Moyo Okediji is an art historian, painter and artist whose works contains a number of icons and signifiers of the deep aspects of

Yoruba culture Distinctive cultural norms prevail in Yorubaland and among the Yoruba people.Kola Abimbola, Yoruba Culture: ''A Philosophical Account'', Iroko Academic Publishers, 2005. Art Sculpture The Yoruba are said to be prolific sculptors, famous for ...

. He was part of Ona, an art movement at

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

Early life and education

Okediji was born in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

in 1956; his family hails from Oyo town, in

Oyo state Oyo State is an inland States of Nigeria, state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is b ...

. His parent moved to Ile-Ife when Okediji was young and he spent most of his adolescent years in the ancient town. In 1977, he completed a degree in painting at the

University of Ife Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

, thereafter, he worked as a graduate assistant in the Faculty of Arts at the university. Okediji later earned a master's degree at University of Benin and returned to the University of Ife as a lecturer. While in Benin, he was influenced by the techniques of Guyanese painter Doris Rodgers who included decorative elements of African origin in her works.

Work

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Okediji, along with Kunle Filani and others were part of the art movement called Ona, the movement sought to reference Yoruba adages, proverbs, and visual concepts in their art works adjusted to modern Nigerian realities of the twentieth century. During the period, he also edited a short lived magazine called Kurio Africana. The group held their first exhibition in March 1989 at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 19 ...

. Okedeji went on to obtain a PhD at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in 1995. He was the Curator of African and Oceanic Arts at the Denver Art Museum from 2003 to 2008. He is currently an academic staff of the

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Books

*Okediji, Moyo, 2011, Western Frontiers of African Art. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.. *Okediji, Moyo. 2003. The Shattered Gourd: Yoruba Forms in 20th Century American Art. Seattle: University of Washington Press. . *Okediji, Moyo. 2002. African Renaissance: Old Forms, New Images in Yoruba Art. Boulder: University Press of Colorado. .

References

External links

*"Universe of Moyo" a
Okediji Universe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okediji, Moyo 1956 births Living people Yoruba artists Academic staff of Obafemi Awolowo University Artists from Lagos Yoruba academics University of Benin (Nigeria) alumni Obafemi Awolowo University alumni Nigerian art historians Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Nigerian art curators Historians of Yoruba art Yoruba historians