ABSTRACT
PERCEPTION AND VISUAL INTERPRETATION OF BANANA PLANT IMAGERY IN PAINTING
The research titled Perception and Visual Interpretation of Banana Plant Imagery in Painting based on the opportunity that banana plant offers art. Over the years, artists have produced works in which the banana plants, leaves and fruits are portrayed as if they were still life studies. Many artists outside Nigeria have employed it to create different look-alike images. This practice is not common in Nigeria because none seems to have reasoned that if one pays attention to the banana plant‟s leaf and pseudo-stem, it is possible to perceive a variety of look-alike images with human and animal features. The study, therefore, sets out with the aim to visually portray a variety of look-alike images that the researcher perceives from paying attention to the banana plant leaf and pseudo-stem in painting. To achieve this, the objectives of the study include, Creating works of art from studying the banana plant physiognomy, Identifying look-alike images in banana plant leaves, Identifying look-alike images in banana plant pseudo-stem, Creating paintings in which different images would be seen each time when viewed, using the images created to comment/philosophise on issues in one‟s environment. To achieve these objectives, the Practice-based Action Research methodology was adapted. In summary, over seventy paintings and drawings were evolved that portray different look-alike images based on the researcher‟s observation of the banana plant‟s physiognomy. The study concludes that artists are capable of generating knowledge if they contemplate the banana in painting. One of the major findings the study generated is that if viewers concentrated on a particular aspect of the pseudo-stem, or on patterns created as a result of the mingling of the leaves, it is possible to perceive and interpret varieties of look-alike images in painting. The study, therefore, recommends that, further research should be carried out to reveal other organic look-alike imagery in banana plants. It also recommends that future researchers should study other plants in nature to satisfy the public‟s demand for portrayal of „novel‟ imagery in Nigeria. Lastly, cartoonists can adapt the look-alike images of the banana plant to create cartoon characters for Magazines, Newspapers and books illustration. In addition, the study contributed to knowledge because the works evolved are tangible evidence of the unending possibilities that the banana plant offers art. It also contributed to knowledge because it reveals the viewer‟s perception of the banana plant is richer when different look-alike images are seen each time the works are flipped either upside down, sideways up or down.
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