RESURRECTION OF BLACK ART

Art.
An amazing form of expression, the talent of putting your imagination and creative mind on paper. The ability to make the curves draw you in, pun intended. Today, we have Niyi, a fantastic black cultured artist, who focuses solely on the prize of black culture. In this informative interview, Niyi tells us about his childhood and how society and his life experiences have shaped him into the amazing artist he is today. He also discusses his art and impressive projects in the near future.

GRIX: Good afternoon, it’s great to have you. Can you tell us your name
NIYI: Of course, my name is Olaniyi Omotayo. – His voice was firm, he seemed calm and articulated.
GRIX: Alright, we are starting the interview now. NIYI: Alright.

He leaned in and seemed ready to take on the questions. And we were also prepared to serve them to him.

GRIX: What’s your artistic expression of choice, and how has it shaped you into who you are today?
NIYI: Well, my art has been figurative, and as for the second part, my art has shaped me in lots of ways, including the confidence to keep moving forward. It has also made me overcome a lot of challenges.

GRIX: So, would you say the roots of your art can be traced way back to your childhood?
NIYI: (after giving it a few seconds of thought) I never had a specific time that I started drawing, but honestly-

As soon as he sat up, we knew we would be blessed with some of his artsy knowledge, so we leaned back to let him take the ride.

NIYI: I grew up in a family of eight and never had enough support from my parents concerning my art. I was the only one in my family who was interested in drawing. They were not happy with me wasting time with my drawing, they told me that the time that I used in drawing would have been better spent in reading my books. I am self-taught, so I wonder if I have mentioned this before. I did everything to stay in check and stay true to my art.
GRIX: That is amazing. How did you cope with that and school? Also, if there wasn’t support, how did you cope with art supplies? We have heard they are expensive.
NIYI: Ah, well, for school. Like I said before, I was self-taught, so I coped with pencils at that age and then evolved to watercolors and brushes. When I got to the university, I started to make portraits of people and got commissions from them. With that, I used them to restock and buy art supplies for future work or inspirations. As for the school area, it was a bit of a task. I was the class rep of my department from the 100 – 400 level.

One would have wondered how an individual who only had a formal education to please his parents became a class representative- a seemingly serious position in the helms of school academics.
We smiled at that, and he continued.

NIYI: Yeah, and I went for many political positions in school. I am also an academy student with First Class Business Administration.
Niyi was at the top of his class. This artist could balance education with his passion, an almost impossible thing for creatives nowadays.
GRIX: Wow.
NIYI: Yeah, I know.

Talk about a perfect uppercut for the parents! Niyi overcame all doubts by being good
at arts and his studies! He did all that his parents thought that he couldn’t!

GRIX: So as a kid, was there a character you loved drawing that could just draw
right off the bat?
NIYI: I loved drawing Spider-Man and Superman; a particular one, though, was called Supa Strikers. I don’t know if you know of them. (our interviewer is obviously a Gen Z who didn’t enjoy the story of Shegs Okoro in the days when Texaco sold the number 1 comic book to Nigerians) When I was younger, I liked to create comic books in secondary school, I would make a whole comic and story from the beginning to the end. – He smiled at the fond memory.
GRIX: Like a whole story?
NIYI: Yes, full sketchbooks, drawing out a full comic from my head; it just flowed as I drew.

Alas, Niyi has fulfilled the art connection theory, as he can also create stories.

GRIX: That’s all amazing. Your art causes a deep emotional connection with the mind. How do you create such magic?

NIYI: A primary goal of my art is for it to speak to people and also give them different meanings, I would love for it to make people recognize their potential, so with that, I use them with a lot of bold colors, giving more meaning to the light of it, that way, people can get lost in the view.
GRIX: We also got lost because a personal favorite is ‘Confident Reader and Folks At The Burn Fire,’ a more profound emotion can be found from them, almost like you can hear them speak. Do you always aim to pass an emotion in your art?

This made him laugh at our enthusiasm.

NIYI: Just like I said before, this is the goal of my art. I always work on bold subjects, and I specialize more in black culture. I intend to share stories with them, but so many histories are yet to be written. These pictures convey messages and speak more about the black community. I am also working on a comic series called “Folk Arts,” and I intend to tell stories with them, giving them a nice 90s vibe to it.

Usually, black culture is incredibly rich and diverse, with deep historical roots that have shaped its development. It includes the deepest roots of our art, music, food, literature, and more. Niyi has chosen to show off the new beautiful nature of our Black Culture as a lot has happened in our paths of artistry. From the soulful sounds of jazz to the vibrant colors of African fabrics, Black culture is a tapestry of unique traditions and experiences.

Over the years, a lot of black celebrities have tried to put the culture out there in different ways, like Queen Bey, Oprah Winfrey, Kendrick Lamar, and connected to Nigerians, we like Chimamanda Adichie, an amazing author, Yemi Alade and so much more. We are glad to see the amazing artist, Olaniyi Omatayo, here with us, ready to push the culture the forward.

GRIX: Curious, do you have an artwork you connect with that is not necessarily yours?

NIYI: that would be the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci. Personally, I have watched some of Da-Vinci’s documentaries, and he is the first artist that I’ve read about. I find it interesting that his stories remain in circulation for the past 300-400 years, and I intend to be like that.

Leonardo da Vinci was an absolute Renaissance man and his influence on the art world was nothing short of remarkable. Just like Niyi told us, over the years he has inspired a lot of artists and the arts. He inspired the likes of Michelangelo, the contemporary of Da-Vinci, Raphael, Caravaggio, Vermeer and so many amazing artists that we’ve heard of today.

This clearly shows us that Niyi is on the right path. He does remind us of Caravaggio who was inspired by Da-Vinci’s lighting and intense emotions in his arts. We see a lot of that on Niyi’s platform. Drawings coming alive. Niyi has shown us that he’s definitely on his way to become one of the sources of his inspiration.

GRIX: So, in other words, you would like to be like Da Vinci?
NIYI: I intend to be better.

We were seriously fired up by these words. The artist, Niyi, had fantastic big dreams that he was undoubtedly already accomplishing.

GRIX: How do you see the Nigerian market with the growing need for art? Do you feel this current state benefits you?
NIYI: Honestly, not really impressive. Most Nigerians are always waiting for the artist to have a big bang before they are ready to purchase from them. Most of them want to buy from artists abroad. Sure, I know that there are several Nigerians who buy from Nigerians. Still, it would be better collectively. Foreign collectors buy more from me.
GRIX: Do you think art should be for the rich?

NIYI: Not at all, the grade of art increases with the worth of the artists. I sold my art to different people for ridiculous prices during my beginner days. I cannot try that now. I plan for some of my works to also be exhibited in a museum. A local or international museum would be fine, but of course, I would definitely prefer an international one. The thing is-

We were already locked in as we were being schooled on an artist’s worth.

NIYI: Some prefer to invest in art, while others enjoy art. Some people see promised potential in artists and buy their art cheaply when they aren’t public and then sell it off for huge bucks, when the artist’s worth increases. To some, art is an investment.
GRIX: Any big goals for the future that you might like to share? Apart from Folk Arts?
NIYI: The black culture and community growth, the museum exhibition, and more.
GRIX: Thank you for this informative interview, Mr. Olaniyi Omotayo. Thank you for spending some time with us.
NIYI: Thank you for having me, goodbye.