How Ghana’s Gory, Gaudy Movie Posters Became High Art
In the ’80s and ’90s, artists were charged with making films seem as lurid and enticing as possible, regardless of plot. When Frank Armah began painting posters for Ghanaian movie theaters in the mid-1980s, he was given a clear mandate: Sell as many tickets as possible. If the movie was gory, the poster should be gorier (skulls, blood, skulls…