Zaria has been great inspiration for me – Prof. Jerry Buhari
Professor Jerry Buhari is one of Nigeria’s foremost visual artists. He recently had his inaugural lecture as a professor at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and shared his experience in the Nigerian art scene as a teacher and professional in practice. Congratulations on the success of your inaugural lecture. What was the thrust of the […]
Professor Jerry Buhari is one of Nigeria’s foremost visual artists. He recently had his inaugural lecture as a professor at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and shared his experience in the Nigerian art scene as a teacher and professional in practice.
Congratulations on the success of your inaugural lecture. What was the thrust of the lecture?
Thank you. The thrust of my lecture rests on three directions. First, the lecture sets out to reintroduce art to my audience as an intellectual discipline in its own right like any other discipline in the university. This forms both the context and an apologetic of the paper. This is because many still find it difficult to situate art and indeed other so-called non-mainstream disciplines, as intellectual disciplines even in a university environment where you expect the community to know better. The next task of the paper sort to address the discipline, through a brief historical sketch to show how art has evolved and continues to evolve over time. We see how art has consistently redefined itself through the proclamations of artists and what they create. I also presented a brief illustrated discussion with images, of my art works in their various media, of what I have been doing as an artist and lecturer since I took to studying and practicing art from 1978 to date, as a professional and when I joined the teaching staff of Ahmadu Bello University from 1982 to date. My hope was(is) that at the end of the lecture my audience and colleagues from other disciplines will see art as that discipline that instigates an organic atmosphere for knowledge production, dialogue exploration, experimentation and innovative thinking through making.
What is the significance of the exhibition to the lecture?
Again the exhibition was considered an imperative part of the lecture. The visual art discipline is both theory and practice taking place simultaneously. Often the practice generates the theory, other times it is the theory that drives the practice. Here formulas do not work as iron cast directions; they are subject to change with or without logic. The synergy is organic, always changing, shifting and responding to the creative impulse of the artist. Today, universities are accused of generating and majoring more on theories that find little or no relevance to product or practical application. An artist who lectures in the university has the unique opportunity to generate ideas and create works that engage a myriad of issues bordering on techniques, materials, aesthetic and socio-cultural issues. Those who live an active art practice life can inspire many disciplines. I therefore thought that my inaugural lecture could not have been complete without an exhibition of the works I have created over the years.
What was theme of the exhibition and why did you focus on that?
I titled it ‘Jerry Buhari in retrospection: 33years +.’ By the title you can see that I was taking a historical over-view of what I have done over the years as an artist and a lecturer. It is important to stress this duality. Here the two energies collide to produce the serial and eclectic nature of my practice. So, you would see that I have worked and experimented with different techniques, ideas, materials and subject matter. The serial and thematic nature of my work is as a result of my investigative approach to art-making. I find this to be necessary if I would be useful to the different students I teach whose creative directions vary.
How would you sum up the totality of your experience in ABU as an artist and a teacher so far?
I can say that it has generally been a rewarding experience. It is a great privilege to teach in one of Africa’s premier art schools. I am constantly humbled by the history of the Zaria Art School and the department of Fine Arts. Remember that it gave birth to perhaps the finest first graduates 1960/61 and others that followed. These graduates defined what we today consider as contemporary modern art in Nigeria. They were responsible for laying and sustaining the development of modern art in all the art schools that you see in Nigeria today. That I am part of this history… I am simply humbled by the thought. There’s hardly a major art school in Nigeria that was founded, or that a Zaria school graduate is not one of its pillars.
My experience as an artist too has been rewarding. Zaria as you know is endowed with a rich cultural heritage located in traditional architecture, leather works, embroidery, blacksmithing, tie-dye and a most enchanting landscape defined by Rimi trees that are often described as Zaria’s beautiful mistresses or the city’s guardian soldiers, depending on what romantic mood you happen to fall into. Or is it the Durbar with all its rich colours and grandeur? I have produced hundreds of watercolours and drawings based on inspiration of Zaria. There’s hardly any student who has gone through the school that did not produce at least one work that speaks to his/her inspiration of this great historic city. The inspiration is so infectious that even artists who did not school in Zaria have painted subjects based on this great city. I recall that my first solo exhibition sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute Lagos, in 1989 had most of the works inspired by Zaria. This exhibition launched me into the practice world and defined my career an artist.
How do you work in a shared responsibility of being teacher, artist and administrator?
Honestly, I don’t know how I managed. With the benefit of hindsight, I think I was crazy. Perhaps age was on my side. And, you know youth has a way of telling you that the world can be conquered in a day. I joined the teaching staff of Ahmadu Bello at the age of twenty-three. In my thirties I was already a head of department and dean of faculty. I found myself at a point in more than ten university committees and heading some. I recall that to keep myself in balance, I retained my teaching load and even recorded a solo exhibition. Sure the exposure brought on me useful experiences and lessons. Among them is, “do not try to be the director of the universe.” This lesson came rather very late. Because of my early exposure to university administration I used both brains and muscles to the maximum, took sharp bends on top speed. When I look back, I think that it is the shear grace of God that has brought me thus far. So, you can see that I did not have any formulas or strategy. I had the energy and ideas and took on everything almost at the same time. Now I am taking the time to be more strategic, more cautious and more philosophical than practical. You can’t win the world, but you can be in control of a little space. I am still trying to know my limits and what I should not take-on. I must confess I am not doing very well here. On the whole I recognise that the highest legacy one can leave behind is service, not to be served.
How has your practice changed over time in terms of theme, subject matter and material/medium?
My themes have evolved from addressing everyday subject to matters of human concern that are sometimes local and often global. The materials I have employed have moved from conventional materials to unconventional ones. Today I can use anything to create my work from tissue paper to sticks, roots of a tree, scraps of anything durable or ephemeral. Essentially ideas, rather than aesthetics now drive my work; process is assuming higher importance than product. Idea takes on greater significance that product. This I hope would make art more accessible to all. It is a way of democratising art; returning it to the community square, where it was once before the coming of colonialism and western civilisation.