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Paa Joe

April 11, 2024

Paa Joe (né Joseph Tetteh-Ashong; born 1947) is a Ghanaian sculptor, and figurative palanquin and fantasy coffin carpenter. Joe is considered one of the most important Ghanaian coffin or abebuu adekai (“proverb boxes”) artists of his generation.[1][2][3] He has been involved in the international art world since 1989, and has been included in major exhibitions in Europe, Japan, and the USA. His fantasy coffins are in the collections and on permanent display in many art museums worldwide, including the British Museum in London, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka and many others as well as the private collections of foreign dignitaries.[4][5][6][7] Joe is building an art academy and gallery to support the community and art students across the globe.

Paa Joe
Born
Joseph Tetteh-Ashong

1947 (age 76–77)
Akwapim, Ghana
Occupation(s)Sculptor, carpenter

Biography edit

 
Paa Joe with a sandal coffin in collaboration with Regula Tschumi for the Kunstmuseum Berne 2006

Paa Joe was born in 1947 at Akwapim in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Joe began his career with a twelve-year apprenticeship as a coffin artist in the workshop of Kane Kwei (1924–1992) in Teshie.[8] In 1976, Joe started his own business in Nungua. He trained many young artists like Daniel Mensah, Eric Kpakpo, or Kudjoe Affutu who have also become very successful fantasy coffin artists. In 2008, Joe moved his workshop from Nungua to kPobiman (Greater Accra) where he works with his son Jacob and several other collaborators. In 2013, Joe was invited for a six-week residency to Nottingham, Great Britain and he has taken part in many art residences.

Artwork edit

 
A coffin by Paa Joe exhibited at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan.

Fantasy coffins edit

While the pieces crafted by Joe are real coffins that the deceased are buried in, the process to obtain a figurative coffin is very different from the normal process one might go about to obtain a coffin for themselves or a loved one.[7][1] Joe does not have a catalog of work from which a figurative coffin can be chosen, as might be done with a regular coffin. Each piece is a custom commission that has relevance to the deceased's life. Thus, Joe is not a craftsman of utilitarian products, rather he is an artist of custom, expressive pieces. Not all of Joe's coffins are used for burial or intended to express the quality of an individual life.[3]

Figurative coffins have great cultural significance in Ghana.[9][10] While the practice of making Figurative coffins was debatably started by Joe's instructor, Kane Kwei, the concept has deep roots in Ga tradition.[11] Figurative coffins have been around since the 1950s.[9] However, figurative palanquins have a much deeper history in Ghana.[10]

Joe has crafted custom coffins for important Ghanaian cultural figures, such as the late Chief Nii Amartey Kwei II.[10]

Workshop and process edit

Joe crafts his coffins in his workshop In the Accra area in Ghana.[12][2] His workshop comprises a few main areas including an office, a showroom, a preparation room for painting and shipping, and a tool storage area.[2] However, much of the actual Coffin Construction is performed behind the workshop under the shade of trees.[2] Here, clients can come and view coffins and decide on a design either for themselves for future use, or for a loved one.[2] Joe's process is to explore the interests of the person in need of a coffin to determine what style of figurate coffin could best represent their life.[12][1] Past examples have been as simple as a coke bottle or a bible to that of a professor who requested a bird with a pen in its mouth.[12]

Other work edit

While Joe is best known for his figurative coffins, he has also created conceptual works that focus on West Africa and transatlantic slave trade, such as his large-scale sculptural work "Gates of No Return".[3]

Joe is the subject of a documentary about fantasy coffins by British filmmaker Ben Wigley and producer Anna Griffin.[13]

Exhibitions edit

In 2020, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia exhibited new work by Joe of Gold Coast fortresses.[3] The exhibit featured seven buildings that served as the way stations for Africans who were sold into slavery, put on ships, and sent to the Americas and the Caribbean in the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. The works are large, painted wood architectural sculptures and include the Cape Coast Castle, Fort Orange, Christiansborg Castle, Fort Patience, and Fort St. Sebastian. The process of making the works included visits to the sites, taking pictures, and drawing sketches.

