Rebecca Ejifoma
 |
| Maja-Pearce |
The New Gong Publishing is set to
officially launch its long-anticipated Issues in Contemporary Nigerian
Art2000-2010 by valorous female fine artist, Juliet-Ezenwa Maja-Pearce at the Yemaja
ArtGallery, Falololu close, Surulere-Lagos on 8 August by 11am.
Proudly published by the New Gong,
it is Maja-Pearce's debut manual. According to her in a press briefing held in
Lagos state during the week, the genesis of the book was the unofficial opening
of Yemaja Art Gallery in 2009. “Then, Olu Ajayi, the then chair of the Society
of Nigerian Artists (Lagos State chapter), casually asked the publisher (and my partner), ‘So when are
you going to start publishing art books?’”
From that moment for Maja-Pearce,
the die was cast. “For a while now, we who are passionate about the development
of the visual arts’ sector often find ourselves brainstorming on issues that
affect us and our profession.”
While eminent
practitioner like Professor Osa D. Egonwa, explained in his Forward that the book
is a bold attempt at interrogating the ever-growing practical and conceptual questions
in contemporary Nigerian art and the efforts to resolve them from a perspective
alien to the dominant order; prolific painter, Professor Dele Jegede, in his
Introduction, hailed that the monograph,
which features contributions from art practitioners, writers and scholars, exemplifies
the centrality of dualism in the art of contemporary Africa: production must be complemented by narrativization; creativity
must be theorized and critiqued...
“Until there is a compelling
perspective from within the parent culture, critiques of Nigerian art will remain
warped and, indeed, obfuscated,’ he added.
Courageous and daring, the Painter
– as she is fondly called - enthused that all of this is to document some of the issues that affect the
art they are creating now. It is true that, at one time, the Nigerian artist
(having been trained in the methods and styles of Europe) had to cope with an identity challenge.
To counter this, they consciously
developed an art to challenge and, in the process, reverse this debilitating state of affairs. Today,
the challenge is different. I hope that, in putting together this collection of essays
and accompanying art works, the reader will be given an insight into the circumstances that
informed the art we produced.
The advent of platforms like the
African Regional Summit on Visual Arts (ARESUVA), the Ben Enwonwu annual
lectures, the seminar and paper presentations at the annual Harmattan Workshop, and the debates during ArtExpo
were indicators that there was a transformation underway.
Explaining her voyage in the art world, she said: "While our country currently
battles with the politics of corruption, we, the artists, are faced with the need to establish our stand on the
world stage.
Fortunately,
the rest of the world has renewed its interest in contemporary African art,
thereby creating a demand for artistic excellence
and innovation."
We are, no doubt, at a crossroads
on this journey to international relevance and, with it, our rightful
contribution to world civilization.
Indeed, the 200-page journal, is
miraculously enveloped by 20 unwavering contributors as well as artists. They range
from scholars to practitioners, who are its inspiration and its rightful
authors.
It is not a predetermined
assessment of the subject, nor is it a report card on a selected number of artists adjudged to be the
fonserigo of the art tradition, according to the whims and caprices
of a curator; rather, it adopts a multivalent studio and theoretical analytic coverage with ample room for creative
speculation.
Many voices address the issues
from diverse pedestals, attempting to seek some convergence which is hard to
come by in an enquiry of this magnitude.
Beating the current this time, Maja-pearce says the event will include a debate section among great speakers (Prof Freeborn Odiboh -Art Historian, University of Benin and, Tobenna Okwuosa of Niger-Delta University, Baayels) , files of poem recitation and book expo by Nigeria's amiable writer.
Interestingly, the Benin state
born attended the Bendel State University (now Delta State
University), Abraka. Under the tutelage of Prof. Osa D. Egonwa, she acquired
her distinct use ofdark earth colours usually favoured by students of the uli
movement.
Maja-Pearce
has since 2007 been a regular participant at the annual harmattan workshop run
by the Dr Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation and subsequently became a facilitator at
the print-making section in 2012.
Her
works have also featured in Jess Castellote’s Contemporary Nigerian Art in Nigerian Private Collections;
other works have been used as book illustrations, notably Remembering Ken Saro-Wiwa and Other Essaysand
A Mask Dancing,
both by Adewale Maja Pearce.
Of
course, she has displayed her arrays of her art works through her many solos
and group exhibitions. These shows were
done both home and abroad. She assures that the book has got a handful of dish
for all classes of persons – pupils, students, art teachers, artists, art
enthusiats and art connoisseurs.
With the Head of Dept, Creative Arts, Unilag - Peju Layiwola - as the Chair of the discussion and Mr. Kehinde Adepegba of the Lagos state Polytechnic, Ikorodun as thee Reviewer, you sure need a pen and a paper. There will be variety of newly painted words to grapple.
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