Tam Fiofori
30 November 2008
document
Lagos — The 10th edition of the Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF), yearly organised by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), a non-governmental, non-profit-making, interventionistic arts club rounded off penultimate Sunday amidst fanfare. This paper, presented at the occasion, argues for inclusion of photography in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
SADLY, there is a very disappointing minimal presence of photography in the exhibited collection of the National Gallery of Art; the NGA. This obvious and discouraging fact, is enough evidence for me to be tempted to rephrase the topic of this keynote address as, 'The Non-Visibility of Photography in the Nigerian Art Gallery Space'; moreso as the National Gallery of Art by its official mandate, is supposed to cater for artists, photographers and architects and, thereby, should set the direction and standards for other private Art Galleries in Nigeria to emulate.
The current situation whereby the official custodian of the welfare and creative growth of photography in Nigeria, has knowingly or unknowingly refused to play its designated national role, comes as no surprise to me.
My careful observations from the sidelines; as a practising independent filmmaker and photographer for nearly four decades, have led me to the justifiably cynical conclusion that the so-called cultural experts and administrators in the Nigerian Civil Service, have woefully failed their large and thriving constituency of practising Nigerian artists-cum-contemporary culture producers as well as the nation itself.
A Nigerian ambassador; a one-time prominent dramatist and now a very visible frontline culture activist, remarked many years back; during the opening of an art exhibition at a foreign-government cultural centre in Lagos, that these foreign cultural centres have done more for Nigerian culture than the Nigerian government agencies and institutions set up specifically to promote culture and
contemporary culture-producers.
It is also very true that these foreign cultural centres as well as many private art galleries have done so much more to exhibit and develop the growth of creative photography in Nigeria than the official government agency responsible for photography in Nigeria.
These encouraging realities are enough inspirational consolation to make me enthusiastically want to examine the topic, The Visibility of Photography in the Nigerian Art Gallery Space, and hopefully, offer some relevant insights and useful suggestions.
Definitely, a whole lot more has to be done, and urgently too, to give photography its respect and rightful place of honour in the Nigerian Art Gallery space! It is logical to begin by situating the place of photography in the history of contemporary art in Nigeria.
Apart from the unfortunate fact that the established Nigerian art historians have done little or no research and written work on photography in Nigeria, they also are much uninformed about the chronological position of photography in the history of the development of contemporary art in Nigeria.
It will, therefore, come as a big surprise to Nigerian art historians, gallery owners, art collectors and the general art-loving community that photography blazed the trail for the recognition, admiration and respect of Nigerian art in the Western world more than a century ago!
Interestingly, it was the classic traditional bronze and ivory works from the ancient Benin Kingdom, that in the 16th Century; more than five hundred years ago, first drew attention to the creative excellence and cultural wealth of the people that inhabit the geographic space now known as Nigeria. Back then; first the Portuguese and then later other Europeans, marvelled and wondered how such exquisite and highly creative bronze and ivory works could be produced by black people in the so-called primitive continent of the world.
Four hundred years after Benin bronze and ivory works caught and still retained the artistic and socio-political attention of the Western world; it was photography by a Nigerian; documenting the oscillating political fortunes of the same Benin Kingdom as well as socio-political institutions, cultural activities and the nature-endowed environment within what is now known as the Niger- Delta of Nigeria, that also dramatically introduced contemporary creative art from Nigeria to the Western and entire world.
At this juncture, it is very pertinent to establish that photography has long been recognised and categorised in academic, artistic and cultural circles worldwide as a creative art form and, continuing arguments about whether photography is a craft or skill, are at best, petty and spurious.
Secondly, I am not an advocate of the simplistic logic that first is best. Having established these two important yardsticks, I can now proceed to talk about achieving more visibility for photography in the Nigerian Art Gallery space. Politics and art have become inseparable in today's world. The medium that has best dramatically documented this lasting international reality is photography.
The world, therefore, took attention of the historic British politically-driven military invasion of the Benin Kingdom; resulting in the sacking and looting of the palace of Oba Ovonramwen of Benin of its precious and now priceless bronze and ivory works; and the eventual banishment of Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar in 1897. Incidentally, these looted bronze and ivory artworks are currently in the British Museum and other prestigious museums abroad.
