Muraina Oyelami
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Chief Muraina Oyelami (born 21 February 1940) is a Nigerian painter and drummer of Yoruba descent. He was among the first generation of artists to come out of the Osogbo School of Art in the 1960s. He was a drummer and actor with the theatre company of
Duro Ladipo Durodola Durosomo Duroorike Timothy Adisa Ladipo (18 December 1926 – 11 March 1978), more commonly known as Duro Ladipo, was one of the best known and critically acclaimed Yoruba people, Yoruba dramatists who emerged from postcolonial Africa. ...
. He taught traditional music and dance at
Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...
from 1976 to 1987. As a musician, he trained in the dùndún (
talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, which can be used as a form of speech surrogacy by regulating its pitch and rhythm to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather t ...
) and the
Batá drum The Batá drum is a double-headed hourglass drum with one end larger than the other. The percussion instrument is still used for its original purpose as it is one of the most important drums in the Yoruba land and used for traditional and relig ...
. He was the chief of his hometown
Iragbiji Iragbiji (also Ira-gba-iji) is a town and capital of the Boripe Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria, near Ikirun. The town is inhabited by the Yoruba people. The population of the town is about 164,172. History and oral tradition The ...
.


Early life

Muraina Oyelami was born on 21 February 1940 in
Iragbiji Iragbiji (also Ira-gba-iji) is a town and capital of the Boripe Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria, near Ikirun. The town is inhabited by the Yoruba people. The population of the town is about 164,172. History and oral tradition The ...
,
Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...
.


Drumming, theatre and arts

From 1963 to 1965, Oyelami undertook training in the dùndún (
talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, which can be used as a form of speech surrogacy by regulating its pitch and rhythm to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather t ...
) from Oba Laoye, who was Timi of Ede. During the same time, he studied the
Batá drum The Batá drum is a double-headed hourglass drum with one end larger than the other. The percussion instrument is still used for its original purpose as it is one of the most important drums in the Yoruba land and used for traditional and relig ...
with Ayantunji Amoo of Okinni and Abeyefo of
Iseyin Iseyin is a town located in Oyo, Nigeria. It is approximately north of Ibadan. The town was estimated to have a population of 236,000, according to United Nations 2005 estimate, which increased to 362,990 in 2011, and has a total land mass of ...
. He was a drummer and actor with the Duro Ladipo National Theatre, the theatre company of Yoruba dramatist
Duro Ladipo Durodola Durosomo Duroorike Timothy Adisa Ladipo (18 December 1926 – 11 March 1978), more commonly known as Duro Ladipo, was one of the best known and critically acclaimed Yoruba people, Yoruba dramatists who emerged from postcolonial Africa. ...
. He toured Europe as a member of the troupe, first to Germany for the Berlin Festival of Art in 1964 and then to the United Kingdom for the Commonwealth Arts Festival in 1965. In 1964, Oyelami attended the summer art school of the Mbari Mbayo Artists and Writers Club in Osogbo where he attended a painting workshop given by Georgina Beier. He began studying at the Osogbo Art School, founded by Georgina and
Ulli Beier Chief Horst Ulrich Beier, commonly known as Ulli Beier (30 July 1922 – 3 April 2011), was a German editor, writer and scholar who had a pioneering role in developing the Western world's understanding of literature, drama and poetry in Niger ...
, and was among the first generation of Osogbo Art students; at the school he took printmaking and painting workshops in addition to working as a stage actor and master Yoruba drummer. In his visual art, Oyelami drew inspiration from the works of Kenyan printmaker Hezbon Owiti. At his first exhibition in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
in 1967 his works were compared to those of
Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
and
Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...
, though he was unfamiliar with European art. He was later compared to
Georges Rouault Georges-Henri Rouault (; 27 May 1871, Paris - 13 February 1958, Paris) was a French painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Childhood and education Rouault was born into a poor famil ...
and attended the printmaking workshops of Ru Van Rossem in 1966 and 1972. Oyelami attended the University of Ife (now
Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...
) in Ile-Ife, studying technical theatre with a specialisation in theatre design and received a certificate in dramatic arts. In 1973 he traveled to the New York where he had a fellowship and residency at the
National Black Theatre The National Black Theatre is a not-for-profit organization, non-profit cultural and educational corporation, and community-based theatre company located on 5th Avenue in Harlem, New York (state), New York. History The National Black Theatre (N ...
in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
. Oyelami taught traditional music and dance at Obafemi Awolowo University from 1976 to 1987. He was also a visiting professor at the
University of Bayreuth The University of Bayreuth (German: Universität Bayreuth) is a public research university located in Bayreuth, Germany. It is one of the youngest German universities. It is broadly organized into seven undergraduate and graduate faculties, with ...
, Germany. Oyelami was also commissioned to create mosaics for Obafemi Awolowo University. His first pair of mosaics, on the Faculty of Health Science building in Ile-Ife, were completed in 1975. He completed a mosaic mural on the Iragbiji campus at Wema Bank Plc. in 1983. Oyelami plays both traditional and fusion music and was a featured artist on the German band
Embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
's 1985 album ''Embryo & Yoruba Dun Dun Orchester''. He was the musical director for and composed the score to the 1998
Royal Exchange Theatre The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal Exc ...
production of the
Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...
play ''
Death and the King's Horseman ''Death and the King's Horseman'' is a play by Wole Soyinka based on a real incident that took place in Nigeria during the colonial era: the horseman of a Yoruba King was prevented from committing ritual suicide by the colonial authorities. In a ...
''. Oyelami is chief of his village, having been made Eesa of Iragbiji on 14 February 1993. In 2018, Oyelami founded the Abeni Visual and Performing Art Institute in Iragbiji. He serves as artistic director of the school. The institute trains students in visual and performing arts, including drum making, textile design and printmaking.


