In every profession, there are lay down principles or special occasions with specialized activities which are used not only to build the vocational growth of its members but also to recognize outstanding practitioners in the area. For example, a true lawyer must be able to stand in the court of law either in defense of an accused person or to emphasize the need for a proper redress on behalf of a plaintiff. In visual art also, occasions like art workshops or art exhibitions are probably the most ideal places for artists to renew as well as nourish their creative minds for the growth and development of art in the society. This however explains the position as well as importance of Scapes and Forms-2 to the participants. The a painting and drawing workshop was held on January 22, 2011 at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, particularly in front of Samaru market, which is one of the busiest points in Zaria.
Shortly before the commencement of the workshop, Dr. G.G. Duniya, who happened to be the lead facilitator of the workshop (assisted by Mr. Lasisi Lamidi), addressed participants before declaring it open. In his address, Dr. Duniya highlighted the essence as well as the purpose of the workshop, and what it (the workshop) intends to achieve. In his words: “This painting and drawing workshop is intended to serve as an avenue for creative minds to interact and share drawing and painterly ideas, away from the normal studio setting. The workshop is also expected to expose professionals and student artists to the numerous possibilities in art, using varied media and techniques or experiments”. He concluded by saying “we advice you to feel free and express yourselves in the Zaria Art School’s freedom of expression, using forms before you and the materials that suits your creative impulse”.
Materials like cardboard papers, pencils of different grades as well as other drawing sheets were provided. Aside from that, artists brought other materials that best suit the kind of art they were to create. Two hours into the drawing/painting session, the facilitators disappeared and in a short time, they drove in with a car full of assorted soft drinks, biscuits, bottled water etc, only to declare refreshment for the participants. This however, was a boost to energizing the artists both physically and creatively.
The workshop did not only provide artists the opportunity to express their creative talents in varied media, but also ushers an enabling environment for younger artists to interact with professions for a healthy artistic growth. This is professionally worthwhile as it will, without doubt, contributes immensely to promoting the good artistic values as well as cultural ethics necessary for a sustained and refreshing art, not only Zaria (which at the moment can be said to be the immediate practicing environment of the participants) but also to Nigeria as whole.
There are however, two paramount things that, in my view, emphasized the uniqueness of the Scapes and Forms. First is the challenging environment which the participants had to cope with, or more appropriate, adapt in order to achieve the artistic demands of the workshop. The venue of the workshop offers seeming challenges which were contradictions to studio ethics but somehow advantageous on the part of the participating artists since the challenges were converted into creative opportunities. For example, the traffic of people in the market at the other side of the road, the moving vehicles and cyclists as well as sounds/noises generated by the traffics, contributed in shaping the aura of the workshop’s venue. In turn, artists used such challenges as means for emphasizing diversity in their individual work. This however shows the inherent freedom generally seen in the works of Zaria Art School’s artists.
Secondly, the open thematization “Scapes and Forms” also paved way for diverse artistic creations, fostered by interplay of different media/styles in the works the participating artists, which were largely achieved in two-dimensional forms. Hence, it was common to find one artist painting while another artist sitting next to him/her drawing in charcoal. But more importantly, the open theme favoured creative diversities on the part of the participating artists especially on the choice of art expression which was also generally seen in their works. For instance, Mr. Caleb choose coloured pencils as the best media for expressing himself while Aliyu Mohammed prefers to simply use pencil in capturing the essential features of the concentrated aerial view in the workshop.
Above all, Scapes and Forms did not only present artists with creative opportunities to improving their drawing skills, it also set to revive as well as sustain the rudiments in contemporary art practice. This is probably the most unique aspects of the workshop.
Mr. Kunde T.M. (BA, MA Art History)
January 22, 2011
*** Art in Disguise ***
