VICTOR EFOSA UWAIFO AN EMBODIMENT OF CREATIVITY IN MODERN NIGERIAN ART

ABSTRACT

Victor  Efosa  Uwaifo  is synonymous  with artistic ingenuity.  He  is an epitome  of creativity  and  versatility  in  the  visual  arts.  He  pursues  his  art  career  with  zeal, unwavering commitment and spirited energy. Today, he stands out as one of the most wellread  and  intellectually  sound  visual  artists  and  scholars  in  Nigeria.  He  is  a graphics  designer, sculptor, industrial designer and painter.  Uwaifo is also a poet, philosopher,  architect and art teacher.In spite of his  giant  stride in the field of the visual arts, he has been given little or no  scholarly attention by art scholars. Apart from occasional journalistic reviews in magazines, newspapers and graphic reports in exihibition  catalogues,  not  much  scholarly  workhas  been  done  on  Uwaifo’s  real professional image and contributions as a visual artist.The research, therefore,finds it very necessary to focus on Victor Uwaifo as an embodiment of creativity in modern Nigerian    art.  This  researchattempts  to  document  and  acknowldge  Victor  Efosa Uwaifo with regard to his biography and how distinguished he is as an embodiment of  creativity in Nigeria. The research alsoexaminessome  areas of his versatility,his creative expressions that make him unique in the modern art tradition, his stylistic and thematic dynamism, his influenceon modern Nigerian art and, finally,his contribtions to tourism in Nigeria.The  research finds that Uwaifo  hails from  Benin traditional setting,which  influences  his  creativity.  He  influences  many  artists,  including  his students,with his Benin culture, which they express in art   naturalism. The research also proves that his contributions to tourism in Nigeria is great and that the artist is a great factor in the Nigerian culture of art versatility. In this vein, the research attempts to scholarly document and acknowledge  Uwaifo  as an embodiment of creativity in modern Nigerian art and hopes to inspire further scholarly research on him.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background Study

African people are enormously skilled in art. This is highly evident in Nigeria, particularly among those living in the southern geo-political zone of Nigeria, such as the Edo-Benin people.1 Before colonization, the ancient Kingdom of Benin had a well organized kingdom that extended to the present Lagos  State.  Today, the kingdom, though  much  smaller  in  size  than  it  used  to  be,  is  still  well  organized.2      Its conservative traditions and culture have equally remained largely uncompromising, even in the face of contemporary challenges occasioned by modernization. The place where the monarch or Oba lives is the epicenter of cultural activities of the Benin kingdom from where the cultural codes of the people radiate and are regulated.Located  in  the  heart  of the  Benin  City,  adjacent  to  St.  Peter’s  Anglican Church at the famous Oke Mole, Lagos Street axis, is the house of the Uwaifos, the family descendants of Emezi lineage.4  The house, painted in white gloss colour, is a modern architecture built in the late nineteenth century. Each pillar of the  house is artistically designed and executed, using abstract motifs and bright colour flowers in relief form.5 The totality of this artistic design could be accepted as a mixed media concept.  The  high  level  of  aesthetic  display  on  the  building  also  possesses  an undertone of functionality, which exhibits a high sense of creativity.6 The panache in which such a two dimensional design was executed on the façade of this architectural master piece of the 19th  century, is an apt testimony of the unique and rich artistic heritage of the ancient city of Benin.7   The impression one gets by merely looking at the house is that it must have been designed by people of rare breed in art work. In the early and middle 1940s, the house bubbled with Mr. Wilson Omoruyi Uwaifo, his wives and his children. Madam Idusogie, the senior wife of Wilson Omoruyi Uwaifo, had  been  pregnant  for  a  normal  period  of  nine  months  and  the  product  of  the pregnancy was Victor Efosa Uwaifo (Fig. 1) who was born in March 1, 1941.8

This thesis has, as one of its objectives, the task of methodically identifying, studying and documenting Victor Uwaifo, a notable modern Nigerian artist who has distinguished himself as an embodiment of art in visual arts.9  This is to discover the innate qualities that set him apart from the rest of the visual artists in Nigeria. Victor Uwaifo has traversed  and professionalised  in other  areas of visual arts, while still

holding on tenaciously to his area of specialty.10 This thesis traces the life history or biography of Victor Efosa Uwaifo and his activities in the visual arts. Although, it is in the music realm  that he stands  towering  and colossal,  the researcher  wants to explore  and  document  his  creativity  in  the  visual  arts;  his  first   artistic  self realization.

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