Solo and group exhibitions edit

  • 2020 "Paa Joe: Gates of No Return", High Museum of Art, Atlanta[3]
  • 2017 Gallery 1957 "One does not take it anywhere."[7]
  • 2017 Jack Shainman Gallery "The Coffins of Paa Joe and the Pursuit of Happiness."[14]
  • 2017 Fondation Cartier Paris[15]
  • 2012 Brooklyn Museum[4]
  • 2012 Southbank, UK[16]
  • 2011 Salon 94 New York[17]
  • 2011 Jack Bell Gallery, UK[18]
  • 2011 V&A museum UK
  • 2010–11 "Living and Dying Gallery" British Museum London
  • 2007–2008 Six Feet Under, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden
  • 2006 Melbourne Festival[19]
  • 2006 Six Feet Under, Kunstmuseum Bern[20]
  • 2005 Jack Shainman Gallery, New York City[21]
  • 2003 Schokolade, die süsse Verführung, Museum für Völkerkunde Basel
  • 2002 Autolust, Stapferhaus Lenzburg, Switzerland
  • 1989 Les Magiciens de la terre, Centre Pompidou, Paris[7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Jennings, Lewis (2018-12-01). "Rest in peace and art: Ghanaians are putting the fun into funerals by getting buried in artsy coffins shaped like animals and even Coke bottles". Index on Censorship. 47 (4): 34–35. doi:10.1177/0306422018819317. ISSN 0306-4220. S2CID 149915921.
  2. ^ a b c d e Otto, Kristin (2019-03-29). "Shapes of the Ancestors: Bodies, Animals, Art, and Ghanaian Fantasy Coffins". Museum Anthropology Review. 13 (1–2): 47–58. doi:10.14434/mar.v13i1.26580. ISSN 1938-5145. S2CID 194619425. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Paa Joe: Gates of No Return". High Museum of Art. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  4. ^ a b "Coffin in the Form of a Nike Sneaker". Brooklyn Museum. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  5. ^ "coffin". The British Museum. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  6. ^ Jansen, Charlotte (2016-11-24). "How Ghana's top fantasy coffin artist has put the fun in funeral". the Guardian. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  7. ^ a b c d Carrigan, Margaret (21 November 2017). "Paa Joe's Fantasy Coffins Are Now Recognized as Contemporary Art in Ghana". The New York Observer.
  8. ^ Jansen, Charlotte (24 November 2016). "How Ghana's top fantasy coffin artist has put the fun in funeral". The Guardian. from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  9. ^ a b Curnow, Kathy (2018). Art and Death. Pressbooks@MSL: Michael Schwartz Library OER Program. pp. 262–312.
  10. ^ a b c Bonetti, Roberta (2019), Selin, Helaine; Rakoff, Robert M. (eds.), "Living Coffins and Death Among the Ga of Ghana", Death Across Cultures: Death and Dying in Non-Western Cultures, Science Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Science, vol. 9, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 167–192, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-18826-9_11, ISBN 978-3-030-18826-9, S2CID 198819022, from the original on 2023-03-09, retrieved 2021-12-03
  11. ^ Tschumi, Regula; Foster, Michael (2013). "The Figurative Palanquins of the Ga: History and Significance". African Arts. 46 (4): 60–73. doi:10.1162/AFAR_a_00108. ISSN 0001-9933. JSTOR 43306191. S2CID 57570945. from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  12. ^ a b c Symington, Martin (May 16, 1998). "Designer Coffins and Coconuts". The Times.
  13. ^ "Paa Joe and The Lion". paajoeandthelion.co.uk. from the original on 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  14. ^ "The Coffins of Paa Joe and the Pursuit of Happiness « Exhibitions « Jack Shainman Gallery". jackshainman.com. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  15. ^ "Malick Sidibé, Mali Twist". Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  16. ^ "Boxed: Fabulous Coffins from UK and Ghana | in London". Time Out London. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  17. ^ "'Material' at Salon 94: An Exhibit of Fashion Designer Duro Olowu's Favorite Things". Arts Observer. 2012-02-21. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  18. ^ "Paa Joe's Elaborate Hand-Carved Ghanaian Coffins". DangerousMinds. 2010-12-06. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  19. ^ "Paa Joes Fantastic Coffins". www.weekendnotes.com. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  20. ^ "Coffins for the Art Museum Berne". Regula Tschumi. 2017-06-08. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  21. ^ "From The Cabinet « Exhibitions « Jack Shainman Gallery". jackshainman.com. from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.

