THERE IS NO EQUITY IN THE COUNTRY – DR. KUNLE ADEYEMI

Dr. Kunle Adeyemi is the Dean, School of Art, Design & Printing, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. In this interview, he speaks about his works, academic journey, and a little, but pointblank, about the state of the nation today.

Academic profile

I had my national diploma here (in YABA Tech). Before then, I had an OND in printing technology. I came back wanting to do painting, but the school said no; that if I want to do any course in art, I have to go back to OND and do general art. All these took place between 1977 and 1984. Having done that, I did the painting in HND and graduated as a painter. I was later employed by Guardian Newspapers as a visualizer. From there I moved to some couple of private companies to work as a visualizer. Later, I worked as a studio artist. Then I went for my residency in US, came back in 1989, and went back to the University of Benin from 1996 to 1999 for a master’s degree in Graphic Design specializing in Print making. After that, I also went for a Post Graduate Diploma in education in 2001 at Lagos State University which led me to another academic pursuit at Delta State University for a PhD programme. Within that time, I had the opportunity to travel outside the country to facilitate some programme workshops. It has been very rewarding in the area of contributions to knowledge and to humanity.


The core message in his works

My works project the good aspect of our culture. I try to relate with the past while presenting and focusing on the future. Basically, some of my works are social in nature. I talk about the hard time, what my people are going through. There is a fundamental problem in the distribution of our wealth in this country. There is no equity in the country and it is unfortunate. Right now, we have the class of super-rich and super poor. There’s no more middle class in the system. It is either you are super rich or super poor. The system has not been fair to us. As an artist, I try as much as possible to look at those areas and highlight them in my work. I am basing it on the fact that we had a root and culture which we are known for and those things have elements of human cultural identity. Some of those attributes could make us to be something better in life but we are not taking advantage of them.

As artists, we try to show some solution but the solution sometimes looks like entertainment. It really looks like entertainment but we give solution through the entertaining art. A good work of art is evergreen.


Specific works that address some of these problems

In my Wheel of Fortune, everyone finds himself in this master work. Everybody is represented there. From the age one to seventy years are represented in the core. The circle starts from our prime to transitory stages, activities, experiences and occurrences of our life. It is a work that tells your life story without missing anything, including life and death, happiness and sadness, sickness and healthiness, encompassing all things. The work in itself is there to prepare you for a journey of life and things to expect either for good or for bad. Works of art must be able to talk about the reality of life. I don’t do work for art sake.


Location of commercial values of artworks

It is both intrinsic and extrinsic. If a work is good, no matter the time, such work will command some measure of values. Although there are some politics involved- national and otherwise – who is who and all that, but the most important thing is the sincerity of purpose injected into the work by the artist. Unfortunately, in most cases, some of these works are valued when the artists are long gone. If the artist were to be alive, it will be a different thing. When all the required elements are there, then it will surely have some followership. You can also make an artist more visible by incessant features in the media. When an artist is featured several times and especially when he is doing the right things, the value will be high. Another important factor is God. Whatever you do in life, God is the ultimate.


Challenges in teaching and practicing art

The way I entered art is quite different from others. As a youth I was only interested in playing football which got my father very angry. To re-direct my attention from football he sent me to a local sign writer without knowing the implications of what he was doing. He actually wanted me to read medicine and become a medical doctor. Later he took me to a family friend who was a medical doctor in a bid to make me become a medical doctor. He persuaded me to tell the doctor that I wanted to read medicine. When we got there the doctor asked me “what do you want to read?” I said, “Medicine.”

The man looked at my school certificate result and said to my father, “he will be good in art instead of medicine.” I had all the ‘A’s in arts without science subjects. Eventually I studied art and through that art I have my PhD today in art education. I see my journey as an opportunity to contribute to humanity. I was fortunate to train under renowned artists like Kolade Oshinowo, Prof. Dele Jegede, Bruce onobrakpeya, Prof. Wangboje and others. Whatever they have deposited in me, I try to enlarge. I expect that if anybody is passing through me, that person must be able to sing a new song. That has been my principle. When I spot a talent is my student, I try to bring it out, except if the student is not serious. Art has been my life all through. And finding myself at this level particularly has been the preparation of the past. I never knew that I will be called upon to become the dean of the school. I try to do everything with humility and diligence.



By: Chris Onuoha
Source: www.vanguardngr.com