Question 6
Write notes on Obiora Udechukwu under the following headings:
- training;
- area of specialization;
- one major characteristic of his works;
- four contributions to the development of art.
Observation
Most candidates were unable to show a thorough knowledge of African artworks, due to that they performed poorly. They were expected to respond to the question in the following manner:
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- He attended Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha from 1958 to 1964 for his Secondary School education.
- In 1965, he enrolled at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, for a degree program in Fine Arts.
- However, he left for the eastern part of Nigeria at the outbreak of the civil war in 1966.
- He continued his first degree program at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka between 1966 and 1967.
- As a result of the civil war, Udechukwu could not complete his Degree program in Nsukka until 1972 when he got his B.A. Fine arts degree, specializing in painting.
- He got his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Degree in painting 1977.
- They both have figures in sitting, kneeling and squatting positions.
- Both have facial marks.
- Both are sculptures in the round.
- Udechukwu is a renowned painter.
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- His works are marked by Uli line drawings.
- He transformed the Uli from mere body decoration into an aesthetic symbol for communicating human emotions and aspirations.
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- As an art educator, he has contributed immensely to the training of younger contemporary artists in Nigeria.
- He was a secondary school teacher at Metropolitan College, Onitsha from 1972 to 1973.
- He was a lecturer at his alma mater, University of Nigeria, Nsukka from where he mentored a number of the prolific contemporary Nigerian artists.
- He is a shinny light of the Nsukka Art School.
- He is a leading proponent of Ulism; an art movement that focuses on communicating human feelings, emotions and experiences visually with the Uli traditional lines.
- He has taken Nigerian contemporary art to global focus through exhibitions in Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and the Caribbean.