Further reading edit

  • 2014 Regula Tschumi: Concealed Art. The figurative palanquins and coffins of Ghana. Edition Till Schaap, Bern. ISBN 978-3-03828-099-6.
  • 2014 Regula Tschumi: The buried treasures of the Ga: Coffin art in Ghana. Edition Till Schaap, Bern. ISBN 978-3-03828-016-3. A revised and updated second edition of Benteli 2008.
  • 2013 Regula Tschumi: The Figurative Palanquins of the Ga. History and Significance, in: African Arts, vol. 46, 4, p. 60-73.
  • 2015 Paa Joe and the Lion, a film by Ben Wigley (director) and Anna Griffin (producer), Notthingham, GB.
  • 2006. Regula Tschumi: Last Respect, First Honoured. Ghanaian Burial Rituals and Figural Coffins". In: Kunstmuseum Bern (Hg.): Six Feet Under. Exhibition Catalogue. Kerber, Bielefeld & Leipzig, p. 114-125.
  • 2004. Regula Tschumi: A Report on Paa Joe and the Proverbial Coffins of Teshie and Nungua, Ghana. In: Africa e Mediterraneo, no 47-48, p. 44-47.
  • Thierry Secretan: Going into darkness, Hazan 1995.

External links edit

  • , Artikel von Achola Rosario in The Independent (Uganda) vom 20. Januar 2012[dead link]

