ROWLAND Abiodun turned 80 on Sunday, July 25.
He is the John C. Newton Professor of Art, the History of Art, and Black Studies at Amherst College, MA.
He has written numerous books and essays, including edited and co-edited volumes, such as Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought (1989), Yoruba Art and Aesthetics (1991), The Yoruba Artist: New Theoretical Perspectives on African Arts (1994), What Follows Six Is More than Seven: Understanding African Art (1995), Cloth Only Wears to Shreds: Yoruba Textiles and Photographs from the Beier Collection (2004), and Ifá Divination: Knowledge, Power and Performance (2016).
His most recent work, Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art, is clearly one of the most important works ever done on the art and aesthetics of Africa.
In addition, he is a mentor who has contributed to the successful careers of hundreds of scholars and artists of African art.
Without his mentorship, I would certainly not be who I am today.
He has mentored me since I was a first-year student at the University of Ife, where he was a professor.
His work does not end when his student graduates. That is precisely when his mentorship begins.
On behalf of the University of African Art community, we celebrate Rowland Abiodun for his contribution.
*Okediji, Painter and Professor of Art at the University of Texas, Austin USA, is founder MOYOGALLERIA, Austin, Texas and the University of African Arts
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