BusinessDay 21 Jan 2018

C002D5556
36 BD SUNDAY
Sunday 21 January 2018
Arts
‘Anyanwu’, a masterpiece from the great sculptor
OBINNA EMELIKE
No doubt, Nigeria
visual
artists have
been in the
news in recent
time for good. Their
creative ingenuity and
breathtaking works are
getting global attention
and most importantly,
patronage from art lovers
and galleries across the
world.
As well, indigenous
art collectors are on the
increase. But while works
by new generation artists
are getting more global
recognitions and putting
up impressive results at
auction sales, some works
by old generation artists
both living and dead are
even doing better than
the ‘new school’ at global
auction scenes. Top
among the ‘old school’
works is ‘Anyanwu’. Yes
because at 6ft 10 inches,
‘Anyanwu’, a bronze
work depicting a woman
dressed in the royal
regalia, a ‘chicken-beak’
headdress, heavy coral
necklaces and bracelets, is
not an artwork to ignore.
Besides, the distinctive
body of the work speaks
volume of feminine beauty
in African cultures and
heritage.
‘Anyanwu’, which
literally means Sun in
Igbo Language, is a masterpiece
bronze cast by
the late Ben Enwonwu,
known and celebrated as
one of Africa’s great modern
sculptors and artists.
It is often regarded as the
Igbo Sun goddess.
It was commissioned
by the Nigerian government
in the 1960s, and
the first cast stands in
the Lagos National Museum.
The bronze work
is historic with its first
unveiling to the public
on October 5, 1966, when
it was presented by the
Nigerian Ambassador to
the Secretary-General
of the United Nations,
U-Thant. Of course, then,
the enigmatic sculpture
gave Nigeria the opportunity
to affirm its position
as a leading African
nation and established
Enwonwu as a self-aware
African modernist, and
the sculpture in turn as a
potent symbol of modern,
independent Africa.
According to Chika
Okeke-Agulu, Nigerian
artist and art historian,
‘Anyanyu’ was Enwonwu’s
response to the very
rhetoric of African cultural
revival and political
independence that had
attracted earlier modern
sculptors. “It depicts an
elegant African dancer,
but, as her piercing gaze
implies, it is the manifestation
of the Igbo sun god”,
Okeke-Agula, an artist,
independent curator, art
historian and associate
professor at Princeton
University, said.
Trailing the ever growing
value of the sculpture,
on May 25, 2016
when over 20 works by
Enwonwu featured in
Africa Now Sale, Bonhams
auctioned a cast
of the iconic ‘Anyanwu’
sculpture at between
£70,000- £100,000. The
development was on the
heel of Bonhams smashing
the record for the
Nigerian artist in 2013,
and selling a series of
Enwonwu’s sculptures
for £361,250.
Speaking on the growing
values for Enwonwu’s
works, especially ‘Anyanwu’,
at the Bonhams
auction last year, Giles
Peppiatt, head of African
modern and contemporary
art, said, “Enwonwu
is the ultimate African
modernist, who also
draws deeply from Igbo
culture, and this sculpture
has a real sense of pride
and grace to it. We are delighted
to offer this iconic
piece at a time when the
demand for African modern
and contemporary art
is booming”.
Riding on heel of the
Bonhams auction in London
last May, Enwonwu’s
‘Anyanwu’ broke national
record in Nigeria. The
iconic artwork sold for
N54,050,000 at the May
edition of the Arthouse
Contemporary Auction
held on May 22, 2017 at
the Kia Showroom, Victoria
Island, Lagos. The
N54,050,000 auction sale
made the artwork the top
sale of the evening graced
by notable art collectors,
art enthusiasts, and dignitaries
across all walks
of life.
As well, with the evening
top sale, the artwork
broke a new auction record
as the highest selling
work of art in an auction
in Nigeria.
Trailing behind ‘Anyanwu’
is El Anatsui’s
‘Reflekisi’, a wood panel
from 2017, which sold
for N16,675,000 while
‘Ogolo’, another work
from Enwonwu, sold for
N13,800,000. The work
is a watercolour on paper
from 1989 which features
a figure wearing an Ogolo
mask engaged in vigorous
dance movement.
Also at the auction, a
mixed media work by
Peju Alatise, who is currently
representing Nigeria
at the Venice Biennale,
sold for N 5,175,000
while Ben Osawe’s Mask,
a wood sculpture from
1987 that takes inspiration
from ancient artifacts
from Benin and Gabon,
sold for NGN 4,600,000.
Featuring 98 lots of
leading master works
from the modern period
alongside cutting-edge
contemporary art from
the region’s most celebrated
artists, the auction
brought in a total
sales for the evening to
N166,156,000.
The auction also included
four charity lots in
support of the Arthouse
Foundation, a non-profit
artist residency programme
in Lagos, which
raised a total of NGN
740,000. The proceeds
from the charity lots will
go directly to supporting
the Arthouse Foundation’s
annual artist residencies.
Supported by Kia Motors,
Veuve Clicquot, and
Shiro, the auction is the
eighteenth edition of
Modern and Contemporary
Art by Arthouse
Contemporary.
Of course, Ben Enwonwu
who came from a
lineage of traditional African
artists, was trained
by his father and Kenneth
Crosthwaite Murray, an
archaeologist. He then
sailed to England in 1944,
aged 27, to attend the
Slade School of Fine Art,
graduating with a prize
for sculpture. Upon his
return to Nigeria in 1948,
he was appointed the
first Nigerian art adviser
to the federal government.
His art began to
glean the highest accolades
from art critics, with
Eric Newton extolling
the ‘lithe rhythm’ of his
wood sculptures, and the
British press comparing
his ‘daring’ work to that
of Henry Moore, while
the US Ebony Magazine
described him as ‘Africa’s
greatest artist’.
Gospel singer, Seyi Precious, drops his first single ‘Uncountable’
DAVID IBEMERE
Gospel singer, Adebayo
Oluwaseyi,
aka Seyi Precious is
set to make his debut on
the Nigerian music scene
with his first single, Uncountable.
According to the Osun-born
artiste, the new
single is a song of the spirit
that carries its own atmosphere
of worship while
introducing listeners into
a throne room-like experience;
that will help
everyone connect to God
in a special way.
“The track was born
in my quiet times of meditation
and by a desire
to express my heartfelt
devotion and gratitude
to God whose hand has
been evident in my life.
As I normally say; ‘when
people say there’s no God,
I respond that it’s not my
responsibility to prove
there’s no God because
all that is in me testifies to
his lordship and preeminence,’”
he said.
For the Ladoke Akintola
University, Art graduate,
gospel music is not
something he stumbled
upon.
“My music evolution
began when I was young.
I joined the juvenile choir
at my local church, where
I started to sing, I have
always had great passion
for music and always daring
for more skills, largely
because of my family, because
my parents are also
in the adult choir in my
church, Music is what I
will say runs in the DNA
of my Family and our lifestyle,”
he remarked.
Describing his style of
music as Jesus music, the
artist cum music artiste
says he expresses his love
in any way it comes to him
at any point in time, “the
expression of the greater
one is more important
than defining it”
“I am convinced the
song will communicate to
people’s hearts in a way
that will give listeners
hope for a better tomorrow,”
he stressed