African Art and Agency in the Workshop

(Book Review)

By Andrew Mulenga

While African Art and Agency in the Workshop from Indiana University Press’ African Expressive Cultures series will resonate among the general students and scholars of African art history and anthropology because it contains a broad and uninhibited array of researched data resulting from archival material and fieldwork, the book contains compelling case studies of traditional and contemporary art workshops across the continent compiled by leading art history professors as well as practicing artists that will interest an enthusiast of art produced on the African continent.

The book will especially sit well with students and scholars of art in Zambia because as has been continuously stated in this column, literature on the traditional and contemporary arts in Zambia is all but none existent be it of a scholarly or easy-reading nature, so whenever it pops up on the radar it is always an exciting thing, regardless of whom has authored it.

Of particular interest are Chapters 4 and 9, An Artists Notes on the Triangle Workshops, Zambia and South Africa and Lewanikas’ Workshop and the Vision of Lozi Arts, Zambia which mention contemporary and traditional art practice in Zambia at length, the former co-authored by artist and Makerere University lecturer Nambiru Rose Kirumira of Uganda and Dr Sydney Littlefield Kasfir Professor Emerita of Art History at Emory University of the USA, examines aspects of the long running Triangle Workshops originated by British art collector Robert Loder and sculptor Sir Anthony Caro. In this Chapter, Kirumira gives stimulating insights into the types of training as well as interaction that occurs between artists during Zambia’s long-running Insaka International Artists Workshop of 2005. In the framework of the analysis, Kirumira also gives a detailed demographic profile of participants to the Insaka International Artists Workshop of 2005 in a table, complete with participating artists’ country of origin, sex, age, artistic medium and education. The chapter also carries about three photographs that depict workshop activities, nevertheless as much as the research is well put together, one may perhaps find it lacking in that it does not mention the name of a single Zambian artist while the South African artists that initiated Thupelo, one of that country’s versions of the Triangle Workshops are clearly stated. The chapter is summed up by an observation of how the Triangle Workshops have encouraged the globalization of artists through working in groups.

Lozi King Lewanika is
revealed as an artist 

And Chapter 9, Lewanikas’ Workshop and the Vision of Lozi Arts, Zambia, authored by art historian Karen E. Melbourne who has worked extensively in the Western Province of Zambia for the Smithsonian Institute gives a compelling revelation, an arguably untold story of King Lewanika the artist. Melbourne writes: “Perhaps one of the most extraordinary untold stories… is that of an under-recognized African king who audaciously utilized the power of art to envision his nation, Barotseland (now Western Province, Zambia)”. Strictly speaking, it can be argued that this detail, the fact that Lewanika was an artist is little known to the average Zambian citizen. In this chapter, Melbourne reveals that Lewanika not only invented the emblematic carving style of wooden bowls that are internationally recognized as the Lozi style often embellished with the royal elephant symbol, but he also had an artist’s workshop in which he personally trained apprentices in the crafts of carving delicate ivory trinkets and the weaving of basket ware. The chapter also points out how Lewanika had devised an international distribution system of his work as early as the late 1800s. Melbourne divides this chapter into four parts, The Vision of Lozi Arts, Barotseland and Its Visionary King, Lewanika the Artist, Lewanika’s Legacy and the Power of Style. However do not expect to merely read the ode to a King who dabbled in the arts, as the last sub-heading hints, the thoroughly referenced and field-researched piece also provides the history of a proud people in a scholarly tone. The chapter closes with six images that speak to the text.

As earlier highlighted, in broader terms, the book in its entirety is a thought-provoking volume, with over 12 academic essays it is highly recommended, not only for schools, but academic art intuitions, it begs to be in the curriculum. The book is sold and shipped from www.amazon.com, but may also be ordered locally from your favourite book dealers by request.

Title: African Art and Agency in the Workshop (African Expressive Cultures)

Editors: Sidney Littlefield Kasfir, Professor Emerita of Art History at Emory University and Till Förster, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Basel.

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Paperback: 424 pages

Language: English

Kudumbisiana (Dialogue): ‘She is not an artist’

By Andrew Mulenga

Contemporary Zambian art is perhaps one of the most scarcely covered areas of interest not only in terms of media exposure but also with regards researched books, exhibition catalogues and biographical books.

