THE WAY IT LOOKS: CONTEXTUALIZING EARLY PAINTINGS IN TRADITIONAL ART OF PREGOLD COAST ERA

Abstract

Documentation of paintings in the history of African art in regions south of the Sahara is rare. It is rather common reading of wood sculpture and other three dimensional works as the main stay of African art. However art in West Africa is rife with paint. This paper studies six forms of painting found within pre Gold Coast traditional art by ethnographic, historical and descriptive research. These are mural, body, fabric, hearth & bed, stool and sculpture painting. Observing through the philosophical lens of Contextualism, the authors recognise it as the most appropriate way of looking at this traditional art, since its attributes seem to facilitate the best means of experiencing understanding and evaluating this art as against other philosophical proffers.