Fantasy coffin
| Subclass of | coffin  |
|---|---|
| Year dem found am | 1950 |
| Country | Ghana |
| Ein location | Greater Accra Region |
| Made from material | mahogany wood, hardwood |
| Collection | National Museum of Modern Art, Collection de l'art brut |
Fantasy coffins anaa figurative coffins, dem san dey bell am “FAVs” (fantastic afterlife vehicles) den custom, fantastic, anaa proverbial coffins (abebuu adekai),[1] be functional coffins wey specialized carpenters dey do am for Greater Accra Region of Ghana. De colorful objects, wey dem dey take develop out of figurative palanquins, no be only coffins but esan be works of art. Dem show dem for de first tym go wider Western public for de exhibition Les Magiciens de la terre insyd for de Musée National d'Art Moderne for Paris for 1989 insyd. De seven coffins dem show for Paris insyd ebe Kana Kwei wey make am (1922–1992) den ein former assistant Paa Joe (b.1947).[2] Since then, dem display coffins wey Kane Kwei do am, ein grand kiddie Eric Adjetey Anang, Paa Joe, Daniel Mensah, Kudjoe Affutu, Theophilus Nii Anum Sowah, Benezate, den oda artists for international art museums den galleries insyd around de world.[3]
Notable artists
[edit | edit source]Kudjoe Affutu
[edit | edit source]Eric Adjetey Anang
[edit | edit source]Paa Joe
[edit | edit source]Eric Kpakpo
[edit | edit source]Daniel "Hello" Mensah
[edit | edit source]Ataa Oko
[edit | edit source]Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
Hen coffin by Kudjoe Affutu, 2008. -
Ataa Oko den Kudjoe Affutu plus Okos red rooster coffin 2009. -
Centre Pompidou coffin, Kudjoe Affutu, 2010.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Alternate Histories of the Abebuu Adekai. Roberta Bonetti, African Arts, Autumn 2010.
- ↑ A Deathbed of a Living Man. A Coffin for the Centre Pompidou. Regula Tschumi in Sâadane Afif (ed.), „Anthologie de l’humour noir“, Paris: Editions Centre Pompidou. 2010. P.56.
- ↑ The buried treasures of the Ga. Coffin art in Ghana. Regula Tschumi. Bern: Benteli 2008, p. 230-31.
Bibliography
[edit | edit source]- Regula Tschumi: Concealed Art. The figurative palanquins and coffins of Ghana. Edition Till Schaap, Bern. ISBN 978-3-03828-099-6.
- Regula Tschumi: The buried treasures of the Ga: Coffin art in Ghana. Edition Till Schaap, Bern, 2014. ISBN 9783038280163. A revised and updated second edition of Benteli 2008.
- Regula Tschumi: The Figurative Palanquins of the Ga. History and Significance, in: African Arts, vol. 46, no. 4, 2013, p. 60-73
- Ataa Oko, Ex. Cat., Collection de l'art brut (ed), Infolio, 2010
- Roberta Bonetti: Alternate Histories of the Abebuu Adekai, in: African Arts, Bd. 43, no. 3, 2010, p. 14-33.
- Vivian Burns: Travel to Heaven: Fantasy Coffins, in: African Arts, vol. 17, no. 2 (1974), p. 24-25
- Jean-Hubert Martin: Kane Kwei, Samuel Kane Kwei, in: André Magnin (ed.): Contemporary Art of Africa. Thames and Hudson, London 1996, p. 76.
- Thierry Secretan: Going into darkness: Fantastic coffins from Africa. London 1995.
- Regula Tschumi: A Report on Paa Joe and the Proverbial Coffins of Teshie and Nungua, Ghana, in: Africa et Mediterraneo, no. 47–8, 2004, pp. 44–7
- Regula Tschumi: Last Respects, First Honoured. Ghanaian Burial Rituals and Figural Coffins, in: Kunstmuseum Bern (ed.): Six Feet Under. Autopsy of Our Relation to the Dead. Kerber, Bielefeld & Leipzig 2006, p. 114-125.
- Regula Tschumi: A Deathbed of a Living Man. A Coffin for the Centre Pompidou, in: Sâadane Afif (ed.), Anthologie de l’humour noir. Edition Centre Pompidou, Paris 2010, p. 56–61.