Emergence Of Contemporary Public Outdoor Sculptures In Western Nigeria

Public outdoor sculptures is defined within the context of this study as any outdoor sculptures that are commissioned and executed by government and its agents, township associations and communities.

Public outdoor sculptures are part and parcel of modern Nigerian art. Similarly, the workshops and art schools initiated by the catholic missionaries can not be left out when discussing the emergence of public outdoor sculptures, because it was the products of these workshops that actually started the installation of public outdoor sculptures in Nigeria.

The introduction and creation of sculpture works in Nigerian schools, specifically in the South Western parts of the country, began through the activities of Kenneth C. Murray. He was the first British colonial officer assigned to teach art in Nigeria. He arrived Nigeria in 1927 and advised students to conceptualize forms within the contents and boundaries of their rich and lively cultures steel branch gnomes decoration/metal silhouette yard art/garden gnome statues B08XBYSH27.

Students were taught wood carving, modelling, mural decoration, painting, and drawing. His teaching of art had a strong preference for local indigenous art forms. He advised that traditional and contemporary art be incorporated into public buildings like churches and schools so that art can become familiar to the society. There was an art exhibition in Zwemmer Art Gallery, London in 1937 titled ”Exhibition of wood carvings, terracotta and water colour”, which came to being as a result of the success of Murray’s programme. The exhibition showcased the works of his pioneering students which reflected in the theme of the exhibition, the new status of sculpture in the syllabus. The main purpose of the exhibition was to solicit the approval of art by the people of England as a good activity worthy of inclusion into the school’s curriculum. Murray was able to, not only encouraged art in schools and colleges, but also broadened the existing syllabus by including sculpture. Traditional sculpture was also upgraded by recommending it as a means for artistic propagation. Traditional and contemporary arts were also incorporated into architecture.

The papal order of the 1930s, authorising Christian missionaries to accommodate beneficent indigenous cultures, probably encouraged Murray to introduce sculpture in schools and colleges. The order enabled the Catholic missions to set up an art workshop in 1947 at Oye Ekiti under the direct tutorship of Father Kelvin Carroll. Similarly, Lord Lugard’s policy of indirect rule – forwarding the British policy through the existing traditional chiefs and institutions, could well have been an unconscious model for the Oye Ekiti project in Nigeria. This workshop is probably the first practical step in Nigeria to introduce sculpture into modern architecture. Traditional artists were assembled to produce sculpture and other crafts that depicted Christian themes for the use of the church. The items produced include Madonnas, crucifixes, Christmas cribs, figures of saints, doors and so on.