Front cover

Concerning the latter, the prevailing predicament indicates that despite Zambia’s art scene having enjoyed considerable vibrancy over the past 50 years, none of its key players have had their biographies published in book form. For instance, apart from rare archival material on the founding fathers of contemporary Zambian art such as the late Henry Tayali or Akwila Simpasa, no books have been written about them. Similarly, Zambian greats that are still alive and working like the sculptor Flinto Chandia whose contribution and influence remains immeasurable have no books published on them.

At present, in case you want to read the biography of a Zambian artist in print, there are only two publications to turn to, The Lechwe Trust Collection Catalogue and Art In Zambia by Gabrielle Ellison, while both can be acknowledged as well-intended efforts, they only provide for snippets of biographies, a page each, therefore Livingstone-based artist Agness Buya Yombwe’s autobiographical Kudumbisiana (Dialogue): ‘She is not an artist’ scores a first as a stand-alone, detailed artist’s profile.

Although the publication was intended to coincide with her solo exhibition of recent works held at 37d Gallery in Lusaka late last year, it includes images of some of her earliest works, such as the piece Kneeling Figure (1989), created when she was still at the Evelyn Hone College. The book contains about 140 colour images of works on various themes covering her entire artistic career in a myriad of styles and often unconventional materials.

The word “Kudumbisiana” in her native Tumbuka loosely translates to “dialogue” in the English language. This can be read as her artistic life’s work being a constant “dialogue” with society, addressing its broader concerns such as child abuse, matrimonial harmony, traditional customs, faith and so on.

Front cover

The phrase ‘She is not an artist’, which also serves as the book’s subtitle is self-referential in that it is a personal testimony to what happened to her at the launch of her career when she was to stage an exhibition alongside husband Lawrence Yombwe, when the couple were still engaged. The exhibition organisers excluded all her work, save one, Kneeling Figure, citing the rest as handicraft at the same time declaring ‘She is not an artist’.

This is just a morsel of how personal the book really is, it provides never published, intimate insights into her personal challenges and triumphs, her journey as an artist, a daughter, wife, mother, educator, and arts administrator and of course a Zambian woman raised and wed by means of traditionally African cultural values at the trusses of constant modernism. Her tale reveals the willpower and optimism that speaks to many of our Zambian women.

In its general layout, the book foreword by National Arts Council chairperson Mulenga Kapwepwe which leads into Buya Yombwe’s artist’s statement that touches on various aspects of Zambian society such as the declaration of the country as a Christian nation and the general failure of its citizens to strictly adhere to the core values of the faith, this section also argues that in this day and age Zambian culture and tradition continues to provide loopholes for the marginalization of the girl child and women particularly in the areas of education and decision making. She also highlights anomalies within the political arena and governance system citing issues related to tribalism, unemployment, rapid urbanization and the high cost of living to name a few. It is these areas that she believes need “Kudumbisiana (Dialogue)”, Zambians will need to sit down and map the way forward through dialogue.

The artist’s statement is followed by a full biography that mentions her years as an art teacher, locally for 7 years and in Botswana for 10 years, it also highlights her many international accolades and exhibitions. This is followed by an introduction to the artist and her work; it discusses her earliest years going as far as her upbringing even mentioning as a little girl, the first portrait she ever made was an exact likeness of her father, a drawing she had to tear up when her mother for some reason declared it a taboo.

The next thirteen segments serve as short chapters that discuss various aspects of her work; these are broken by colourful samples of work she has created over two decades. These short chapters are followed by yet another biography in timeline form; here you will find another list of accolades, and local and international exhibitions.

Agnes Buya Yombwe at her studio in Livingstone - Picture by Isaya Higa

The book closes with a seven-page essay entitled Who Is Buya Anyway, written by close friend and colleague William Miko. Miko and Buya Yombwe’s friendship dates back to her college days when they were both students of the late Martin Phiri, the firebrand who was the mastermind in the creation of the Zambia Visual Arts Council. Phiri rallied only three of his students Harry Kamboni, Agnes Buya Yombwe and William Miko to trigger what would become the most crucial shift in the history of contemporary Zambian art, the episode is narrated in detail in Miko’s essay.

