Browsing by Author "Avotri, Victor Nyuieko Kwami"

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    The Bead Culture among the Krobo of Ghana
    (2009-07-18) Avotri, Victor Nyuieko Kwami
    The problem of this study was that, although Krobo have been associated with bead use over along period, the relevance of this tradition to the contemporary social, cultural, religious, economic and political life of the people has not been assessed especially within the context of globalization. The objectives of the study therefore is to appraise the existence of the legendary bead culture among the Krobos of Ghana with the view to assessing its relevance within the contemporary culture of the people and its readiness to face the challenges of the day and also its preparedness for the future especially within the context of current trends of globalization. Qualitative research methodology was adopted in this study. These included mainly descriptive, explanatory in addition to quasi- experimentation as well as correlation. Observation, questionnaire, and interview were the main data collecting instruments used. Data from both primary and secondary sources were gathered from observations, interviews and questionnaire served to individuals. Others were from books, magazines, newspapers, and the internet. The research found that there is a vibrant bead culture among the Krobo of Ghana, and that the youth are actively involved in it, contrary to the thinking that, the youth are not very active in the bead-culture. It is also evident that the role of the bead in the contemporary social, cultural, religious, economic and political life of the Krobos is enormous and that the influence of post modernity and the availability of other gems for aesthetic and other uses, could not wipe away the bead as the main jewellery of the Krobos. The research question, ‘is there a vibrant contemporary bead-culture among the Krobo of Ghana’, has thus been proven. It was discovered that, apart from bottles (glass) and ceramic dyes, the major tools and other complementing materials are all locally accessed. There is further evidence that despite the wastefulness that exists now in the industry, there is a future for both the bead culture and the bead industry not only among the Krobos, but the whole of Ghana given the degree of foreign tourists’ interest. It has been suggested that the necessary logistics and assistance be given to the local bead industries in terms of state/ private investment. In addition, through the more visible use of the bead by the traditional authorities as well as a conscious establishment of a promotional bead day celebration would all go a long way in boosting the bead culture and industry. As a way forward, a number of suggestions were made. Among these, is the need for Traditional and the District Assemblies to promote education of the youth on the bead culture as a way of sustaining their interest.
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    A manual for teaching human figure drawing in the Senior Secondary School (SSS) Visual Art Programme
    (2003-11-25) Avotri, Victor Nyuieko Kwami
    The problem of this study is that, there is an apparent lack of confidence and competence on the part of both students and teachers in handling human figure drawing resulting in the poor performance of students in human figure related questions in the final examination (S.S.C.E). The objectives of this study are- to assess the availability as well as the cultural and technical appropriateness or otherwise of textbooks and other reference materials for teaching human figure drawing in the Senior Secondary Schools in Ghana. It is to further assess the time teachers devote to the teaching of the subject and also find out if students are apprehensive in their approach to human figure drawing due to cultural reservations. It is also to analyse the findings and their implications on human figure drawing with the view of developing an appropriate manual for teaching human figure drawing in the Senior Secondary Schools. It was hypothesised that the general lack of textbooks, insufficiency of time allocated for teaching the subject, students’ apprehension based on cultural biases were the causes of the lack of competence and confidence in human figure drawing by students and teachers alike. Survey, observation, experimentation, descriptive and analytic research methods were employed in this thesis. Data from both primary and secondary sources were gathered from books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, as well as interviews and questionnaires served to individuals. Review of related literature covered the historical background of human figure drawing, human figure and nudity, human figure drawing techniques in selected textbooks, Chief Examiners Reports as well as existing canons. Data from the reviewed literature revealed among other things that nearly all cultures - (reviewed) conceptualized and portrayed the human figure either naturalistically, abstractly or semi-abstractly at various stages in their history and for varied reasons and purposes. On the whole, the analysis of data revealed that even the only officially approved textbook for teaching human figure drawing in the Senior Secondary School, (S.K. Amenuke et al 1992), General Knowledge in Art for Senior Secondary Schools, is inadequate. The few foreign authored books used by some teachers to augment the official one are both technically complex and culturally inappropriate for the Ghanaian students. Teachers also devote little and irregular periods for teaching the subject, while their individual training and competence in human figure drawing fails to make any appreciable effect on student’s performances. It also came to light that not only would majority of Ghanaian students and their teachers feel uncomfortable drawing from live nude figures, but some, especially the religious ones - notably Moslem students consider the whole idea of pictorial representation of the human figure as sinful. These confirmed the hypothesis of this research. Based on the findings, this manual was developed to enhance the teaching and learning of the subject. Simplified approaches involving basic geometric shapes, match stick figures, lines and ovals were used to illustrate the drawing process. At the end, a trial test of this manual on a class of 50 first year students showed 75% success in helping students to improve their competence and confidence in the drawing of the human figure. it has been suggested that, the necessary logistics including, studios, models and other art materials be provided for effective teaching and learning of the subject. Moslem leaders are also encouraged to demystify the drawing of the human figure to encourage Moslem students venture into such a taboo area.