Samuel Adentwi Bentum
Chiefdom: the Women’s World introduces a method of viewingand understanding art. For centuries, artists have reliedon nature and tradition as their great sources of inspiration.Irregular wooden boards in their natural state are sculpturingresources that are worthy of adoration and adoption. Natureproduces the images of Chiefdom on surfaces of woodenboards and by so doing, establishes the system of chiefdom.The concept upon which these aesthetics and appreciationswere figured out was based on the philosophy of truth whichpresents the materials, their sources and physical appearancesas the basis of these sculptures. Therefore, the need topreserve and present the material was as crucial as the institutionof chiefdom.The style of presentation of these collections in this book centredon simplified realism that settled on plain geometricforms, shapes and lines. Carving technique was at timesinterspersed with the jagged shape of the wood boards, treebark textures, surface perforations and marks from band andcircular saws used in milling the timber into wooden boards.Titles of these relief sculptures were derived from the cultureof Akan-Fante chiefdom and translated into English.The females in these compositions are hyped to all the naturalstatus of chiefdom even though some of the positions are thepreserve of males. Hence, the dignity of the African culture inrelation to Chiefdom is clearly and solidly sourced from theform and imagery produced from naturally shaped woodboards.SAMUEL ADENTWI BENTUM(Ph.D)