April 11, 2024
joseph, tetteh, ashong, born, 1947, ghanaian, sculptor, figurative, palanquin, fantasy, coffin, carpenter, considered, most, important, ghanaian, coffin, abebuu, adekai, proverb, boxes, artists, generation, been, involved, international, world, since, 1989, be. Paa Joe ne Joseph Tetteh Ashong born 1947 is a Ghanaian sculptor and figurative palanquin and fantasy coffin carpenter Joe is considered one of the most important Ghanaian coffin or abebuu adekai proverb boxes artists of his generation 1 2 3 He has been involved in the international art world since 1989 and has been included in major exhibitions in Europe Japan and the USA His fantasy coffins are in the collections and on permanent display in many art museums worldwide including the British Museum in London the Brooklyn Museum in New York the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada the Museum of Fine Arts Boston the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka and many others as well as the private collections of foreign dignitaries 4 5 6 7 Joe is building an art academy and gallery to support the community and art students across the globe Paa JoeBornJoseph Tetteh Ashong1947 age 76 77 Akwapim GhanaOccupation s Sculptor carpenter Contents 1 Biography 2 Artwork 2 1 Fantasy coffins 2 2 Workshop and process 2 3 Other work 3 Exhibitions 3 1 Solo and group exhibitions 4 References 4 1 Further reading 5 External linksBiography edit nbsp Paa Joe with a sandal coffin in collaboration with Regula Tschumi for the Kunstmuseum Berne 2006Paa Joe was born in 1947 at Akwapim in the Eastern Region of Ghana Joe began his career with a twelve year apprenticeship as a coffin artist in the workshop of Kane Kwei 1924 1992 in Teshie 8 In 1976 Joe started his own business in Nungua He trained many young artists like Daniel Mensah Eric Kpakpo or Kudjoe Affutu who have also become very successful fantasy coffin artists In 2008 Joe moved his workshop from Nungua to kPobiman Greater Accra where he works with his son Jacob and several other collaborators In 2013 Joe was invited for a six week residency to Nottingham Great Britain and he has taken part in many art residences Artwork edit nbsp A coffin by Paa Joe exhibited at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka Japan Fantasy coffins edit While the pieces crafted by Joe are real coffins that the deceased are buried in the process to obtain a figurative coffin is very different from the normal process one might go about to obtain a coffin for themselves or a loved one 7 1 Joe does not have a catalog of work from which a figurative coffin can be chosen as might be done with a regular coffin Each piece is a custom commission that has relevance to the deceased s life Thus Joe is not a craftsman of utilitarian products rather he is an artist of custom expressive pieces Not all of Joe s coffins are used for burial or intended to express the quality of an individual life 3 Figurative coffins have great cultural significance in Ghana 9 10 While the practice of making Figurative coffins was debatably started by Joe s instructor Kane Kwei the concept has deep roots in Ga tradition 11 Figurative coffins have been around since the 1950s 9 However figurative palanquins have a much deeper history in Ghana 10 Joe has crafted custom coffins for important Ghanaian cultural figures such as the late Chief Nii Amartey Kwei II 10 Workshop and process edit Joe crafts his coffins in his workshop In the Accra area in Ghana 12 2 His workshop comprises a few main areas including an office a showroom a preparation room for painting and shipping and a tool storage area 2 However much of the actual Coffin Construction is performed behind the workshop under the shade of trees 2 Here clients can come and view coffins and decide on a design either for themselves for future use or for a loved one 2 Joe s process is to explore the interests of the person in need of a coffin to determine what style of figurate coffin could best represent their life 12 1 Past examples have been as simple as a coke bottle or a bible to that of a professor who requested a bird with a pen in its mouth 12 Other work edit While Joe is best known for his figurative coffins he has also created conceptual works that focus on West Africa and transatlantic slave trade such as his large scale sculptural work Gates of No Return 3 Joe is the subject of a documentary about fantasy coffins by British filmmaker Ben Wigley and producer Anna Griffin 13 Exhibitions editIn 2020 the High Museum of Art in Atlanta Georgia exhibited new work by Joe of Gold Coast fortresses 3 The exhibit featured seven buildings that served as the way stations for Africans who were sold into slavery put on ships and sent to the Americas and the Caribbean in the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries The works are large painted wood architectural sculptures and include the Cape Coast Castle Fort Orange Christiansborg Castle Fort Patience and Fort St Sebastian The process of making the works included visits to the sites taking pictures and drawing sketches Solo and group exhibitions edit 2020 Paa Joe Gates of No Return High Museum of Art Atlanta 3 2017 Gallery 1957 One does not