Duke Asidere's Cluster of Lines as a Body of reading in Hermeneutical Aesthetics

Abstract

An artist-philosopher aims to make art objects a medium of thought, as recognised in traditional philosophical texts, and Duke Adsiere’s drawing could serve as a strong platform for such discourse. Drawing is oftenmisunderstood and undervalued by many non-artists, who tend to see it as a means to an end rather than a standalone art form. This paper investigates Duke Adsiere's drawing culture, which functions as a foundation for hermeneutic dialectics. It seeks to understand this drawing culture as a form of value, akin to a philosophical text or image-text, which we refer to here as the cluster lines of hermeneutic reading—this reading is a philosophical approach to modernism within the contemporary Nigerian art scene. The artist’s drawing technique is deeply rooted in his personal interpretation of natural phenomena, reflecting his understanding of his socio-cultural environment and Nigeria's broader political context. His meditative approach does not diminish the aesthetic value of his highly skilled work. Keywords: , , , ,