Extreme Canvas: Golden Age Ghanaian Movie Poster Books
“★★★★★ Amazing and Inspiring ... There is nothing in the world quite like the Ghanaian hand painted movie posters... no where else in the world has a culture of artists evolved with the staying power and creativity of the Ghanaian artists”
“★★★★★ A beautiful, beautiful book... It will open a door to a new world for you.”
“★★★★★ The Best Art Book You Will Ever Own”
Our publications, Extreme Canvas (2000) and Extreme Canvas 2 (2012), provide a definitive history of Golden Age Hand-Painted Movie Posters from Ghana, and represent highlights from the world's largest collection of these artworks, with hundreds of high-res photos of posters, artist biographies, and writings by luminaries of the art and entertainment world including LeVar Burton, Dave Hickey, Sid Sheinberg, Robert Williams, Clive Barker, Don Was, Anjelica Huston, et al... and, of course, Ernie Wolfe III!
“Starting in about 1985 and continuing until just before the millennium, there existed a Golden Age of hand-painted imagination-driven movie posters in Ghana. This was a time when market forces from abroad were minimal and these unique and exotic paintings were created solely for the local Ghanaian movie viewing audience.
The best and brightest artists of a generation* competed fiercely and directly in the public eye for this exciting new work, being careful to sign and date the great majority of these paintings. Their hand-made artistry stood its ground against the inevitable tide of printings technology that globalization thrust upon them, and for a short while, carved out a small oasis in time where man actually won out over machines!”
*mostly young, but older as well! Alex Boateng, Leonardo, Joe Mensah, Sammy Mensah, Charles Manu, Dan Nyenkumah, Muslim, D.A. Jasper, Stoger, Heavy J, Bright Obeng, Gilbert Forson, Sowwy, Death Is Wonder, Africatta, Francisco, Babs, Kofi Issa, Francis, Socrates, T-Brew, Lawson Chindayen, and others.
If you would like to inquire about any art you see on our site or in our collection, let us know and we would be happy to share more details or help you book an appointment!