File:Signature’s 30Th Anniversary.jpg

Every Word Has A Meaning Or A Collection Of Meanings; That Is Why It Records As A Form Of Communication. The Value Of Every Word Or Every Speech Is In Its Meaning, Every Meaning Is Centred On The Purpose Of The Word; Every Purpose Inspires Function; Functions Inspire Appreciation, And Appreciation Therefore, Is Inspired By The Proportion (Quality Or Quantity) Of The Value Which The Word Is Able To Generate Especially Based On Socially Accepted Standard Of Reason. This Fact Is Not Different With The Art Which In Reality, Represents The Visual Statements In Communication As Obtainable In Spoken Words. There Has Been A Number Of Definitions By Many Erudite Scholars In The Effort To Finding The Real Meaning Of Art; However, The Most Correct Ones Should Resonate The Basic Principle Of World View, Which Is Within The Extension Of Finding The Essence Of Life (Meaning) And Ameliorating The Human Condition (Solving Problems). In Defining Art As A Product Therefore, We Can Present It As Any Human Expression With A Meaning Or A Collection Of Meanings; Whereas, As A Process We Can Present It As Any Human Expression Or Communication In Which The Objective Or Purpose Is To Create Meanings Or Solve Problems, Especially Social Problems. This Represents The Diagnosis Of The Concise Meaning Of Art And Based On This Diagnosis, We Are About To Sample The Conventional Standard Of Art Business In Nigeria Characterized By Prostituting The Value Of Art, To Which The Messianic Collections Of Mr. Akar Rahman Forms A Repository Of Cultural Decolonisation Speaking Volumes Visually. This Family Has Laid Down A Standard In The Art And Businesses Of Art Collecting In West Africa Especially, Following The Translated Standard Below. To Collect Art Therefore, It Is Recommended That Collectors Must Have The Understanding Of The Following: A. The Meaning Of The Art Which They Claim To Be Collecting And Which Earns Them The Reputation As Collectors Of The Culture

B. The History And Origin Of Such Art Based On The Purpose And Quality Of The Artist Whose Expression Is Valid As A Work Of Art

C. The Purpose Of That Art Which Constructs Its Value, As Well As The Projection Of Life Span Of Such Value Appendage

D. The Clarity Of Collector’s Purpose For Acquisition Which Must Not Fundamentally Be Tied To Liquidity; Which Is Known In Economics To Be Counter-Permanent In Terms Of Value

Akar’s Collection Is Not Based On Known Name Or Special Interest On The Politics Of Sales Or National / International Aesthetics And Historical Supremacist Ideas, But On His Own Interpretation Of The Understanding Of Art As Cultural Expressions Of Prophetic Standards Of Humanitarian Transformation In Time Within A Space. Akar Rahman, The Founder And Director Of Signature Beyond Has Been Described By Ike 2020, Business Order, As A Patron And Collector Per Excellence Because Of The Understanding Of The Above Submission. While Most Other Galleries And Gallery Managers Are Perhaps, Too Scared Of Believing In Emerging Artists, And Their Eclectic Approach To Practice So As Not To Exhibit Their Works, Akar Risks All Unseen Factors To Acquire The Works From Such Artists Which He Likes And From Artists He Dares To Believe In, Exhibits Them And Pays Them Almost Immediately, Whether There Are Collectors For Them Or Not, While Majority Of Other Conventional Galleries Deal With Artists Based On Just An Option Centred On Sales-Or-Return Terms. Yet Signature Beyond Claims To Play Safe In The Business Of Art Collecting And Art Business With An Eye On Value And Quality Of Works Exhibited; Based On The Right Definitions Of The Meaning Of Art.

Due To This Anniversary Experience, We Peach Our Interest To Concentrates On Specific Navigations Within The Scope Of Roles, Functions, Taste Structure And Diplomatic Activities Of Art Professionals And Art Institutions, Taking Bearing From Signature Beyond, One Of The Oldest, Most Respected And Quite Successful Art Galleries In Lagos And Which Recently Opened Up A Space In Mayfair, London; Promoting The Evaluation Of African Arts And Antiquity, And Ways In Which The Standard Has Contributed To Artistic Development In West Africa, Especially In Nigeria Since 1989. Although References Are Made To Many Other Art Galleries Within Nigeria And Diaspora Where Necessary In The Bid To Visually Investigate The Nitty-Gritty Of Signature’s Activities And The Politics Of Taste, As Could Be Seen With The Exquisite Collections Of Mr. And Mrs. Akar, As Well As The Dynamics Of Association, Whether Sweet, Sour Or Bitter, Which Has Sustained The Gallery In Terms Of Integrity To Maintain A Wonderful Reputation As The Most Respected Gallery In West Africa; In Relation To The Experience Of The Founder’s Original Inspiration Tagged Herein As The Signature Factor In This Context, Which Will Be Examined As A Component Of My Research On Critical Experience And Art Diplomacy; Which Is Also Proposed As An Intellectual Inquisition Into The Intrinsic Association And Solidarity Of Art Professionals And The Cognitive Value Of Art And Aesthetics In Response To, And In Respect Of Human Relations And Polity. This State Of Reality In Theoretical Inquisition Into Human Critical Artistic Experience Is Referred To As Quantum Aesthetics By My Own Speculation To Describe The Phenomena; Anchored On Aesthetics As A Sub-Branch Of Axiology.

In Describing The Signature Factor, I, Through This Conversation, Have Revealed How Mr. Akar, Founder Of This Reputable Art Gallery In Lagos And London, Signature Beyond, Has Used The Meaning Of The Word, Signature, To Personify The Word, Image, And Such As Any Other Art Professional And Beneficiary Exploring The Adventure In Critical Human Artistic Or Aesthetic Experience, Has Heeded To The Direction Of A Subconscious Chip, The Creative Impulse And Response To The Stimuli; That Has Led Them Close To Perfection In Purpose Through Passionate Commitment To Intension And Duty, In Order To Gain Reputation Unrivalled.

Through Same Discussions, This Conversation Opens Up A New Mirror Through Which The Lagos Art Community Would View Signature Beyond As The Ideal Hub By Gently Peeling Off Veils To See The Intension Of The Word, Signature, Which Constitutes The Name Of The Art Gallery, And Recognize How Easy It Has Been To Reconcile The Standard Through Sight And Insight For More Than 30 Years.

Ike, Gerald Chiemezie Visual Artist / Art Diplomat