- Title: NIGERIA: DAVID DALE IS ONE OF NIGERIA'S MOST TALENTED ARTISTS
- Date: 15th October 2000
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. ZOOM OUT ARTIST DAVID DALE DRAWING 0.10 2. CLOSEUPs OF DRAWING 0.21 3. SV (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID DALE "I'm going to introduce water colors into it, so by the time that the water color starts coming in, from here to about there which is pre-colonial days there was a lot of hope for the African person, then from about there to about here, that's about ten years after independence, and it still carried a little bit of hope. But suddenly after the 10th year of African independence in each country, you find that the hope of the black man starts diminishing. So the coloration here will gradually darken now from greys into some blues." 0.55 4. VARIOUS CLOSEUPS OF DAVID'S PAINTINGS 5. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOXPOP, YOUNGER ARTIST 'Working with Mr. David Dale, I would say is a privilege, because he's a professional, he's not just a professional he's a master in the field and I like working with somebody who has the best for me to have the best." 1.28 6. VARIOUS CLOSEUPS OF DAVID'S PAINTINGS 1.37 7. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID "The glue we use for beaded works we couldn't get that locally and I had to wait for six and a half months for that to come in. But it has arrived again. But these are the oscillations, at times you don't get the beads, you have so much of the glue, at times you don't have the glue, you have so much of the beads." / MORE OF PAINTINGS 1.52 8. VARIOUS OF MOSAIC 2.04 9. COLLECTION OF DAVID'S STAIN GLASS WINDOWS IN CHURCH 2.15 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID "I have for the central motif a white dove, now where we are supposed to have the feathers on the wing, instead of the feathers I have put there flags of the world, the flags of the world do represent the fact that God's love doesn't know any borders." 11. MORE ARTWORK 2.40 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DOLAPO ATEKOJA, ART COLLECTOR "When you look at his work, they all come out very elegant but I know the kind of work that has gone into them. The seriousness, his own passion for perfection, and lastly his own commitment to continually uplift his own standard." 2.49 13. VARIOUS OF DAVID'S ARTWORK 3.11 14. VARIOUS OF AWARDS 3.17 15. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID DALE " I'm not too crazy about money. I make money but I don't make money as my first priority about life. I'm an artist, yes, I want to create like Picasso used to do. If you like my work you could buy it if you don't you leave it to somebody else to buy it." 3.32 16. MORE PAINTINGS 3.39 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 30th October 2000 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LAGOS, NIGERIA
- Country: Nigeria
- Reuters ID: LVA19KA3SC4A0V9UFQE806F9X1BP
- Story Text: David Dale is one of Nigeria's most talented artists.
David masters twenty different art mediums, and uses his
talents to express his love for nature.
Getting all the material he needs to do his artwork is
not always easy in Nigeria's harsh economic conditions, but
although he sometimes has to wait a few months to get it,
David never gives up.
Meet David Herbert Dale, who many say is one of
Nigeria's most talented artists.
Even in a country well known for its art and culture,
David Dale still stands out from the crowd.
He is a master of over twenty different art mediums -
including charcoal drawing like this.
"I'm going to introduce water colors into it, so by the
time that the water color starts coming in, from here to
about there which is pre-colonial days there was a lot of
hope for the African person, then from about here to about
here, that's about ten years after independence, and it
still carried a little bit of hope. But suddenly after the
10th year of African independence in each country, you find
that the hope of the black man starts diminishing. So the
coloration here will gradually darken now from greys into
some blues", says David.
Sometimes, there's no deeper moral lesson, David simply
uses his artistic talents to express his love for nature.
At the age of fifty-three where many are thinking of
retiring - David is still bursting with creativity - and
providing a great example for younger artists.
This artist says "Working with Mr. David Dale, I would
say is a privilege, because he's a professional, he's not
just a professional he's a master in the field and I like
working with somebody who has the best for me to have the best."
But getting the best is not always easy in Nigeria's
harsh economic conditions.
David says "The glue we use for beaded works we
couldn't get that locally and I had to wait for six and a
half months for that to come in. But it has arrived again.
But these are the oscillations, at times you don't get the
beads, you have so much of the glue, at times you don't have
the glue, you have so much of the beads."
This beautiful mosaic of Noah and the dove is a
testament to his boundless energy and patience.
It took five painstaking months to complete at a
church in Lagos.
Which is nothing compared to the fifteen months it
took him to put together this collection of stained glass
windows, further inside the church.
He says "I have for the central motif a white dove,
now where we are supposed to have the feathers on the wing,
instead of the feathers I have put flags of the world, the
flags of the world do represent the fact that God's love
doesn't know any borders."
He puts in the same dedication to everything he does,
making him a favourite of many local and international
collectors.
Art Collector Dolapo Atekoja says "When you look at
his work, they all come out very elegant but I
know the kind of work that has gone into them. The
seriousness, his own passion for perfection, and lastly his
own commitment to continually uplift his own standard."
David's standards have taken him straight to the top
as these awards show - bringing with them more jobs and
money.
But for this man, art is its own reward.
"I'm not too crazy about money. I make money but I
don't make money as my first priority about life. I'm an
artist, yes, I want to create like Picasso used to do. If
you like my work you could buy it if you don't you leave it
to somebody else to buy it", says David.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None