SYNTHESIS THEORY
A TERM PAPER ON
SEPTEMBER, 2021
Synthesis Theory
Synthesis in art is the uniting of different art forms into an artistic whole that
aesthetically organizes man’s material and spiritual environment. The concept of
artistic synthesis implies the creation of a qualitatively new artistic phenomenon
irreducible to the sum of its component parts. The ideological, imaginative, and
compositional unity of the components, their common effect in the time and space
arrangement, their coordination in scale, proportion, and rhythm generate artistic
qualities enhancing apprehension of art and the development of an idea on many
planes. Artistic synthesis has a comprehensive emotional effect on a person, appealing
to all his senses. The concept has great social and educational possibilities, and
various forms of synthesis have been known in the history of art.
Natural Synthesis
The concept of Natural Synthesis was set forth by members of the Zaria Art Society.
They called for the merging of the best of Western and Nigerian traditions, forms,
techniques, and ideas in the arts into a hybrid art-making practice and conceptual
framework. The concept was developed in the late 1950s alongside a gathering
moving towards independence in search of a modern art that would suit the new
nation. Advocates of Natural Synthesis were responding to concerns that much of
Nigeria’s artistic heritage was being lost to the influence of foreign culture and
academic traditions. One of the most outstanding advocate was Christopher
Uchefuma Okeke born in Anambra state in Nigeria on 1933.
The visual art of Uche Okeke, we see a synthesis of old and new, hence a perpetuation
of old artistic Nigeria traditions in modern artistic sensibility. Uche Okeke reveals that
his father was a master craftsman and furniture designer while his mother was an
accomplished uli painter. She had for many years partied uli on human bodies and
walls during festive occasions. His mother’s involvement in uli art is perhaps why he
came in contact with uli at an early age. Since Nigeria was under colonial rule at that
time and with the European formal education in place there were availability of
foreign art material, hence Okeke even applied some concept of synthesis
unconsciously in his early development as a visual artist. There is no doubt that
Okeke must have unconsciously applied some of the characteristics of uli particularly
lines in his early years. It can therefore be said that the philosophy of natural synthesis
started to become very much evident in his works when he started drawing actively,
collecting and writing notes on Igbo folklore
From the period of Okeke’s first solo exhibition and throughout his stay in Zaria and
Kafanchan, the need for a synthesis of old and new which presupposes the acceptance
of change continued to influence both his work and theme. These two places of
residence also exposed him to other cross-cultural influences which he later exhibited
in the forms and themes of his work. This is also in relation with his quest for natural
synthesis. Although Okeke created unique drawings that bear relevance to the place
where he lived at the time, uli linearity and pictographic symbols were very evident.
These works, depicted in pen and ink despite their northern themes, were also
characterized by the linearity of the uli art of his cultural roots.
Plate 1: Uche Okeke, title: Life II (From The Experiments Uli, 1962)
Medium: Pen and ink on paper, Size: 25 x 18.5 cm. (9.8 x 7.3 in.)
Reference
Ikpakronyi, S. (2003). Uche Okeke in the growth of modern art. In Dike, C. &
Oyelola
P. (Eds.) Nku di na Mba, Uche Okeke and modern Nigerian art. Lagos: A
Publication of National Gallery of Art.
