Unearthing the Personal and Cultural Values of Personalities in Photorealism Portraiture: The Iconography of the Works of Ghanaian Fine Artist, Samuel Otu

Abstract

The roots of portraiture are most likely to be traced to if not prehistoric times, at least ancient Egyptian civilization. Over time, various forms, styles and significance of this genre emerged progressively in line with the various artistic traditions in history. In these contemporary times, portraiture strives immensely on the advancement of technology thereby giving rise to photorealism not only in the West but also among African/Ghanaian fine artists. The Erwin Panofsky’s three-step approach to iconographic analysis was used to examine five meticulously pencil-rendered portraits by the Ghanaian photorealist Samuel Otu in the light of contemporary portraiture. The paper utilized a series of one-on-one interviews with the artist amidst studio observation to obtain primary data alongside relevant secondary sources of data. It was revealed that beyond the subjectivity or likeness of the subjects portrayed, the artist used these masterpieces to draw the attention of the viewer to the contemporary challenges of the African society.