This is an old article but gives a good background to Nigeria's greatest artist:
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
By Andrea Estrada
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 16:00
Santa Barbara, CA
Sylvester Ogbechie
Photo Credit:
Rod Rolle
Photo of Sylvester Ogbechie by Rod Rolle
Sylvester Ogbechie
Photo Credit:
Rod Rolle
Sylvester Ogbechie
Photo Credit:
Rod Rolle
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity.
Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist.
"His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work."
Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York.
In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years.
A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies.
A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program.
Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.d
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
UCSB Art Historian Publishes Monograph on African Artist Ben Enwonwu
During the period from 1950 to 1965, Ben Enwonwu was the most famous artist of African ancestry anywhere in the world. He produced a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to the United States as a guest of the Harmon Foundation and the State Department, and exhibited his work alongside those of Pablo Picasso and other prominent modernists. More than 45 years later, however, Enwonwu has fallen into relative obscurity. Now, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, an associate professor of art history at UC Santa Barbara, has written a monograph on the life and work of Enwonwu. Titled "Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist" (The University of Rochester Press, 2008), it is the first significant biography published about this modern African artist. "His pedigree justifies the need to produce a coherent narrative of his life and career," said Ogbechie, who first began studying the artist 21 years ago and took advantage of historical data to document Enwonwu's life. "I have focused on evaluating the traces of Enwonwu in the primary records and using that to interpret his art. Let's look at what was said about him during his own lifetime and from that see what we can learn about his work." Born in Nigeria in 1917, Enwonwu studied fine arts at Goldsmiths College and the Slade School of Fine Arts of the University of London. He was a premier African modernist and a pioneer whose career opened the way for the postcolonial proliferation and increased visibility of African art. A painter and sculptor, his work has been exhibited around the world, including such venues as London's Berkeley galleries, Howard University, the Goethe-Institut, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. In the decades between Enwonwu's birth and death, modernization produced new political structures and new forms of expression in African cultures, inspiring important developments in modern African art. Within this context, Ogbechie evaluates important issues such as the role of Anglo-Nigerian colonial culture in the development of modern Nigerian art, and Enwonwu's involvement with international discourses of modernism in Europe, Africa, and the United States over a period of 50 years. A specialist in classical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora arts, Ogbechie received his master's degree from the University of Nigeria and his doctoratel degree from Northwestern University. His research evaluates alternative modernities, and the colonial and postcolonial conventions of representation in the arts and visual cultures of African and African Diaspora populations. His articles and reviews have appeared in African Arts, Arts Journal, Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art, Revue Noire, Ijele, Farafina, and several important art history anthologies. A curator and consultant for many premier international exhibitions of modern and contemporary African art, Ogbechie has also published extensively on African art history, has lectured at major American and international venues, and has been cited by the Smithsonian Institution and the City of Philadelphia for his contributions to the 2004 Philadelphia Echoes of Africa cultural program. Ogbechie is the founder and director of Aachron Knowledge Systems, which includes the publishing imprint Aachron Editions and Critical Interventions, a journal of African Art Theory and Criticism. He organized and coordinated the First International Nollywood Convention and Symposium in 2005, which evaluated new media in contemporary African visual culture from the perspective of the internationally acclaimed Nigerian Video Film Industry. He has also served as editor for Nka, African Arts, Critical Interventions, and Ijele, the principal journals of contemporary African arts and visual culture.
- See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2009/012563/ucsb-art-historian-publishes-monograph-african-artist-ben-enwonwu#sthash.u7Ah54y1.dpuf
A Bakuba woman weaving a textile Kuba Textiles Kuba textiles are unique in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , formerly Zaire , for their elaboration and complexity of design and surface decoration. Most textiles are a variation on rectangular or square pieces of woven palm leaf fiber enhanced by geometric designs executed in linear embroidery and other stitches, which are cut to form pile surfaces resembling velvet. Women are responsible for transforming raffia cloth into various forms of textiles, including ceremonial skirts, ‘velvet’ tribute cloths, headdresses and basketry . Raffia Cloth In Kuba culture, men are responsible for raffia palm cultivation and the weaving of raffia cloth . Several types of raffia cloth are produced for different purposes, the most common form of which is a plain woven cloth that is used as the foundation for decorated textile production. Men produce the cloth on inclined, single-heddle looms and then use it to make their clothing and...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s8lp8/The_Tutu_Talks_Are_Women_Strong_Enough_to_Lead_Africa/ Archbishop Desmond Tutu brings together Africa's leading contemporary thinkers in a series of discussions exploring major issues and changes affecting the future of the continent. Tutu asks his guests - Patricia De Lille, Pregs Govender, Mbuyiselo Botha, and Nomboniso Gasa - why women in Africa, despite years of struggle and hardship, still do not possess the same freedoms and rights as men. Are arguments about cultural difference and tradition allowing brutal acts of oppression against women to be ignored or excused? Do men in Africa fear their identities or power will be eroded if women have greater equality? What does the political victory of Ellen-Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia tell us about the possibilities for real change? Broadcast on: BBC Four, 10:00pm Tuesday 27th April 2010 Duration: 30 minutes Available until: 10:29pm Thursday 6th May 2010 Categories: Factual , Politics
The Changing Face of Civilization Today, thankfully we are coming to the end of an abysmal cycle of Civilization. The Greeks had their time, so too the Romans and later the British, French, Portuguese and the Americans. The rise and fall of Empire is solely dependent on whether or not those that are Governed by the so-called, ‘civilized’ are prepared to tolerate the notion of unjust, outdated feudal systems, whereby power, (both economic and intellectual) is distributed to the few. These cycles of Civilization are constant, ever changing and optimistic; sadly, the civilization of now has its roots based strictly on race. Its success has been largely dictated by the blatant exploitation of the Continent of Africa. This comes in many guises, the resources found in the ground and the forced migration of the vast unpaid workforce in the form of slavery. This perverse human ownership, similar to that of cattle-thieves and homogeneously as noble, was a foreign affair whereas Colonization, le...
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