THE BAIT
THE BAIT
To trap a chicken,
a few grains of corn.
to trap a dog
just a bone
to trap the antelope
okra is enough
To trap a cobra
the egg of a chicken
Life
Life, when lived properly, is like playing in this giant park called Earth.
Find the thing you love to play with, and turn it into your work.
Then you can start playing.
I play with words, to enjoy the miracle of sound.
I play with images, to savor the magnificence of sight.
Playing is the best way to give thanks to the Creator of this giant park, and to fully enjoy the fruits and drinks that the park abundantly supplies.
TWO ROCK STARS
TWO ROCK STARS
ROCK 1:
I wish I were a rock of salt.
Then I won’t be so insulted.
Here I sit at the bottom of the stream
pelted by water
pecked by fishes
pinched by crabs
unseen, uncelebrated by man
useless to him and his art.
I wish I were a rock of salt
ÀRÓ CIRCUMSTANCES
There is an ancient Yoruba poem about Àró, the alien.
Listen, the translation is below the Yoruba original.
Mo gbinlá mi sóko
Mo gbinkàn mi sóko
Ewúrẹ́ Àró fi jẹ;
Àgùtàn Àró fi jẹ
Èmi ò mọ ohun Àró ní mo ṣe.
I planted okra on my farmland
Envy None
Accept yourself.
Whatever your failing,
regardless of your weaknesses.
Love and cuddle your life
appreciate the little you have.
Cherish what nature handed you
keep it well
this mini that you have.
Art of Social Distancing
Yesterday, my friend, Femi, called from Maryland and we had a long and beautiful conversation on the art of social distancing.
He wanted to buy a painting.
I told him I was happy to sell a painting and sent him a picture of the work.
I said the painting would look good as a Zoom backgrounder—like when FOX News calls and wants your opinion.
Are you going to panic because the artless interior of your home would suddenly become exposed to hundreds of millions of people on television and social media?
FRIENDSHIP iN 2021
How many people can be really, really true friends?
Or is friendship restricted to just two people?
Is friendship possible among three or more?
First, Yoruba people are cynical about friendship: the culture outright dismisses the notion of friendship as naïve.
“Ọ̀rẹ́ òtítọ́ ò sí,” is an adage that means “There are no true friends.”
“Ojú larí, ọ̀rẹ́ ò dénú,” means “We see the eye service, but the friendship is not deep.”
My edited book on the work of Dotun Popoola is now out.
My edited book on the work of Dotun Popoola is now out.
It looks so magnificent, like a grande Egungun performance.
The publisher says it goes for 50,000 naira per copy.
This hyper-colorful hardcover book that is larger than a royal Agbada arrived at my doorsteps for the New Year.
It is the most beautiful book I have ever seen.
Congrats to the wonderful art historians, Kunle Filani, Tolulope Sobowale, Olusegun Fajuyigbe, and Kehinde Adepegba, who contributed powerful essays to the book.
PEACE, LOVE AND HAPPINESS
PEACE, LOVE AND HAPPINESS
Egbé lifted me up and away,
down the tunnels of clouds
and we alighted inside the ground
a million years and a thousand days
below the level of my house.
“Browse,” Àjà said, “read the entries.
WHAT DIDN’T YOU SEE?
Plenty to see and ponder,
so very much to read and wonder
in a half-penny newspaper.
First, you must see the three Magi
Looking to find the Messiah
At the throne of Herod?
The Three Mega-Pharmacies
Looking for the Corona Virus
didn’t start their search
in the manger scenes of Bethlehem.
Past, Present and Future: Taye, Kehinde and Idowu
2020 has been an eventful year.
We will not itemize the list of the horrors of the year.
Can we, instead, highlight the blessings?
Rather than explore the sadness of the year, can we paint images that are sweet?
Can we find the joy hidden behind the sorrow?
Can we squeeze order out of the chaos?
Why the Art Museums Are Closed
Why the Art Museums Are Closed
A dialogue with Africa
about the ancestral images
that the West looted
from the continent is inevitable.
Without this dialogue,
all the museums in the world,
all the art galleries,
all the exhibition spaces,
are uninhabitable spaces