The book’s contribution to the current state of art in Zambia is immense because not only is it a detailed biography of one of country’s leading artists, it also interrogates what we have been taught to accept as art when the author revisits the comment “she is not an artist”. Its general importance to the public is that it has given an understanding into the challenges, agonies as well as joys of being a Zambian woman. To the student of culture it gives an insight into customs such as the mbusa marriage rituals which inform much of the artists work, to the art student it is a guide on how to be consistent in your work and how to inform your work by the broader concerns of society. To the collector, it allows you to own over 100 samples of work by a top Zambian artist. It is surely a clarion call for all Zambian artists to consider having their own biographies published.

The book is available for purchase at the Livingstone Art Gallery, Ceramic Shop at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport, The Henry Tayali Centre, Chaminuka Lodge Lusaka, Twaya Art Gallery Intercontinental Lusaka, 37d Gallery, Zambia Open University Art Department and Wayi Wayi Art Studio and Gallery in Livingstone.

Title - Agnes Buya Yombwe – Kudumbisiana (Dialogue): ‘She is not an artist’

Author (s) – Agnes Buya Yombwe with foreword by Mulenga Kapwepwe and essay by William B. Miko

Publishers – Wayi Wayi Art Studio and Gallery

Images – 140

Pages - 72

Price- K150.00 

Reflecting on time through art, decay and the impermanence of life

By Andrew Mulenga

In an interview shortly after his Master in Fine Art exhibition titled Time in between on 12 and 13 November at Rhodes University where he was in attendance for two years before returning home to Zambia, painter and art lecturer Patrick Mumba, who is also Head of Education Department (Social Sciences, Art and Music Diploma Programmes), also called upon Zambian professionals in the diaspora to consider returning home to help improve professional standards rather than criticize the status quo from abroad.

Dawn, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 168cm x 260cm
by Patrick Mumba

By style, Mumba is an abstract painter, meaning his work is none-representational and does not intend to mirror reality, so in works such as Dawn, you do not expect to see a picture-perfect image of the rising sun on the horizon, but subtle references to the colours and the mood during that time of day, furthermore, in the context of his latest body of work, Dawn represents the time in between night and day.

“The abstract paintings in my exhibition address ‘in –between time’, engaging with the process of ageing and decaying. In this body of work I have painted various stages of ageing and death in living creatures and in plants, and the decay of objects and materials. I have linked this to the aesthetic process of moving from representational art to abstract art. My practice is concerned not only with the aesthetics of these paintings but also, more importantly, with translating each specific theme into the formal qualities of abstraction,” he explained.

Memories of Mpatamato, acrylic on canvas,
130cm x 168cm by Patrick Mumba

He pointed out that some of the works on display were inspired by notions of colonial greed, environmental concerns and personal experience driven by the concept that life itself is always a temporary situation, an idea he developed as Time in Between, the beginning and the ending, the young and the aged, the new and the old.

“In my practice I break down these dichotomies, questioning how abstraction engages with the relative notion of time and how this links to the process of ageing and decaying and how it affects our life span,” he added. The author was in fact privileged to accompany the artist during field research when he was cataloguing various stages of decay and corrosion which involved taking photographs at dump sites and scrap yards to reference elements such as tone and texture in his paintings.

My brothers wreath, 2015, acrylic on canvas,
168cmx260cm by Patrick Mumba

Independent research, under the observation of two supervisors, one for practical work (painting) and one for theory (writing), were the two main components of his MFA, and designed for substantially experienced artists, the complete study programme itself did not involve course work or the attending of lectures, which in turn demanded a considerable amount of discipline with regards a productive work ethic. Mumba did however attend numerous departmental roundtables as well as inter-university colloquiums as he is also an active member of the Visual and Performing Arts of Africa (ViPAA), a professional body of arts scholars that has its base in the Fine Art Department at Rhodes University.

Concerning his work process, Mumba confessed the challenges of the conditions in his studio space at the university which is situated in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, where the weather is generally cold and wet all year round, not exactly an ideal setting for painting in acrylic, his preferred medium, more so in the kaleidoscope of brilliant colours that have become the signature of his palette. Therefore his painting process was quite slow and calculated, a layer of paint was only applied over another when it was completely dry to avoid the colours becoming murky and losing their brilliance. Under these conditions, it took him on average, one month to complete a painting, depending on the weather at times it took even longer.

