Focus on Faculty: Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie
By Calvin Bruhns
In his presentation last week entitled Being African, Being Contemporary, UC Santa Barbara History of Art and Architecture professor Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie used both historic and contemporary images to map the journey of African art and its representations, showing its influence on the art of our world today.
Video produced by Calvin Bruhns.
Ogbechie explored the role of religion in the creation of African art and how historic events such as the transatlantic slave trade actually extended its reach. “We have to think about Africa in terms of its centrality to global development,” Ogbechie told a UCSB audience.
The visually-driven lecture was part of the Fall 2019 Arts Colloquium Series “The Black Aesthetic in the Visual Arts,” co-sponsored by the Art Department and the Department of Black Studies. The series is free and open to the public every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Embarcadero Hall.
Ogbechie focused mainly on three artists: Afro-Cuban artist Wilfredo Lam, Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu, and African American artist James Hampton. He touched on notions such as assembly, representation, and independence, as well as movements such as abstract art and surrealism. A prime focus of Ogbechie’s address was how African art brings together congregations of people to celebrate religion through expressive visuals.
In addition to authoring many books, Ogbechie is also a curator and cultural entrepreneur. He organized and coordinated the first international Nollywood (Nigerian cinema) convention in 2005 in Los Angeles.
The Arts Colloquium Series, featuring an accomplished selection of artists and scholars, was curated by UCSB Black Studies professor Jeffrey Stewart. Stewart won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, which also won the 2018 National Book Award in Nonfiction among other prestigious literary and academic prizes and accolades.
Calvin Bruhns is a UC Santa Barbara student majoring in Film and Media Studies. He is a web and social media intern with the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.