I'm Sarai Pridgen, a Yale college student and Bartel's intern in the Gallery's African Art Department.

Before us is a Ghanaian concert painting. In late 20th-century Ghana, traveling theater troupes held concert parties, popular performances advertised by massive signage called concert paintings.

Though the concert party tradition dates back as early as 1903, its popularity flourished through the 1960s into one of Ghana's most influential artistic outputs spreading even to Togo and Nigeria.

The vast wood panels you see are made to be tossed into trucks and traveled everywhere. A. B. Crentsil's Ahenfo Band commissioned this diptych concert painting from Ghanaian Master Mark Antony, for the play In This World, If You Do Not Allow Your Brother to Climb, You Will Not Climb. This is toying with the plot of Snow White and Seven Dwarves. A hunter is sent by a wicked, jealous queen mother to kill a beautiful girl.

British Colonialism's legacy lurks in the dress and weapon of the hunter who prowls at the far left. He finds the girl emerging from an egg, decides not to kill her and brings her back to the Queen alive.

Concert paintings are rife with violence, horror, absurdity, and humor. Such elements are why they're often described in terms of their literal content as terrifying or shocking and not as judgements on their beauty.

In this work, the introduction of cooking pot over human remains is written into the play, but not directly. It's just to make everybody laugh. And in the words of Dr. Gilbert, scholar of Ghanaian art, say:
"The introduction of the cooking pot on the human heads and the human bones is written into the play, but not directly. And it's just to make everybody laugh and to make everybody say, 'Oh my God. Look.'"