AGBO FOLARIN AT

WISCONSIN

the story into metal,

Agbo Folarin  traces his finger  over a 

chapter in a book.

large  sketch  in  his  office,  explain
ing each  pen  stroke  as if  it were  a  While the cacophony of tapping and pound-

Like a master storyteller, he describes
the meaning  behind  the figures  in  his
drawing: Adam and Eve, the water jar
boy, the Raven, Hades. As he finishes,
he  looks  at  his  visitor  for  signs  of
comprehension,  then  lets out a boom-
ing, robust laugh that echoes down the
hall.

With  his  broad  smile  and  warm  de-
meanour,  the  internationally  known
Nigerian artist and sculptor is a notice-
able addition to the campus this spring.
The drawing is part of his latest work -
a  24-by-1  6  foot  per  relief  sculpture
being done for UW-Parkside as part of
an exchange agreement  with  Obafemi
Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Folarin's Diversity of Creation Myths
sculpture,  being  carefully  hammered
into  thin  copper  sheets  symbolises  a
rich diversity of cultures and how they
have looked  at the  world.

In the upper left corner is the Christian story
of Adam  and Eve in the Garden of Eden. At
the bottom  left is Folarirr's image of a small
child symbolising  hope for the  future.

In-between  is  a  wealth  of  creation  images
from  different  times  and  different  cultures.
There  is  the  American  Indian  story  of the
Raven  who brought  life  to the Earth. In the
centre is the Egyptian story of the separation
of earth  and  sky

Other images include the Greek sun
god  Helios;  the  god  of  the  under-
world, Hades; Poseidon the sea god;
a  Chinese  dragon;  the  Chinese  life
forces, yin and yang; and Obatala the
Yoruba  (Nigerian) creation god.

Folarin's works have been exhibited
around  the  world.  His  glass mosaic
Spirit  of Man  in Flight  graces the
international  airport  terminal  in La-
gos  Nigeria  and  many  of  his  other
works  hang  in  public  places  in Ni-
geria. He had a theatre design exhibi-
tion at the  1972 Olympics in Munich
Germany.

For Folarin, the exchange programme
is  an  opportunity  to work  and learn
with American  artists and work with
UW-Parkside students as 'colleagues
in  learning.'

'We  need  people  with  a  different
orientation  of  thinking;  an  interna-
tional idea of cohesion and oneness,'

He researched meticulously for the specially
commissioned  work  being  crafted  with  the
help of a group of UW-Parkside art students.

In a large engineering laboratory in Molinaro
Hall,  Folarin  kneels on expansive  sheets of
copper,  carefully  sketching  his  images. All
around  him,  students  tap  the  copper  with
hand-made  tools,  permanently  embedding

ing goes  on  around  him,  Folarin  stands  up
and ponders the work like he doesn't  hear a
thing. When  he works on the sculpture,  it's
almost as if he's in another  world.

While the work reflects different  mythologi-
cal perspectives, it also expresses a hope  for
unity and oneness, he said.

he  said.

Folarin said he )vill be proud when his copper
sculpture  is huhg  at the  University  later tm
year.

•Once it leaves my hand, it is public property
I like it that  way.  I want people to enjoy i

77

The  exchange  agreement  between  UW-
Parkside and Obafemi  Awolowo  University
in  lle-lfe,  Nigeria,  is  being  funded  by  both
institutions and the U.S. Information  Agency.

The programme was established through the
connections of Lillian  Traeger,  professor  of
anthropology who has researched in Nigeria
for  years  and  travelled  extensively  in  the

country.

Obafemi  Awolowo  University,  a  25,000-
student  campus  on  the  western  edge  of  Ni-
geria, is situated  on a large parcel  between a
rain  forest  and  a savannah.  Agbo  Folarin  is
the second  Nigerian  faculty  member  to visit
UW-Parkside. No UW-Parkside faculty have
taken  part  in  the  exchange  yet  but  several

have  expressed  interest.  Traeger  said  the
exchange  will  have  benefits  for  faculty  and
students.

'They have a highly qualified  set of  faculty,'
she said. The exchange gives students expo-
sure  to  different  perspectives  and  benefits
the  University  'just  in  terms  of  expanding
our  knowledge.'  GR

BACK IN IFE:THE SCULPTOR-STORY-

TELLER BACK AT HIS BASE.

TAI ADE  FATO

The campus  of Obafemi  Awolowo  Univer-
sity, Ile-Ife  is well  regarded  among  Africa's
most beautiful campuses. It derives its beauty
not only from  the serene driveway  that ush-
ers the visitor through a distance of about two
kilometres from the gate to the main campus.
The  buildings  still  stand  as  masterpieces  of
modern architectural design. Above all, there
are the sculptural works and murals found all
over  the  campus  which  make  a  statement
about the tastes of the founding fathers of this
monumental  community.

We drove  into  the  campus  on  a sunny  day,
late for our appointment  with Agbo Folarin.
The appointment had been booked by Lillian
Traeger,  a  lecturer  from  the  University  of
Wisconsin  - Parkside.

We had to pay a price for coming late, thanks
to a  flat  tyre  in  the  course  of  the  Lagos-Ife
trip.  After  a  long  wait,  we  finally  located
him; it was as if he was the one that had been
late for the appointment.  He fussed  over us,
sympathising with us overthejourney's slight
misfortune.

Then  Agbo  Folarin  insisted  we  must  have
something  to  eat.  The  pounded  yam  at  the
buka  (bamboo-shed  restaurant) just  behind
the Fine and Applied Arts Department build-
ing was a finger-licking  affair.  Then  we got
down  to  business.

This  was  not  to  be  another  long  session  of
interview discussing the theory and practice
of arts. It was a tour session  in which  Agbo
Folarin took us round the campus showing us

his works which constitute a large portion of
the monuments that make the campus a vast
permanent exhibition  ground.

The first  was in  1973. It is a metal  mural  in
front  of the Students'  Union Building. It is a
melange of themes, a trend we were to find in
a lot of Agbo Folarin's  works. The mural  is
about  protest,  which  symbolises  students'
unionism. As Agbo Folarin put it,  'Unionism
is always about protesting about treatment of
students by the government or by the univer-
sity  authorities.'

There are representations of different  sports.
The building  also houses the  administrative
offices  of the  sports complex  of  the  univer-
sity. There  are  the  footballer,  the  netballer,
weight-lifter and people in different  forms of

78