Historic documentary photographs showing a distraught Oba Ovonramwen in leg chains guarded by bare-foot native policemen with bayonet-mounted rifles; on board a ship to his exile in Calabar, were prominently published in the leading newspapers and periodicals in Britain and Europe.
The photographer responsible for these explosive images and, subsequent images of powerful kings and chiefs of the Niger-Delta as well as still-documentaries on the culture and environment of this region of Nigeria was J.A.Green.
Most times, these photographs were used without proper credit given to their producer and, in keeping with the cultural racism of the times; which had earlier doubted whether Nigerians and Africans could produce the bronze and ivory masterpieces from Benin, when these photographs were credited to a J.A.Green; it was automatically assumed that he was a white man and European! Other times his works were listed as taken by an 'unknown' photographer.
As from 1897, Green's historic and creative photographs were published in Western books and periodicals and, in the popular and prestigious The Illustrated London News. Incredibly, a whole century after Green's emotionally-wrenching photograph of Oba Ovonramwen in leg chains en-route to exile was widely published in Britain and Europe, the same photograph was used as the cover photograph for the programme of the play on Ovonramwen written by Ahmed Yerima and first performed at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
It is certain that the supplier of the photograph, the designer of the programme, the playwright, cast and sponsors of the play were then, and now, not aware that this powerful, dramatic and creatively-composed photograph was the work of J. A. Green, a Nigerian!
Thankfully, after more than two decades of intense research and many visits to private collectors, educational institutions, libraries and museums like the Maritime Museum, Liverpool and Unilever Archives, London; where most of Green's works are in collection, two American professors of art, Martha G. Anderson and Lisa L.Aronson, have emphatically established the fact that Green was actually Jonathan Adagogo Green, an Ibani Ijaw, born and bred in Bonny in now Rivers State. Such was Green's professional confidence, level of competence and creative inspiration that he stamped his photographs with the inscription: 'J. A. Green, Artist Photographer.'
Indeed, Jonathan Adagogo Green is Nigeria's first artist-cum-creative photographer. He was in such demand between 1890 and the early 1900s, that he photographed for the British colonial administrators, British and European merchants and, travelled from Bonny to different parts of the Niger-Delta, Warri and Calabar. Luckily for Nigeria, Professors Anderson and Aronson who are being assisted by Emeritus Professor E.J.Alagoa and his team on the home front are working towards a book and eventual exhibitions of J.A.Green's works.
Without doubt, Green's well-deserved and rather belated place among the best photographers of the world, will then be permanently established. Now, more than a whole century after Green had identified himself and proven the fact that he was indeed an artist photographer, which so-called art expert, teacher, gallery-owner, collector or art fan, can today dare declare that the legion of photographers in Nigeria who have followed in the footsteps of Green are not artists?
I make good to declare that since Green, Nigeria has produced at least fifty great creative photographers whose works should permanently grace the walls of our National Gallery of Art, NGA, Nigerian privately-owned art galleries and the homes of the ever-growing number of Nigerian Art collectors. Unfortunately, this is not the reality on the present Nigerian Art scene. Why then, are things the way they are, and what are the suggestions to remedy the situation?
One of the foremost obstacles that must be overcome by Nigerian art historians, critics and curators, is that of categorisation and identification. There has to be the recognition that there are various distinct genres of photography, and the appreciation that each genre on its own is a body of Art with its own peculiar yardsticks of creative excellence.
There has to be respect and evaluation for the experience and expertise photographers bring to and exhibit in any particular genre of photography. Just as there are aesthetic parameters that determine what a good and creative painting, drawing or sculptor is, the same holds for what determines a good and creative photograph.
A while back, there was a very conscious effort to separate snapshots from photographs. As the terms themselves imply, snapshots are usually amateur attempts to register photographic images; usually the efforts of tourists and, friends recording family social events. Photographs on the other hand, are well-composed with proper light tones and colour balance. As technology has progressed with the advent of the Polaroid camera and now digital cameras, snapshots have become more attractive to the eye and technically more accomplished.
Galleries and collectors with the help of well-trained and experienced curators should still be able to separate the best of snapshots from photographs that deserve to be displayed and collected. In making the case for more visibility of photography in the Nigerian Art Gallery space, I will like to point out that there are Nigerian photographers who have worked in the various distinct genres of photography long and well enough to be considered as master photographers.