take it anywhere 7 2017 Jack Shainman Gallery The Coffins of Paa Joe and the Pursuit of Happiness 14 2017 Fondation Cartier Paris 15 2012 Brooklyn Museum 4 2012 Southbank UK 16 2011 Salon 94 New York 17 2011 Jack Bell Gallery UK 18 2011 V amp A museum UK 2010 11 Living and Dying Gallery British Museum London 2007 2008 Six Feet Under Deutsches Hygiene Museum Dresden 2006 Melbourne Festival 19 2006 Six Feet Under Kunstmuseum Bern 20 2005 Jack Shainman Gallery New York City 21 2003 Schokolade die susse Verfuhrung Museum fur Volkerkunde Basel 2002 Autolust Stapferhaus Lenzburg Switzerland 1989 Les Magiciens de la terre Centre Pompidou Paris 7 References edit a b c Jennings Lewis 2018 12 01 Rest in peace and art Ghanaians are putting the fun into funerals by getting buried in artsy coffins shaped like animals and even Coke bottles Index on Censorship 47 4 34 35 doi 10 1177 0306422018819317 ISSN 0306 4220 S2CID 149915921 a b c d e Otto Kristin 2019 03 29 Shapes of the Ancestors Bodies Animals Art and Ghanaian Fantasy Coffins Museum Anthropology Review 13 1 2 47 58 doi 10 14434 mar v13i1 26580 ISSN 1938 5145 S2CID 194619425 Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2023 03 09 a b c d e Paa Joe Gates of No Return High Museum of Art Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 a b Coffin in the Form of a Nike Sneaker Brooklyn Museum Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 coffin The British Museum Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 Jansen Charlotte 2016 11 24 How Ghana s top fantasy coffin artist has put the fun in funeral the Guardian Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 a b c d Carrigan Margaret 21 November 2017 Paa Joe s Fantasy Coffins Are Now Recognized as Contemporary Art in Ghana The New York Observer Jansen Charlotte 24 November 2016 How Ghana s top fantasy coffin artist has put the fun in funeral The Guardian Archived from the original on 25 November 2016 Retrieved 25 November 2016 a b Curnow Kathy 2018 Art and Death Pressbooks MSL Michael Schwartz Library OER Program pp 262 312 a b c Bonetti Roberta 2019 Selin Helaine Rakoff Robert M eds Living Coffins and Death Among the Ga of Ghana Death Across Cultures Death and Dying in Non Western Cultures Science Across Cultures The History of Non Western Science vol 9 Cham Springer International Publishing pp 167 192 doi 10 1007 978 3 030 18826 9 11 ISBN 978 3 030 18826 9 S2CID 198819022 archived from the original on 2023 03 09 retrieved 2021 12 03 Tschumi Regula Foster Michael 2013 The Figurative Palanquins of the Ga History and Significance African Arts 46 4 60 73 doi 10 1162 AFAR a 00108 ISSN 0001 9933 JSTOR 43306191 S2CID 57570945 Archived from the original on 2021 12 04 Retrieved 2023 03 09 a b c Symington Martin May 16 1998 Designer Coffins and Coconuts The Times Paa Joe and The Lion paajoeandthelion co uk Archived from the original on 2021 12 02 Retrieved 2021 12 03 The Coffins of Paa Joe and the Pursuit of Happiness Exhibitions Jack Shainman Gallery jackshainman com Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 Malick Sidibe Mali Twist Fondation Cartier pour l art contemporain Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 Boxed Fabulous Coffins from UK and Ghana in London Time Out London Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 Material at Salon 94 An Exhibit of Fashion Designer Duro Olowu s Favorite Things Arts Observer 2012 02 21 Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 Paa Joe s Elaborate Hand Carved Ghanaian Coffins DangerousMinds 2010 12 06 Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 Paa Joes Fantastic Coffins www weekendnotes com Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 Coffins for the Art Museum Berne Regula Tschumi 2017 06 08 Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 From The Cabinet Exhibitions Jack Shainman Gallery jackshainman com Archived from the original on 2021 12 03 Retrieved 2021 12 03 Further reading edit 2014 Regula Tschumi Concealed Art The figurative palanquins and coffins of Ghana Edition Till Schaap Bern ISBN 978 3 03828 099 6 2014 Regula Tschumi The buried treasures of the Ga Coffin art in Ghana Edition Till Schaap Bern ISBN 978 3 03828 016 3 A revised and updated second edition of Benteli 2008 2013 Regula Tschumi The Figurative Palanquins of the Ga History and Significance in African Arts vol 46 4 p 60 73 2015 Paa Joe and the Lion a film by Ben Wigley director and Anna Griffin producer Notthingham GB 2006 Regula Tschumi Last Respect First Honoured Ghanaian Burial Rituals and Figural Coffins In Kunstmuseum Bern Hg Six Feet Under Exhibition Catalogue Kerber Bielefeld amp Leipzig p 114 125 2004 Regula Tschumi A Report on Paa Joe and the Proverbial Coffins of Teshie and Nungua Ghana In Africa e Mediterraneo no 47 48 p 44 47 Thierry Secretan Going into darkness Hazan 1995 External links editPAA JOE in Eine fantastische Himmelsreise Sarge aus Ghana Paa Joe The Ghanan coffin maker Artikel von Achola Rosario in The Independent Uganda vom 20 Januar 2012 dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paa Joe amp oldid 1196587244, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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