AN ANALYSIS OF UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS USED FOR ART EXPRESSION BY NINE (9) SELECTED NIGERIAN ARTISTS

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Author

Presented To

Department of Environmental Design

ABSTRACT
Since the revolution earlier started with the emergence of the Renaissance in Europe, new ideas of art creation, kept evolving as artists continued to show dissatisfaction with state-of-the-art expression. The plethora of media for art expression spread beyond the boundaries of Europe. More explorations and experiments kept intensifying, leading to discoveries and inventions of other materials and techniques with the hope to present art forms that express something better than previous creations. Different movements were formed in line with their different ideologies. In the early 20th century, Western artists like Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso appropriated found objects as creative devices. People were shocked seeing those kinds of art creation. The first and the second World Wars witnessed radical use of waste in art expression. Transforming of waste and found objects into works of art not only shows the boundless powers of human imagination, but also exposes the innate creative potentials that such materials possess. In Africa, various artists like El Anatsui, Dilomprizulike, Alex Nwokolo, among others, have critically engaged waste and found objects as viable media for artistic expression. Groups like Bruce Onokbrapeya Foundation (BOF), Art is Everywhere Project, among many, have organized seminars and workshops to sensitize the public not only on the creative possibilities of unconventional materials, but also on the use of found objects imbued with art works with peculiar aesthetics, which make profound visual statements. The artists understudy, were individually motivated by nature and their different models, but further acquired more skills and experiences through explorations and experimentations. The choice of unconventional materials and the techniques used by each of them for their art creations were marks of creative independence attained by each of the artists. Most of their expressions were in the areas of paintings, sculptures, installation arts, and mixed media exploration. Each of the works displays exquisite expression, revels reinvention of new context. and ideation. Given the growing global concerns on environmental degradation and climate change, the transformation of waste and found objects into works of art imbued with new meaning is an important avenue for having a sustainable environment. The artists derived different levels of satisfaction for using the materials. This informed their courage and continuous creations in materials and techniques that are unequaled. Based on the findings made after the analysis, one of the major recommendations is the early exposition of students to the aesthetic potentials of unconventional materials, preferable when they are still quite young. It is believed that they will grow up to value the creative potentials inherent in the materials. Artists should always seek out new challenges in order to task their creative skills, harness their uncertainty and fuel their brilliant concepts.