Evolving 21st century iconography
Loading...
Date
2015-11-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The study explores money as an economic factor and discusses how it has significantly
driven humankind from different locations to places where it is found in abundance. It
investigates and explains how the search for wealth is responsible for all major cross
border interactions between different races, nationals and ethnic cultures.
Metaphorically, the cowrie shell has been used to represent ‘money’. It is used with other
leading modern currency symbols, abstract and conceptual humanoid forms to describe
mans desire for wealth. The concept of the iconographic pieces is premised on symbolic
expositions that throw light on economic issues which affect all classes of people in
modern times. Plastic clay and other allied ceramic materials such as coloured slips and
manganese oxide constitute the material base of the project; and the most appropriate
studio forming methods were employed in constructing the art pieces. The purpose of this
study is to indicate how cultural barriers, racism, cultural identity crises and other related
indigenous cultural issues are losing their significance because of money. It does this by
exploring and producing design concepts that addresses cultural connectivity and the
universal symbolisms in money. The 21st century iconographic pieces represent
contextual ideas that promote the production of pluralistic artworks for the shared spaces
on multicultural platforms.
Description
A Thesis submitted to the Department of Industrial Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Fine Art (CERAMICS), Faculty of Art, College of Art and Built Environment.