Professor Tanya Poole gives an address on Mumba's
work as he listens on with wife Cynthia and daughter Busuma

Since the academic requirements demand that the exhibition be accompanied by theoretical research compiled in the form of a mini thesis for examination, for this he critiqued the western notion that “Africa abstract art” is not indeed “African” but a mere copy of “western Modernism”.

“Together the exhibition and the thesis analyse in depth abstraction and its role in’ African Modernism’. I have also related the theoretical and practical analysis of abstraction to scholarly debates on abstraction and ‘African Modernism’ arguing for multiple African Modernisms as, the notion of a single African Modernism is too homogenous. I have used a study of abstraction to interrogate notions of so called ‘African- ness’ or ‘Zambian-ness’ whilst simultaneously challenging the Western stereotypical view of African Modern Art”, said Mumba.

Mumba also spent long, late hours writing his
thesis in the Rhodes University library

A good portion of the paintings also address issues that concern global warming and climate change which is timely as according to scientists, the planet has experienced one of the hottest years on record. Similarly, the works also address deforestation in Zambia particularly in line with charcoal consumption as well as the despoiling of the landscape through the copper mining industry on the copper belt province where Mumba grew up.

Reflecting on his type of work and the Zambian art scene, he observed that the scene is relatively small and currently abstract art remains rare. He stressed that there is a tendency for Zambians and foreign collectors to think that abstract art is the preserve of Westerners and that Zambian artists should produce paintings that reflect picturesque scenes of wildlife, market places, landscapes and cultural ceremonies such as the Makishi. However, he cautioned artists against merely assuming an abstract style because it has a some what decorative character, but the work should be theoretically informed by research on issues that concern society at large. Likewise, even for those that paint in a representational manner, he advised them against merely reproducing the favoured market scenes and landscapes, but the work should be informed by key issues that can engage the audience to catalyse social change and promote public discourse across various sectors of society locally and globally.

Mumba shares a light moment with fellow
postgraduates Cassie (PhD) and Chiro (MFA)

He appealed to Zambian artists to make the effort of informing their work with research and try to document it as best as they can if contemporary Zambian art is to provide material for critical theoretic engagement as is the prevailing demand for international art practice not only within academia but on the worldwide art scene.

He pointed this out admitting the many challenges that Zambian artists face such as the lack of professional art critics, forums, journals as well as private and public support structures for their practice stressing for instance that Zambia, since independence in 1964 has had no school of Fine Art at any Government universities, and the highest qualification one can get from a public institution is an Art Teachers Diploma which is offered by his department at Evelyn Hone College  he  is hopeful that returning home, his newly acquired attitude will be placed into good use in trying to improve the situation although he admitted that this cannot be done single-handedly. He appreciated the efforts private institutions such as the Zambia Open University which produced its firs BA Fine Arts graduates last year, but acknowledged that while it was a good start, there is a lot of room for reinforcing the academic staff and improving the training facilities  if the graduates were to meet internationally accepted standards.

With reference to private support of the arts, he said artists will have to reorganise themselves if they are to be taken seriously and they should seriously venture into a door to door lobbying of corporate houses to sponsor exhibitions accompanied by catalogues and art books.

Concerning the latter, he bemoaned the fact that despite contemporary Zambian art being vibrant since independence, there are no books that have been written about it and he therefore faced serious challenges with regards reference material during the course of his research and constantly had to refer to books from West and South Africa which ironically, are mostly written by authors who have not lived on the African continent but have only experienced it momentarily.

Mumba adds his Masters degree to the BA Fine arts with honours he obtained from the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art in London in 1994 and the Art Teachers Diploma he acquired from the Evelyn Hone College in the 1980s. He has been a teacher and lecturer all his professional life, and ever the educationist, he advised artists that it is never too late to further ones studies if he can go on leave for two years and advance his own while in his early 50s, although he will not admit it, there is little doubt that he will pursue a PhD in the next few years, but for now, there is work to be done, in the time in between. Do not miss the two part series “2015 art scene highlights” starting next week.