As Bruce Onobrakpeya Ages, Are There Younger Artists To Take Over From Him?

By Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga

Although Fine-Art is taught as a course at various higher institutions of learning, there are some people who are naturally gifted and did not go to any institution to learn the art of sculpturing or painting. During a discussion recently with some arts-lovers, some were concerned about the issue of younger sculptors and painters that would take over the great scenes of fine arts created by the likes of Bruce Onobrakpeya and the late Ben Enwowu, especially now that Onobrakpeya is getting much older every day, and may not be actively involved in sculpturing and painting like before. Though nature has a way of restocking itself as the law of diminishing returns take place in every human society, it is only when good facilities are made available and are used to train younger ones about techniques and culture of doing certain things, that they could be preserved and passed from one generation to another by those in charge. In spite of the fact that some people are naturally gifted sculptors and painters, Fine Art has its own techniques which can be acquired through learning at any good institution that teaches the rudiments of the profession. It is in this vein that one could appreciate the idea behind The Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation (BOF) which is a non-governmental organization formed in 1989. Its mission is to promote the growth of art and culture through the provision of avenues for artists to improve themselves through skills acquisition and empowerment. It is also aimed at promoting and developing public interest in the visual arts by creating awareness for the intrinsic values of African art and its benefits to society. The Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation has been an enduring player in the visual arts scene since its inception in Nigeria. It has organised the Amos Tutuola Show, Lagos (2000), the Annual Harmattan Workshop since 1998, and participated at the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) Exhibition, Abuja (2003), Art & Democracy Exhibition, Asaba, Delta State (2004), and the Harvest of the Harmattan Retreat Exhibition organised in collaboration with the Pan African University, Lagos (2004) amongst other programmes. In May 2012, BOF featured the works of 20 artists at the Exhibition Bruce Onobrakpeya and Harmattan Workshop Experiment at Kajinol Station in Dakar, Senegal during the 2012 Dakar Biennale, among others. However, the question is, are there other emerging artists who would occupy the fine-art stage, that could be recognized and keep on creating the awareness that Onobrakpeya and late Ben Enwowu brought to the profession? The answer is not farfetched. Nigeria is blessed with many young talented and trained fine-artists that have been making waves in their own areas of fine arts specialisation too. Some of such younger and notable Fine Artists that are readily stepping into the shoes of the older generation Fine-Artists include Chuka Nnabuife (a painter/poet), who was the former Arts Editor of Compass Newspaper; Uche G. Nwosu (a painter/poet), who studied Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (South-Eastern Nigeria) between 1986 - 1991. Nwosu specialises in painting. He has participated in several local and international arts exhibitions, and works at present with the National Gallery of Arts as a Chief Research Officer. Nonetheless, in terms of younger Nigerian sculptors who have been making their marks in the field, there are people like Felix Eboigbe Collection of Fine Art African Sculpture; Bright Eke and Clement Onyekadi, just to mention a few. Eke is seen in some quarters as perhaps the most outstanding of young Nigerian artists who have engaged with environmental/climatic change using materials and objects of daily use. Just like Eke, Onyekadi’s method of drawing attention to crucial issues concerning our natural environment is straight to the point and lucid. He uses newspapers, ‘condemned’ motor oil, cellophane sheets and other petro-chemical products and employs other related materials in giving meaning to his installations. This is another dimension of sculptural fine arts (paper mashie) which is a direct opposite to wood carving which Onabrakpeya is well known for. By and large, Nigerian folk art is made of different dimensions such as ivory carvings, wall decoration and body painting. As regards modern wood carving in Nigeria, wood carvers make portraits, masks and figures for corporate organisations and shrines. Artists cast sculptures in bronze and brass, produce glass and metal work, and make quality leather work and calabash (gourd) carvings. Nigerians arts works are highly valued globally. And it is a great thing of joy that the pioneers of Fine Art promotion in the persons of Onabrakpeya and Enwowu have impacted much of their skills on many younger generation artists which would help to keep the profession relevant for ages.