CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Contemporary Nigerian art is over one hundred years,a product of the colonial encounter. It was through the exertion of pioneer artist, AinaOnabolu (1882-1963) who, together with Kenneth Murray,trained many young Nigerian artists to establish firmly the concept of contemporary art in Nigeria (Sani, 2010). Hence, contemporaryNigerian art has made considerable impact in the art of the continents in various forms, suchas painting, sculpture, textile, ceramics and graphics.In contemporary Nigerian art scene, Egonwa(1994) states that, “Contemporary art refers to all artistic expressions currently existing in Africa. It consists of works created by College trained artists and their apprentices, and self-trained artists as well” ¹.Danjuma (2010) infers that, contemporary Nigerian art can be said to have had extra-ordinary development since its beginning in the 1920s with Aina Onabolu who was inspired by the desire to prove a point that Nigerians are up to the task to produce paintings like those of their counterparts both in Nigeria and abroad, through the use of foreign styles and thematic representations. However, these contemporary Nigerian artists started to express themselves through modern conventions using modern media techniques.²

In line with the above, Muhammad (2006) states that, “Contemporary Nigerian art has come a long way, finding its path through the wilderness of experiments and schools of various orientations. Through time, such experiments have matured into a formidable expressive force for both the artists and the society in which it is produced³‟‟.Muhammad stresses further that,“since the early and mid-1960‟s Nigeria has had a diverse upsurge of creative and stylistic outbursts from artists formally trained and those who acquired training from being apprenticed to local artists at workshop”.Ruskin (1972) is also of the opinion that, “the art of any country is the exponent of its social, political, and economic virtue”. Since the 1920s, at the emergence of modern Nigerian artists, their expressive talent has a wider range of themes which were manifested by addressing various issues in the society.Sani (2010) posits that, as rightly observed by Delacroix and Tansey (1980),

“the expressionistic artist is only too aware of pain and suffering in his age”. Contemporary Nigerian art, by implication, is a manifestation of the socio-political and economic realities within the Nigerian society.⁴

Among the contemporary Nigerian visual artists who have worked with a wider range of themes,Ben Ibebewho has been deeply affected by his environment due to the various experiences in the Nigerian society. Ibebe decides to freely express hisfeelings through his paintings, influenced by his choice and preference of themes, colours, techniques and styles that stemfrom an innate obsession of his environment. It is on the basis of this development and inspiration that the researcher considered to undertake a study of Ben Ibebe‟s paintings within the period of 1990 to 2010. The study focuses on the artist‟s paintings with varying themes, styles, and techniques and investigates how the themes of his paintings address socio- political, economic, religious and cultural issues in Nigeria.

Ben Ibebe who was born in 1966, hails from Ughelli Local Government Area of Delta State. He began his early education at Local Education Authority Primary School, Ughelli, Delta State in 1972 to 1978. In 1986, he received his first School Leaving Certificate at Ogbaveweni Grammar School, Useifon, in Delta State. He was involved in art activities all through his primary and secondary school days. Ibebe‟s initial interest was in graphics, but he later found out that he could draw and paint relatively from a young age. The graphic arts programme was vibrant from the commercial point of view. This brought additional income which was a big attraction to him. Graphics, as one of the art forms, appeared to be his first destination.  However, Ibebe was greatly influenced by his still life drawing teacher, Professor. J.T. Agberia, who happened to be his career guardian. Agberia was instrumental to his decision to opt for art as a profession; specializing in painting as a career.

Ibebe considered his inborn talent, and pursued it with passion and determination.

He graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts in 1994 from University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He participated in the National Youth ServiceCorps (N.Y.S.C) programme in 1995 and carried out his primary assignment at Taye Quaye Art Studio in Kaduna State. Since leaving the University, Ibebe has been practicing as a full time studio artist, and has participated in several art workshops and exhibitions. The artist is married with three children, two boys and a girl, and he is presently residing in Kaduna. The artist derived his inspirations from people around his environment and how they respond to social, political and economic forces in their daily living. The issues, ideas and events arising from man's quest to contain and contend with these forces, form the subject matter of his paintings. Ibebe‟s paintings are highly figurative. His paintings are finished in an impasto technique with a palette knife as a tool. This may be partly due to his draftsmanship skills and partly his inclination to human beings as the centre of focus.

