies
goes beyond paper qualification. "My studies at DELSU has actually brought
out more philosophical strength from my work," he explained. "It
strengthens my studio practice." He insists that "no work is
ordinary; every piece of art is a philosophy."
Perhaps there is a thin line between academic
appropriation of art and philosophy. But how does a simplified appreciation of
art comes in, particularly in aesthetic value, which knows no boundary? He
argued that "attractiveness in art don't go alone without the
philosophy." He cited example of two works from the same artist; one is a
museum piece, the other is not.
Adeyemi was among the artists from DELSU who
showed Visual Symphony at Quintessence,
Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos in 2011.
For Egharevba, her PhD studio final exhibition
was based on a research about the two cultures, she is focusing in Knowledge
Across Boundaries. Titled Tamil and Tiv Expressions: synthesis in
Contemporary Studio Painting, the exhibition featured what she described as
"cultural motifs, symbols and other pictorial elements" of the
peoples.
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