Master Hand: Individuality and Creativity among Yoruba Sculptors | Explore & Learn

Yoruba Artistic Process

Each man's work is different.

--George Bandele, Yoruba sculptor

In Yoruba society, artists respond to the needs of a range of patrons, including individuals, extended families, priests of different orisa, and leaders. The nature of a commission might allow the artist complete license to decide upon the work's iconography, or it might involve the replication of an existing piece. Most commissions, however, fall between these extremes, establishing specific requirements while affording the artist a certain amount of interpretive freedom.

Master and student
The creative process is not one in which an artist works in isolation. An individual artist's autonomy is mediated by the demands of patrons as well as those of the workshop. Training takes the form of an extended apprenticeship that begins when an individual is about ten. Instruction is provided through observation of the master, who teaches the handling of tools and materials and makes the countless decisions that determine a work's form, line, composition, and color. A motivated and gifted apprentice is expected to learn basic techniques over several years, after which he or she might continue as a paid assistant until establishing an independent workshop.

Choice of materials
In Yoruba culture, the creators of works informed by principles of design are referred to as onisona. Specialization in certain media is gender specific: men work with wood, metal, stone, ivory, and beads; women work with clay, paint, cloth, and mat weaving. Wood sculptors are distinguished as either gbegigbegi or gbenagbena, depending on whether they produce nonfigural, utilitarian, or figural works. They use three types of tools: axes or hatchets; large- and narrow-bladed adzes; and knives. Practical and spiritual considerations inform the selection of the appropriate wood for a commission. The ritual contexts of sculptural forms may require that they be made from special woods that enhance their efficacy. Their use is preceded by invocations to the tree's spiritual inhabitants. The selected wood is always freshly cut and green and kept wet throughout the carving process, as the moisture allows it to be worked more easily.

Stages of design
Before executing a work, the artist visualizes it in his mind. The ability to think visually is perceived as invaluable in anticipating the steps taken during the actual carving, which involves four stages:

ona lile, blocking out the main forms with an ax or adze

aletunle, working over the main forms and breaking them into smaller precise masses (the forms of ears, hands, and eyes) with an adze or a chisel

didan, smoothing the forms, chiefly with a knife or chisel

fifin, cutting sharp details (such as hair, eyelids, and patterns), chiefly with a knife

The collaborative dynamic of the workshop has infinite possibilities. While the most junior members assist only with the final smoothing of the surface, those with greater experience are involved in the preliminary blocking out of the wood. Both the second stage and the final cutting are ideally executed by the master himself. In practice, however, the amount of work delegated depends upon the master and the volume of work at hand. Consequently, it is often difficult to determine boundaries of authorship; even though a master is credited for the signature style with which he endows a work, it may actually reflect the convergence of several different hands.

Photograph Credits