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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2011)
arts & entertainment photo by owen wal Gem of the Ocean Ghanaian ‘Fantasy Coffin Maker’ lectures at Catlin Gabel School Vin Shambry and Brenda Phillips in August Wilson’s ‘Gem of the Ocean,’ held over through Nov. 6 due to rave reviews. The play is the first installment of Wilson’s “Pittburgh Cycle,” which includes “Fences” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” “Mythic in its proportions this play travels to 1904 when slavery was a living memory and African Americans were searching for a new life within the uncertain meaning of freedom.” New shows are Nov. 3-6, Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m.,Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., at the World Trade Center, 121 SW Salmon St. For tickets call 503-488-5822 or visit www.portlandplayhouse.org. E ric Adjetey Anang, a 27- year-old fantasy coffin sculptor from Ghana, will give a slide lecture on Monday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Gerlinger Auditorium at Catlin Gabel School, 8825 SW Barnes Rd. Anang discusses the history of Ghana’s Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop, and show slides illustrating the process of building his sculptures. The slide lecture is free and open to the public.The artist will also be in Portland for residencies at Catlin Gabel School that week, following work at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, Oct. 31-Nov. 4. Anang runs the Kwei Carpentry Workshop in Ghana, which was started by his grand- father in the early 1950s. The coffins are sculpted into forms such as boats, cars, musical instruments, tools, or animals to describe or honor their deceased elders, and have been recognized worldwide. Anang began working in his grandfather’s shop at age 8, and he began running the shop seven years ago. His work has been shown in Belgium, and is in the permanent collection of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, as well as in private collections around the world. The artist’s recent travels include a trip in August 2011 to Novosibirsk, Russia, where he made two fantasy Eric Adjetey Anang The coffins are sculpted into forms such as boats, cars, or musical instruments, to describe or honor deceased elders page 6 The Portland Skanner october 26, 2011 coffins for the Novosibirsk Cultural Museum. He was an invited guest in September 2011 at the Gwangju Design Biennale in South Korea. For info go to www.catlin.edu.
