Advances in Modern Nigerian Art and Urban Aesthetics: Osogbo Fence Beautification’s Experience

Abstract

Fences and boundary demarcations are later additions to buildings, for fortification, while their ornamentation is an advancement in modern Nigerian art from the 1970s. Studies of wall decorations have focused mainly on facades of buildings and shrine walls, with little scope for ornamentations on fences of private residential buildings. This study investigates the trends in boundary demarcation in Yoruba culture, highlighting the innovations in the practice. It also classifies the forms and styles in the decoration on fences of domestic buildings, using Osogbo, a prominent city in the advancement in art and culture, since its inception. The study reveals rich and divergent styles of artistic embellishment in fences of private homes, in diverse materials. The ornamentation on fences are observed to evolve with the means of the owners and indirectly enhance the aesthetic of the environment.

Keywords: Fence beautification, Fortification, Modern art, Urban Aesthetics, Osogbo.

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-4-01

Publication date: February 29^th 2020