Art and Architecture in Postcolonial Africa

North Carolina: McFarland and CO., 2006. First Edition (presumed; no prior editions or printings cited). Large octavo; 209 pages: illustrations, maps, plans, portraits; 26 cm Fine; very mild shelf wear to edges, else a clean and tight copy. As new. . Paperback.

This work examines the complexity of popular artistic culture in the era of African nationalism, with a special focus on the influential independence era in Ghana. Discussed are architecture, museum exhibitions, political displays, nationalist ideologies, artistic practices, and the intangible forms of art. A wide-ranging exploration of how African artists and architects have negotiated identity, modernity, and heritage in the decades following independence. Hess examines the ways in which visual and built forms—ranging from nationalist monuments and urban planning to contemporary sculpture and installation—reflect evolving dialogues between indigenous traditions and global modernism. Drawing on case studies from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa, she analyzes how postcolonial aesthetics serve as both cultural reclamation and political critique, articulating new visions of nationhood amid the lingering structures of colonialism. The book stands as a significant interdisciplinary study that situates African creative expression within broader debates on decolonization, hybridity, and the politics of representation.