Painting

As a first-generation member of the Osogbo Art School, Oyelami is considered part of the Osogbo Art movement. His style is considered
Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
, with his oil paintings displaying a direct sense of design, and a juxtaposition of subtle muted colours with strong lines. Oyelami's themes are influenced by
Yoruba culture Distinctive cultural norms prevail in Yorubaland and among the Yoruba people.Kola Abimbola, Yoruba Culture: ''A Philosophical Account'', Iroko Academic Publishers, 2005. Religion (Ẹ̀sìn) The Yoruba people, Yoruba are said to be religious peop ...
, and the subject matter of his landscapes and portraits are often derived from daily life and individuals. Oyelami's early oil paintings involved abstract representations of life in the city, while by the 1980s his work had become more figurative, trending towards more generic themes. Oyelami has participated in dozens of solo and group exhibitions. His works are included in a number of collections. His 1971 painting ''Birds in the Garden'' is part of the collection of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
's
National Museum of African Art The National Museum of African Art is the Smithsonian Institution's African art museum, located on the National Mall of the Washington, D.C., United States capital. Its collections include 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African ar ...
in Washington, D.C. Oyelami's 1971 painting ''Village on the Hillside'' is in the Tyler Collection of Romanian and Modern Art at the
University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...
. His works are also in the collections of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Lagos, the
Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an African-American art museum at 144 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Founded in 1968, the museum collects, preserves and interprets art created by African A ...
, at the
Lagos State House of Assembly The Lagos State House of Assembly is the state legislature of Lagos State. It is situated along Governor's Avenue in the state capital, Ikeja. The House of Assembly is currently under the All Progressives Congress political party which is the cur ...
, the private collection of
Bola Ige Chief James Ajibola Idowu Ige ( ; 13 September 1930 – 23 December 2001), popularly known as Bola Ige, was a Nigerian lawyer and politician. He served as Federal Minister of Justice of Nigeria from January 2000 until his assassination in De ...
, the
Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...
in London, and the Staatlichen Kunsthalle in Berlin. Oyelami's works accompanied those from the collection of
Susanne Wenger Susanne Wenger MFR, also known as Adunni Olorisha (4 July 1915 – 12 January 2009), was an Austrian-Nigerian artist and Yoruba priestess who expatriated to Nigeria. Her main focus was the Yoruba culture and she was successful in building ...
in a 2016 exhibition that served as a tribute to her life. In 2017, his works were shown at an exhibition of Osogbo art in the United States and at
Art Dubai Art Dubai () is an international art fair that takes place every March in Dubai. Founded in 2007, Art Dubai is a major platform for art from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Each year, the fair features a globally diverse lineup of ov ...
.


Publications

Oyelami has written books on drumming and Yoruba culture. The 1993 monograph ''Abefe: An Autobiography of Muraina Oyelami'' was based on interviews of Oyelami, edited by Ulli Beier. In the text, Oyelami describes his youth, theatre in Ile-Ife, the Mbari-Mbayo workshop, and his residencies at Iwalewa-Haus. * * *


References


Further reading

* npublished; unillustrated copy available in the National Museum of African Art Library* * * * * * *National Gallery of Modern Art, ''The Nucleus: A Catalogue of Works in the National Collection on the Inception of the National Gallery of Modern Art'' (Lagos), Lagos: Federal Department of Culture, 1981 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oyelami, Muraina 1940 births Living people 20th-century Nigerian painters Academic staff of Obafemi Awolowo University Modern artists Musicians from Osun State Nigerian drummers Nigerian male stage actors Nigerian printmakers Obafemi Awolowo University alumni Osogbo School Yoruba artists