Written by Akintayo Abodunrin, Sunday,
01 September 2013 00:00
[…]
He thereafter narrated humbling
experiences that made him realise that the price of a work is not determined by
its quality but by the reputation of the maker and how this has impacted art
practice in Nigeria.
He recalled that around 1991, Gani
Odutokun told him a gallery owner in Lagos was interested in his drawings and
he selected four of his works to bring to the collector. Jari disclosed
that at the time, he had not sold any of his works in Lagos but had told
Odutokun how much he was going to sell each work and the artist said his prices
were fair.
A shocker, however, awaited him when
he arrived in Lagos. “The owner appeared happy to see me and even happier to
see the four drawings I brought with me. Upon telling him the price of each
drawing however, his countenance suddenly changed and he became instantly
hostile, prompting him to speak acidly and unintelligibly. Amidst the muttering
and hissing, the two questions I could pick out repeatedly were, “Who do you
think you are?” and “Who knows you?” I was shocked at this tantrum and I
remained frozen until he finished his outburst at which point I asked him how
much he was prepared to offer for the drawings.
“He looked at me intently and without
batting an eye offered the price I was asking for one drawing for the entire
four! In response, I too looked at him in a similar manner and told him to pay!
He was so shocked at my response that he asked me to repeat what I said, so I
did. He suddenly became jovial once more and putting his arm round my
shoulders, he declared that he could do business with me. He implored me to
bring more drawings and my paintings when I got back to Zaria.
[…]
He said he brought out four of his old
drawings and showed them to the students. “I tagged them, A, B, C, and D. I
told the students that A was produced by me; Gani Odutokun produced B; Bruce
Onobrakpeya produced C while Jimoh Akolo produced D...I then asked them how
much they were willing to pay for each drawing.
It was interesting to note that while
drawings B, C, and D attracted substantial amounts, nothing significant was
offered for A. Yet, in reality, I created all the drawings. I asked the
students what informed their decision to award such prices and they simply
explained that the other artists were more established than I” …
[…]
He contended that the manner in which
works are collected in Nigeria encourages artists to remain in a certain mould
of creation which targets sales and that this also explains why some artists
copy successful ones. “There is therefore, the tendency for artists who wish to
sell works to ape those who successfully sell theirs. This perhaps accounts for
why forgery is particularly rampant in Nigeria not only perpetrated by artists
but by gallery owners,” he noted.
Of
course, a lot of this is true outside Nigeria as well. Nobody INVESTS – and increasingly
it’s an investment like any other rather than a matter of taste – in the work
of artists that do not have a reputation. After all, one of the attractions of INVESTING
in art is that the prices of the great masters, i.e. those who are established
and preferably dead (i.e. increasing demand cannot be met through the
production of new works) will remain stable or indeed increase in the future. INVESTING
in the work of an artist whose reputation still needs to be established, on the
other hand, is risky. – None of this says anything about the quality of his or
her work. Or at least that’s what I believe. But, then how do you define
quality in art anyway? I’d argue it boils down to taste – and tastes are
acquired and shaped by exposure and fashions.
I
guess, what’s differs is that there are other sources of funding and publicity
for artists and for exhibitions that allow artists to make a name for
themselves in other parts of the world that may not be available to Nigerian
artists – or indeed the vast majority of contemporary African artists. And, of
course, Jacob Jari made that point as well when he argued that
… art patrons and foundations need to
assist creative artists with new ideas which might not be, from the superficial
point of view, commercially viable but which sharpen the artists’ desire for
freedom of expression. This, he noted, would take Nigerian art forward instead
of so called contemporary works appearing to have been done in the 50s, 60s and
70s by the masters.
By
the way, it saddens me to read that his own students didn’t rate him as a great
artists and that he has to see ‘his works sold for
lesser prices compared with works by younger artists with less impressive CVs.’
He’s done such interesting stuff.