Paint and painting in traditional Ghanaian art: evolution, application and meaning

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April, 2015
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The research is about paint, pigments or dyes used in traditional Ghanaian art; its evolution, application and meaning. It focuses on Ashanti and Upper East, two regions with considerable traditional art background involved with the unit of research. The study employed a qualitative approach with a constructivist paradigm driven by aesthetic contextualism. The methods adopted were ethnographical, historical and phenomenological employing observational, focus group and open-endedinterviews as instruments. Eventually twenty-three people were interviewed using the purposive and snowball approach. The work revealed a rich and colourful traditional art culture rife with paint and pigments of various kinds, culminating in eleven different media, classified according to their origin. It was observed that traditional Ghanaian ethnicities freely explored and used different kinds of paint to protect surfaces, decorate and express both proverbial and philosophical ideas. They respected the environment and wisely explored it to meet their needs. The environment was nurtured rather than exploited. Sustainability was a concept well ingrained within the traditional mind. The paints found in this research were all organic; implying that continual involvement with its use should enhance rather thandeteriorate life. All the art forms mentioned in the study are vested with history, philosophy and cultural values of the people. Contrary to what most documents hold about African art, it abounds in sculpture as it does in paintings. In Ghana the practice of painting harks back far beyond the 1900s when easel painting was introduced to Ghana in Achimota, the painting tradition was well ingrained in traditional Ghanaian art before the fifteenth century when Europeans arrived in the Gold Coast. Therefore it could be described as integral with Ghanaian culture. The study suggests several recommendations including the possibility of establishing a Traditional Ghanaian Industry among others that are hoped to make positive impact on Ghanaian art and culture.
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A dissertation submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (African Art and Culture), 2015
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