This logically means that there are enough masterpieces by Nigerian photographers to proudly grace the walls of Nigerian art galleries with specific tastes and genre-preferences; as well as the homes of art collectors.
What are these main genres of photography? I will, for the purposes of this paper, define them as studio, documentary, press, advertising/commercial and art photography. In certain cases and circumstances, these demarcations are not very rigid; allowing for areas of overlap especially in the usage of photographs from different genres. For example, documentary photographs can be effectively used to illustrate feature articles in newspapers and essays in books.
This reality gave birth to the career of photojournalism which also involves the true ability to tell entire stories using just photographic images. Advertising/commercial photography can also be classified as industrial photography to serve both the advertising and other industries.
Now, how do masterpieces by Nigerian photographers in these various genres of photography fit into the Nigerian Art Gallery space? First, it is pertinent to observe that photography and art do not fit into the gallery space the same way, as has been well demonstrated by institutions that have a long history of exhibiting both forms of creativity.
That is not to say that we must wholly copy the tradition of these institutions. Rather, we can learn from them and adapt to fit our own purposes. The bottom line is that photography does occupy a vast amount of gallery space in 'western' countries, and we should emulate this practice in Nigeria.
These days, museums and galleries both display art and photography. Usually, photographs are in the permanent collections of museums while photographs shown in galleries are usually on exhibition for the purpose of selling to end-users who could be museums, institutions and private collectors.
Given our peculiar nomenclature, this will mean that our National Gallery of Art should regularly visit photography exhibitions put on by private galleries and select and buy classic masterpieces for its own permanent collection. As things stand, at least five private galleries, Mydrim, Quintessence, Terra Kulture, Harmattan and Nimbus; all of them in Lagos, have in the space of two years put on solo and group exhibitions by the cream of Nigerian photographers covering all the major genres of photography.
The point being made is that there is no shortage of photographic masterpieces by Nigerians to satisfy the needs of both the National Gallery of Art and private collectors.
Again, apart from our peculiar types of institutions based on our rigid adaptation of borrowed institutions, our National Museum of Monuments and Antiquities and the National Gallery of Art have not been progressive enough to borrow the current trends initiated by old and famous Museums in the 'western' world in incorporating photography into their permanent collections.
On a wider concept, the trend is to either have collections of a particular genre or a general collection of all genres of photography. The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. has a National Portrait Gallery which is on permanent display and always updated.
Currently, it is holding an exhibition: Women of Our Time featuring 20th Century photographs, after which it will host a Photographic Jewellery exhibition. Then there are Photographic Portraiture Museums like The Holburne Museum of Art in Bath, England. We also have the California Museum of Photography that has a vast historical photograph collection and stages contemporary exhibitions featuring digital and web art online. The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography has a collection of over 158,000 images.
We have hopefully made a case for more visibility of photography particularly on the space of the National Gallery, and we have encouraged the private galleries to keep up their good work of providing space for Nigerian photographers. For both the National Gallery of Art and private galleries, I hope I have given some ideas on how to exhibit single-genre and multi-genre photographic exhibitions as well as doing retrospective exhibitions of master photographers to highlight the history of photography in Nigeria.
I deliberately refuse to mention the names of Nigerian master photographers in the various genres. I leave the eventual discovery of these creative gems to the photographic consultants and curators of the National Gallery of Art and private galleries. Suffice to say they are eager to offer their creativity in the line of patriotic national duty.
The big challenge is how to evaluate these photographic masterpieces to the satisfaction of both the galleries and photographers. The adage that art masterpieces are priceless holds good for photographic masterpieces as well. However, photographs share the same peculiarities with prints in art. If we liken a photographic negative to a woodcut or etching, it is simple business sense that limited editions or prints give additional value to the work.
There is the professional ethic of honestly stating the number of prints that will be produced and the less the number, the more the value of the print. When the experience, name of the photographer and the age of the photograph are factored in as well, then a satisfactory fee can be arrived at.
As with all professions, photographers deserve to earn and live well. The ball is now in the court of the Nigerian Gallery of Art and private galleries to enrich their space and collections with the work of Nigerian master photographers.
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