The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social science and humanities journals. This item is from the digital archive maintained by Michigan State University Library. Find more at: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ Available through a partnership with Scroll down to read the article. «*£ .- I * <%>< i ft ETROPOLITAN Lagos serves as a case study in urbanization and visual culture.1 As the economic and cultural capital of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, Lagos exerts a magnetic pull on people from all over Nigeria and across the West African subregion. From neighboring countries like Benin, Togo, Ghana and Liberia, Lagos is host to a motley of more than 200 ethnic groups. Population figures show that this is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. In 1960, it had a population of about one million. Today, with a sprawl that now embraces what used to be the suburbs—Shomolu, Ketu, Mushin, Ikeja, Agege, Ogudu, Egbe, Festac <GLENDOBA REVIEW><African Quarterly on the ArasxVOI3@No2> • his paintings have a panieularlv dutrming Student Art jcvshmc 4n|v=)! VusMiffs "Gra/ii\j[" and "Hone lUct' should he mentioned not only for the cool and warm fcding> (hey convey but also for their spjliii urpiniijlion Ho*ever. I fed (bat some of the ptiniifijp are cither too naiw or unp«iMcriy In wand ihc searchlight of objective criticism. The> also viialc whatever solid repwunoo (he School of Painting may have been uru&ling (o build I B not mtlilfh to find lh»l our foreign Their colour sdiane *JV hanli and drawings Ifriendi lorm ihe greitn part of iht audience awkward. 1 am rdnrtng to S. AMtvadams's HI mtcmUncc at MV imp™ urn irl tihtfwuon w ••Riiual" ami D. Acharaekf* "Me«y Mukntg Ifcj UHMQ Thu, perhaps n in indication of 11" In fact, you might wondef. on seeing iht (id that Nigtraru irr not Btneralty Athanicks "Merry Milking whclhcc il was rtuftnt IB in nhibmoni * fact ihii «eu paintat by an •'Airport anisC oi by as Ml m vtimdoiin whether ihert ire enough wdl- Mudeni. orpniwd eihihitmm In juilify hrapin| Mimei The School uf Graphics ewelled in varied un «vr IUMIVC juditnce. beann| m mind lhal prMentiilion pfe« ailvcrli.scmenli. iwocd ihccrHl [isullKtirleiliilxliomdocjnolconual and book jiickeK. book illu-irjumn, iinocul. m ht» much monc) a revlned but in how package liejigo, table slands, poalen. pbolf- ninth knowledge u iliipri wi graphy and life drasin^i Most ni Ihe ptetes 1i <\ in ihe lif hi of ihn ibul I uimnlci Ihe had an ama/mg degree of finish (hat tended 10 b-l »n eihihmon by iht tiuritnltunhc Depart- ridicule [he Priming machine! However. I fee! nwni .A hnc Ail, Ahnuilu Bdlo UnrwrtMy. thai there ihuukl he further ttupfcvcmentt and hcUMl^ilhaieMDCCH atlenpta ibould he made to up-date leaching .Ml ilv tut - ha>h lh>! make up the Dqwrl- metbods il graphic gradtiaies are not u> fold iwm Sculpture. C«amici, Graphics. Texitlet themselves in tmbarrasing silikitioin m Axtveri- *ui f'jmi^n were pri>pefk featured it the ising Agencies keeping abreast ot modem cihihil»>i> The Sthmil til Piiinimf pt denied advenising gimmick). This, however, D not to VIRK while and jKcnmnluhed paintings. overtook Ibe fact that tne> hare availed theat- »«l rctlntk. thai Hould completely Mrves of cwry opportunity Ibe Department IBM I heki i could offer and one would not hciiiate io give quarlm tlul an Khoob kit! the rnius in nun them due credit if one reslitetl that atwlcnm: If you Ukt • k»A 41 I>k Jepsfci "Swaling il discipline should rot be an end in itself Out". ' (\»npiiiicy". "Ai il", "Hypocrisy" The School of Textile* followed up in sho» "Piilofue" « "My Simaru". you will find withascintillaiHig Fashion Parade, liwuraeuf that bm t> • .iinieni whoM viriuou will he the most successful highlight* of the *<ek-long iicinoWKQfcd even ny Iv mo&t c\nK3l critic If exhibition. And it did not only eihibii textile you find fame of hit f»mlinfs difficuH to pieces designed and printed by itudenis. hani- L-ompfthend. ihn tray he boaux he n con- woven nuterut. were also brougKi. weaving being ibe blest addition to irfflHw But I am dtnppoiatal viih the ceramics. This s a section where standard has refuted !o cvefl lha: of ba veai They achieved a feat with Town, and several others—the population has exploded to well over six million. A significant number of youths from other parts of Nigeria and beyond, whose imagination has been stirred by tantalizing anecdotes about Lagos, hold on to the dream that this city is the center of civilization: their civilization. Lagos, for them, is a city flowing with milk and honey. Choked by a network of bridges that connect Apapa, Ikoyi, Victoria and Lagos islands to the mainland, Lagos has more than 50% of all the