CHIEFDOM:

About the Book

Chiefdom: the Women’s World introduces a method of viewing and understanding art. For centuries, artists have relied on nature and tradition as their great sources of inspiration. Irregular wooden boards in their natural state are sculpturing resources that are worthy of adoration and adoption. Nature produces the images of Chiefdom on surfaces of wooden boards and by so doing, establishes the system of chiefdom. The concept upon which these aesthetics and appreciations were figured out was based on the philosophy of truth which presents the materials, their sources and physical appearances as the basis of these sculptures. Therefore, the need to preserve and present the material was as crucial as the institution of chiefdom. The style of presentation of these collections in this book centred on simplified realism that settled on plain geometric forms, shapes and lines. Carving technique was at times interspersed with the jagged shape of the wood boards, tree bark textures, surface perforations and marks from band and circular saws used in milling the timber into wooden boards. Titles of these relief sculptures were derived from the culture of Akan-Fante chiefdom and translated into English. The females in these compositions are hyped to all the natural status of chiefdom even though some of the positions are the preserve of males. Hence, the dignity of the African culture in relation to Chiefdom is clearly and solidly sourced from the form and imagery produced from naturally shaped wood boards. SAMUEL ADENTWI BENTUM (Ph.D)

About the Author

Samuel Adentwi Bentum a.k.a. Ebo Bentum is an Anthropologist, culturis and an art historian. He holds Ph.D in African Art and Culture and MFA in Sculpture and Painting all from Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. He is an Art Educator at Takoradi Polytechnic, Takoradi, Ghana. He is a practicing artist who works with materials such as wood, concrete, plastic, steel, fabric and acrylic. He is a muralist and an interior artist. “Chief-dom: The Women’s World” and “That Root You Left Behind” are his next books on the block.