Ben Ibebe's sociable spirit is better appreciated when one considers the number of solo and group exhibitions he has participated in both in and outside Nigeria. He has indeed created a niche in the contemporary Nigeria art scene. He participated in Solo Exhibitions like, the 1994 Group Graduating Final Exhibition, Port Harcourt, “1999 Mindscapes” at Alliance Francaise Kadunain 2001, and “Offering the Knife” exhibition atZaki Club, sponsored by Mr.& Mrs. Wintenberger. In 2006, Ben Ibebe attended a show “Freedom” at the Shell Trustees Estate Abuja sponsored by Vincent Del Buono and Jennifer Potheirin

Nigeria. In 2009, he participated in a group show at Columbus Art Centre in University of Toronto which was sponsored by Toronto Health Centre and the Nigerian Embassy in

Canada. In 2012, Ben Ibebe had a solo exhibition at the Ashanti Gallery Abuja, hosted by Christine Gerlach. Also in the same year 2012, he participated in the 2^nd Pump House Show, Niagara, on the lake of Canada, among many other shows and exhibitions.

Ibebe has also been involved in the organisation of some important art events in Nigeria and Abroad. To a great extent, He has produced several paintings and commissioned portraits for prominent leadershome and abroad. Examples are portraits of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (Mohammed Uwais), and Governor General of Canada (Adrienne Clarkson), paintings of public institutions as well as portraits of private individuals in Nigeria, France, Holland, Austria, Germany, USA, Canada, South Africa and England. Women are accorded prominent attention in his painting compositions and this is deliberate. This is because; the African woman is strong, beautiful and gorgeous despite living in a male dominated society. BenIbebe celebrates them by weaving his composition around them in their hours of need, joy and pain. Notwithstanding, men come into his compositions but as allegories in his political statement and are highly stylized.Some of his paintings discussed in this study are Empowerment, Fuel Scarcity, Freedom Rhythm, Bwotty, Relief, Niger Delta Bad Terrain Sweet Oil, Militant, Mai Mai, City Gate, Value,

Amazon Protest, Mai Kwando, Fish Market, Mai KuliKuli, Regatta (omaluku), Ba Shiga, Makaranta, Whitesbabs, Maiden and Striving for the Light.

According to Danjuma (2010), “the use of a recognizable theme was born, and there is every possibility that it remained an integral part of Nigeria‟s art. The author further explains that modern Nigerian artists had drawn before now various themes that address the social, economic, political and everyday life happenings in Nigerian societies”. Ben‟s participation in many group exhibitions and workshops organized both in Nigeria and abroad through the thematic and stylistic representations observedin his paintings is worthy of note. This and many more insightful ideas about Ben Ibebe‟s paintings are discussed in the course of this study for modern art appraisal.

Statement of the Problem

The paintings of Ben Ibebe are among several paintings produced by contemporary Nigerian artists with poignant statements. Ibebe has a unique style of painting, and he is seen as a prolific painter who uses the impasto technique to probe his subject matter. Despite being one of the artists who have produced many paintings, his works are not adequately documented by scholars. There are few literatures, articles on Ben Ibebe and his artworks; but there not comprehensive, therefore not crediting enough the artist‟s artistic contribution to modern Nigerian art. Therefore, the problem of this study is that, the little information on Ben Ibebe‟s paintings has created a gap as far as art historical documentation is concerned. The researcher therefore, acknowledges the need for Ben Ibebe‟s works to be fully studied and documented, giving particular attention to his paintings.

Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this research is to highlight the issues that Ben Ibebe‟s paintings postulate and evoke between1990-2010, while the objectives are to:

i) examine the philosophy and inspiration surrounding Ibebe‟s thematic focus, ii) discuss the themes of his paintings within the context of the styles that bring them to the fore, iii) study the techniques employed in his paintings from a thematic perspective, and iv) categorize the themes of his paintings; based on socio-political, economic, religious and cultural issues in the Nigerian society,

Research Questions

From the objectives stated above, the following research questions are posed;

i) What areIbebe‟s Philosophy and his source of Inspiration as a Painter with a thematic focus? ii) How are the styles employed in Ibebe‟s paintings used to make thematic statements? iii) What are the techniques employed in Ibebe‟s paintings to evoke a thematic view?

       iv)     How can Ibebe‟s paintings be categorized within the context of themes?

Justification of the Study

The gap of documentation in contemporary Nigerian art has for long been an issue and it is still debatable.  This study is justified, because the artist is still alive and actively practising art. If not studied and documented, first hand information about him and his art can be lost. The research is furtherjustified for bringing to public light the paintings of Ben Ibebe‟s from 1990-2010 under thematic studies. The themes of Ben Ibebe‟s paintings are also justified to be studied because they address the current issues in the Nigerian society.It is against this background, that the researcher felt the need to undertake a detailed study and documentation of Ben Ibebe‟spaintings and his contributions to contemporary art in Nigeria.

Significance of the Study

The study and documentation of Ben Ibebe‟s paintings explores his life as a painter and his contributions to the development of contemporary Nigerian art. It is hoped that this study will be significant in informing Nigerians about visual art and broadening the knowledge of art historians, art critics, researchers, art enthusiasts and art viewers to understand the socio-political, religious, cultural, and economic content of Ben Ibebe‟s paintings. A comprehensive and reliable documentation of Ben Ibebe's paintings will serve as a reference material for institutions of higher learning, art galleries, museums, libraries, and other agencies. The study is also important because, the documentation of paintings of the artist while he is still alive provides first hand information on his philosophy, inspiration and relevance of his works for modern appraisal.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

To the knowledge of the researcher, Ben Ibebe has produced several paintings over a long period of time. However, the study of his paintings is limited to twenty of his paintings from 1990-2010.The choice of the period is to enable the researcher concentrate on the artist‟s paintings that address socio-political, socio-economical, socio-religious, and socio-cultural happenings in the Nigerian society through a period of twenty years. For the purpose of this research, the researcher visited Kaduna where the artist's paintings are mostly found for the analysis and documentation. The researcher also had personal interview with the artist on his career as a painter and his paintings. The researcher further delimits the study to the themes, styles, techniques of the artist's selected paintings.

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework for this study is on Que‟bec theory (2009) which states that, all art is political in the sense that it engages society in some way, either influencing or influenced by it. Some works speak more directly to issues relating to human rights, corruptions, and the distribution of class, wealth, sexual abuse, criminal violence and injustice. All these are concerns of Que‟bec Government measures that sought to address issues in a society (Microsoft Encarta Premium, 2009).

One of the prominent critics in England at the twentieth century was William Hazlitt, a painter and essayist. He wrote about his deep pleasure in art and his belief that art could be used to address socio-political, religious and economic issues in a society(www.newworldencyclopedia.com). The Quebec theory and William hazlitt‟s essay create the framework for the study. It is on this basis, that the study focuses on Ben Ibebe's paintings address the various thematic issues in the Nigerian society.  Ben Ibebe's Painting was produced for basically two reasons, to meet the personal and social needs of the artist. The personal need signifies the personal expression of the painter as they portray his inner emotions of joy, sadness, apathy, anger or bewilderment. On the other hand, the social need goes beyond the personal intrinsic needs of the artist but addresses the societal issues. Ben Ibebe, through his paintings has communicated those needs to the public. He expresses his inner emotions which speak directly to various socio-political, economic, cultural and religious issues in Nigeria through his paintings. However, this leads to the notion that the artist;s paintings are lens that expresses the social happenings in the society and performs a social function or need when it is able to affect the behavior of the audience.

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