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Demas Nwoko (born 1935) is a
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
artist,
protean designer, architect and master builder. As an artist, he strives to incorporate modern techniques in architecture and
stage design
Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...
to enunciate African subject matter in most of his works. In the 1960s, he was a member of the
Mbari club of
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...
, a committee of burgeoning Nigerian and foreign artists. He was also a lecturer 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 196 ...
. In the 1970s, he was the publisher of the now defunct ''New Culture'' magazine.
Nwoko, sees design as an ingenuous activity that carries with it a focus on social responsibility for positive influences in the environment and culture of the society.
Biography
Early life
Nwoko was born in 1935 in
Idumuje Ugboko, a town that now has as its
Obi #REDIRECT Obi #REDIRECT Obi {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ... {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...
(King) Nwoko's nephew (Chukwunomso Nwoko). Nwoko grew up in Idumuje Ugboko appreciating the newly constructed architectural edifices in the town and in the palace of the Obi, his father. He went to study
fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
at the College of Arts, Science and Technology, in 1956, a year after the college was moved from its original location in
Ibadan
Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...
to
Zaria
Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...
. In 1962, he received a scholarship from the
Congress of Cultural Freedom to study at the Centre Français du Théâtre in Paris where he learned scenic design.
Zaria art school
From 1957 to 1961 he studied Fine Arts at the former College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria (now
Ahmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...
), where he was exposed to conventional Western techniques in art, though like most of the artists at the school their subject matter was predominantly African.
[Robert W. July, ''An African Voice: The Role of the Humanities in African Independence'', Duke University Press. 1987, p. 51.] In the late 1950s, together with
Uche Okeke
Christopher Uchefuna Okeke (; April 30, 1933 – January 5, 2016), also known as Uche Okeke (), was an illustrator, painter, sculptor, and teacher. He was an art and aesthetic theorist, seminal to Nigerian modernism.
Background
Christopher Uche ...
, Simon Okeke, Bruce Onobrakpeya and few other art students, he formed the Art Society. This was during a period dominated by
nationalistic fervour, with the attainment of national political independence in 1960. The Art Society became known for championing
Natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
Synthesis, a term coined by Uche Okeke to describe the combination of contemporary Western art techniques and African ideas, art forms, and themes.
Pan-Africanism and early artwork
In the 1950s, Nigeria's campaign for
self-rule was dominated by two major ideas on how to achieve a truly independent and stable
polity
A polity is an identifiable Politics, political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relation, social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize ...
. One was based on regions as the foundation of the
nation-state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
and politicians used the regions as a stepping stone for political success, the other embraced the ideas that emanated from the early
Nigerian Youth Movement and the
Zikist Movements to employ themes of
Pan-Africanism and to forgo the regions as the foundation of the future Nigerian
polity
A polity is an identifiable Politics, political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relation, social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize ...
. In his art work, Nwoko moved slightly towards the latter. Nwoko's early sculpture and painting style were inspired by the findings at
Nok
Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site.
Archaeology
The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...
. A lot of his early sculptures and paintings can be described as one of
extrapolation. His
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
's were designs that extended and expressed the art forms of the Ancient Nok with less deviation from an ancient African theme. This allowed the work to express less ambiguity and more clarity of intentions and to showcase a modern African art form.
Architectural design
After completing his studies at Zaria and Paris, he moved to Ibadan in 1963. In Ibadan, he originally concentrated on designs for theatrical productions of the University of Ibadan's department of Drama while he was also a lecturer at the university. While in the
ancient city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, he was sometimes short on cash and expenses to build or buy a house and studio for his work. He then decided to build his studio and house from traditional methods to complement his cash shortage. He used
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
and
laterite
Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...
found around the site chosen and built a brick house and studio from the natural resources lying around.
His inventiveness in using modern and new techniques for selected and protean African art works led to his name being spread around town and in the country. Nwoko's first major architectural design was for a
Dominican mission in Ibadan. After the nation's independence, some missions desired to decorate their churches with African
motifs. He was originally approached to design a
plaque for a new chapel but he later asked the Dominican fathers to help in designing a new chapel to be located in Ibadan. Although, his initial design was a little bit crude with the utilisation of free-hand drawing, it was meant to accommodate local exigencies such as the sunny atmosphere in Ibadan. Usually, his designs were designed to have interior temperatures to be in contrast to the exterior temperatures at most times. His style was moulded to fit into the temporal needs of African citizens in a given location.
