Synergic Appropriation of Media and Techniques in Nigerian Contemporary Art Forms: Spotlight on New Mediums

Abstract

Artistic appropriation is not a new phenomenon in the art scene, rather it is gaining grounds with some notable artists displaying their creativity competence through it. In the never-ending search for new ideas and forms of expression in art, artists are progressively embracing the combined effort of appropriation of media and technique in contemporary art. Globally, in the world of art today, many artists have used pre-existing objects or images in their own art with little transformation of the original. But the concern of this paper rests on the concerted effort and adoption of media and technique in Nigerian contemporary art forms by some artists with a focus on new expressions. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to artistic appropriation in Nigerian contemporary art forms while bringing into limelight some artists that are not popular in this style of art and their art works. A select number of foreign artists were reviewed on synergic appropriation of media and techniques before the use of purposive sampling to choose five contemporary artists for an assessment who were found to appropriate some media and techniques in their art forms. Qualitative analysis was used to analyze the data collected. The data was collected from both primary and secondary sources, which are from books, internet, journals, articles and interviews. Photography was also used in this study. The study reveals that there are many artists involved in appropriation art in contemporary Nigerian visual art scene that have remained unnoticed and suggests that it is a form of art which offers a lot of tests and trials to achieve new and attention-grabbing discoveries and also showcases creativity from the artists’ thoughts and points of view. It recommends that appropriation art is not lack of imagination or theft and therefore should be encouraged and appreciated.