Asiru Olatunde

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Asiru Olatunde (* 1918 in Oshogbo ; † 1993 ibid) was a Nigerian sculptor and musician .

Asiru Olatunde originally practiced the craft of blacksmithing . When he was unable to do this job for health reasons at the end of the 1950s, he switched to small ironwork in non-ferrous metal . In 1958 he met Ulli Beier , who sponsored him. Beier placed an order for large reliefs for a hotel in Lagos . Since there was no copper sheet available for such formats , Ulli Beier organized aluminum sheet from a regional cooking pot factory. Large-format relief panels in chased aluminum became a trademark of Asiru Olatunde. In contrast to traditional driving techniques , he did not process the material from the back, but from the front.

As unique as the material, as varied as the technology, as diverse as the iconographic repertoire of Asiru Olatunde. In his picture narrations, ornamental and figurative motifs are closely interwoven. He divides the sometimes extremely upright format original material of the aluminum plates into several image fields and thus creates a - probably unintended - recourse to the high medieval register image . If the surfaces of the protagonists of his narrative depictions are mostly described with a sparing inner contour, he develops the texture of the background with a multitude of punched circles that are not set arbitrarily, but rather cover the surface in a careful rhythm .

As motifs, Olatunde often chooses syncretistic themes based on the myths of Yoruba , Christianity and Islam . As a virtuoso on the talking drum , Asiru Olatunde was a sought-after companion for festive occasions and for musical theater. In the Oshogbo Theater Company founded by Duro Lapido , the drumming Olatundes played a major role. As chairman of the Oshogbo Artists Association represented the interests of the Oshogbo artists for years. For many artists at the Oshogbo School , his work was a style-defining element.

Asiru Olatunde was the older brother of the sculptors Jinadu Oladepo (* 1924) and Yekini Folorunsho (* 1939). His daughter Zaenab Oloyede Adeyemi (* 1952) works as a textile artist.

literature

  • Angelika Dietze: Asiru (Ashiru), Olatunde . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). Volume 5, Saur, Munich a. a. 1992, ISBN 3-598-22745-0 , p. 419.
  • Asiru Olatunde. In: Bernice M. Kelly: Nigerian Artists: A Who's Who & Bibliography. Zell, London 1993, ISBN 0-905450-82-5 , pp. 390-394 ( PDF ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mark Holsworth: Asiru Olatunde , online article in Black Mark , December 2017, accessed June 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ Asiru Olatunde , Indigo Arts Gallery, online article in Black Mark , November 2018, accessed June 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ John Martin: Art Stories Part 1 - Asiru Olatunde, The Garden of Eden, 1965 , online article in John Martin Gallery , February 2019, accessed June 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ Zaenab Adeyemi. In: Bernice M. Kelly: Nigerian Artists: A Who's Who & Bibliography. Zell, London 1993, p. 50.
personal data
SURNAME Olatunde, Asiru
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Olatunde, Ashiru
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian sculptor and musician
DATE OF BIRTH 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Oshogbo
DATE OF DEATH 1993
Place of death Oshogbo