Nwoko later went on to design more structures such as the Benin theatre, which used Greek and the Japanese
Kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
designs. He also designed the scepter for his brother's coronation as the Obi of Idumoje Ugboko. Other famous architectural works includes the cultural center, Ibadan, which made use of natural forms to emphasise its relationship with nature and ancient
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
art.
Nwoko's works fuse modern techniques in architecture and stage design with African tradition. With works such as The Dominican Institute, Ibadan and The Akenzua Cultural Center, Benin, to his credit, Nwoko is one "artist-architect" who believes in celebrating the African tradition in his works. In 2007,
Farafina Books
Kachifo Limited is an independent publishing house based in Lagos, Nigeria. It was founded in 2004 by Muhtar Bakare. Its imprints include Farafina Books, Farafina Educational, and Prestige Books. From 2004 to 2009, it published the influential '' ...
published ''The Architecture of Demas Nwoko'', a study of Nwoko's work and theories written by two British architects,
John Godwin OBE and Gillian Hopwood. Reviewing the book, ''African Book Publishing Record'' states:
The Dominican Institute was his first major architectural project. He asked the Dominicans if he could assist them in their new building. The Dominican fathers, were eager to incorporate African motifs in their new buildings in Ibadan. Nwoko's designs perfectly fit their needs.
Nwoko's studies in Zaria and Paris had prepared him well for his plan of combining African art with modern ideas of European art. He began designing for University of Ibadan theatrical productions. It was his new ideas, which led to his work with the Dominicans and that success led to his subsequent works throughout Nigeria, including the Oba Akenzua Theater in Benin City
Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...
, Nigeria. The Oba Akenzua Theater uses Japanese and Greek designs in an African setting. He also designed the cultural centre in Ibadan and a sceptre his brother's coronation. His brother is the Obi of Idumoje Ugboko.
In addition to his architecture Nwoko has many other accomplishments in the arts. He co-published ''New Culture'', a leading arts magazine, pointing the way toward new movements in African art. He led the way toward a modern mode of expression in African art, theatre, painting, and architecture. In addition, he is a fine actor and dancer, having performed in numerous plays in Ibadan. He also is a distinguished professor in Ibadan.
Godwin and Hopwood manage to capture all of these facets of Nwoko's career while keeping the focus on his architecture. Nwoko belongs to that generation of artists, along with Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
, who fought for Nigerian independence artistically as well as politically.
This book has been produced to an exceptionally high quality, with plentiful photographs. ''The Architecture of Demas Nwoko'' is recommended for all architecture and African Studies collections.
Stage design
The success of
Amos Tutuola
Amos Tutuola (20 June 1920 – 8 June 1997) was a Nigerian writer who wrote books based in part on Yoruba folk-tales.
Early history
Amos Olatubosun Tutuola Odegbami was born on 20 June 1920, in Wasinmi, a village just a few miles outside o ...
's ''Palmwine Drinkard'' owes a little bit of credit to the effort of Nwoko. His inventive creations helped organise the choreography and direction of the play and brought to life the themes of Tutuola in every act of the play. His body of stage design and direction, which started at Ibadan includes
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
's ''A Dance of the Forests'',
Bertholt Brecht's ''Der Kaukasische Kreidekreis'' (''
The Caucasian Chalk Circle''), and the Mbari Theatre production of
John Pepper Clark
John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo (6 April 1935 – 13 October 2020) was a Nigerian poet and playwright, who also published as J. P. Clark and John Pepper Clark.
Life
Born in Kiagbodo, Nigeria, to an Ijaw father and Urhobo mother, Clark received his ...
's ''The Masquerade''.
[Meyer-Dinkgräfe. ''Who's Who in Contemporary World Theatre'' (2002), p. 223.]
See also
*
List of Nigerian architects
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
Publications
* John Godwin and Gillian Hopwood: ''The architecture of Demas Nwoko''. Lagos, Farafina, 2007.
References
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20060225012822/http://archnet.org/library/parties/one-party.tcl?party_id=1209
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwoko, Demas
1935 births
University of Ibadan faculty
Living people
Nigerian interior designers
20th-century Nigerian architects