A POSTMODERNIST INTERROGATION OF WALLS OF PARTITION

By

Author

Presented To

Department of Environmental Design

ABSTRACT
This research aspires to produce kinetic hangings to be mounted on-site as commentaries on the social barriers found in Nigeria. This ideology requires breaking most art rules since traditional vocabulary is insufficient. The major objectives of this research are to, 1) Create kinetic paintings premised on relevant postmodernist theories mandated to engage social issues which cause class divisions in Nigerian society; 2) Utilise fabrics and variegated mixed media techniques to produce installations; 3) Produce site-specific (on-site) paintings which emanate from the cultural specificity of the Zaria environment. The methodology adapted is a visual arts based research (ABR) schema which allows for dynamism in practice-led studio approaches to be achieved. This is hinged on the scholarship of Sullivan (2005, 2008, 2010) and Leavy (2009). The ten walls produced are, Race, Gender, Power, Religion, Ethnicity, Politics, Poverty, Illiteracy, Class and a finite wall, termed mother of all walls. This wall is a culmination of the experiences garnered during the period of research in terms of design, materials, ideas, and thematic focus. The unique contribution to and expansion of existing body of knowledge can be summed as follows: 1) the idea as x embedded in the theorisation and conceptualisation of the artworks and the processes of their production supersedes the output. Quality therefore, takes precedence over quantity; 2) the ability of the artist to remove the canvas from the confines of the stretcher and suspend it in time and space is a major contribution to knowledge; 3) the artwork has been taken away from the confines of elitist galleries, and brought to the public space fulfilling the idea of art as a common commodity accessible to the common human person. This aspiration is in line with postmodernist ideals where the principles of high art imbibed by Renaissance artists are rejected; 4) paintings can be achieved without the deployment of conventional pigments. Canvas, linen, silk, other common fabrics such as Ankara, laces, taffeta, brocade can create enduring tactile compositions which appeal to a wider range of people rather than oils which are exclusively meant for specialists; 5) the resultant artworks of this dissertation can be classed as social art and social sculpture much in line with what Ann Hamilton (b.1956) and Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) attest to as art which engages people through feeling, sight, and sound, since it does not limit expression in medium, style or ideological connotations.