The Asele Period in Uche Okeke’s Creativity 1958-1966

Abstract

The Asele period is an in depth study of a major aspect of the creative works of Professor Uche Okeke. The artist, who is generally regarded as father of modern Nigerian art tradition, made various indelible marks as a creative legend. These contributions to a great extent, transformed the face of visual art in Nigeria. In this study therefore, I have taken a serious look at his creativity between 1958 and 1966. It is not possible to record the entire artworks produced by the artist at the period, however I have made efforts in the course of my field work to look at the greater majority of his outstanding artworks at this period based on available records. This research therefore substantially represents the creative life of the artist during the period under review. Uche Okeke classified his artistic career into three major dispensations, I have also adopted same format in this study.