vehicles in Nigeria. But, as Lagosians will quickly warn, the city takes no bull: "Eko o gba gbere." Lagos is color. It is theater. It is music and movement. It is also a city of paradoxes. It is inclusive and accommodating, providing the weak and the strong, the wealthy and the indolent equal opportunities to succeed in their chosen tracks, "Eko gbole o gbole." Long before it became the dominant cultural discourse in the West, the inevitability of postmodernism had become a fait accompli in Lagos even though the people themselves do not necessarily couch this phenomenon in the current arcane |argon. It ,s indeed striking that much of what Western theorists belabor has been the norm in Lagos and, indeed, in some other African metropolitan centers. No greater confirmation of this assertion is needed than a visit to any of the numerous throbs of activities: Mile 12, Olosa, Jankara, or Oyingbo. Lagos coniures the visual equivalent of one huge, seamless canvas. It is a canvas of Nigeria Magazine, NO. 113, 1974. multiple forms, united by an enchanting kaleidoscope of colors. In terms of the dynamics of composition, Lagos comes across as an asymmetrically balanced Z X'IVTefVe' Pdatial buHdin9S of lkoyi' with ^eir designer gates Zl and M t Hn "' ^^ ° ** ' '»* «*- *> the crowded ad o 1 *5M1!-+fa'***" bungalow, of Mushin, Shomolu, or Ebute Meta 1 OatlOnG T IP d0 ln 'O r Al^b 2 ,° , ° ° International Market. ,f you are still not lttd h Venues is comparable to the Xancv of h 1 t " *>« -sed the opportunity o saZ t ce ecomme datil , I ° VQntQ9e 9' wi ZZ Z f ° ' f°d ° Sh0di tak°ke- aHere look' Oa ntiif theebeio --paw sn linkinbothg side Oshods fi thi£zxz zii°zv; 9 :f ,heads Here life i s° ° colors- a svmohonv V ^ ° - ' a cacophony of s, symphony of movements. From your privileged standpoint, you cannot <GIENDORA Quarterly on the A*><Voi3G-No8> <62> but be intimidated by this expansive, festive congregation. This, perhaps, is one of the few spots in the world where one can observe the largest concentration of the African Diaspora. An endless stream of Molu E buses, danfos' and taxi cabs, all in their yellow colors, provides a colorful accent to the scintillating panorama. As that beguiling pop star, Lagbaja, crooned in one of his albums, "Dis is Lagos." The music—if we may use that term as this pertains to Lagos—that assaults your ears comes from diverse sources. First, the public buses: those rickety and reconfigured mechanical contraptions that frequent the highways and crooked alleys. Balanced precariously on the doorsteps, one hand wagging and slashing the air, are the "bus conductors" whose responsibility it is to collect bus fares. And this they do with a huge dose of enthusiasm and relish but with minimum decorum, decency or courtesy. By profession, Lagos bus conductors are insolent. These are "conductors" without any orchestra. Yelling at the top of their voices, bus conductors beckon to passengers: "Balende-e-e-e-l Obalende-O-o-o-o!" "Agege...Age-ri-ge lyana lpa|a...l" To this regular bellow, you must add other sounds—from irrepressible taxi drivers who would rather forgo functioning headlights than drive without perpetually placing their hands on the horn; to Okada, the commercial motor bikers who derive pleasure, it would seem, from embarrassing others with high decibel horns. Lagos is a city in perpetual motion, and artists could not have wished for a better environment to draw inspiration from. As they force their way through throngs of people on ever-busy streets, cart-pushers and other porters intimidate pedestrians. Street vendors meander through long stretches of traffic, advertising all manner of products, from "pure water" to lingerie; from "gala" sausage rolls to digital telephones that actually ring. Considering the determination and inventiveness of Lagos vendors, it might not be long before they sprint after commuters, carrying portable television sets that transmit live programs. "Dis" is Lagos. The Visual Arts Given the reluctance in some Western quarters to abandon the use of such demeaning terms as "tribal" in relation to African art, one can appreciate the conspiratorial unison with which culture brokers in Europe and the U.S. continue to respond to issues about contemporary African art. Let us make this very clear: the West finds it difficult to embrace the idea that it does not have—neither has it ever had—any monopoly on creativity. In scholarly circles, particularly in the West where the discourse of contemporary African art has become essentialized in recent times, defining the terms of reference remains a critical issue. In Nigeria, this is no Lagos is color. It is less so. Considering the social, economic and educational handicap that many theater.