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African idyll

A stroll through four generations of sculpture
Gallery Review | Search restaurants | Archives

By Tony Ozuna
For The Prague Post
August 29th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
This year, the pieces at the Botanical Gardens come complete with price tags.
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COURTESY PHOTO
The stone roots of Cubism are clear.
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Contemporary Zimbabwean Sculpture
at Veletržní palác Ends Dec. 31. Dukelských hrdinů 47, Prague 7–Holešovice. Open Tues.–Sun. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Four Generations of Zimbabwean Sculpture
at Prague Botanical Gardens Ends Sept. 16. Nádvorní 134, Prague 7–Troja. Open daily 9 a.m.–7 p.m.

Two officially unrelated exhibitions of modern Zimbabwean sculpture are currently in Prague; one at the National Gallery’s Veletržní palác and the other on the picturesque hillside of the Prague Botanical Gardens in Troja. Both are well worth a visit,  ideally on the same afternoon.
The name Zimbabwe means “House of Stone,” and Zimbabwean stone sculpture has become a symbol of art and culture for its people. However, this tradition of stone sculpture dates only from the mid-20th century, as it was introduced and nourished by European colonists, including artists and missionaries.
The special collection of refined stone sculptures at Veletržní palác is from a sculptors’ colony founded by Tom Blomefield (a European) in the village of Tengenenge. Villagers only began to make sculptures there in the 1960s, after the tobacco farm in the village closed and the farmhands were left without work. A source for high-quality stone (including opal stone, springstone, leopard rock and lepidolite) from a nearby quarry was established around this time, and the village quickly shifted to the production of stone sculptures.
For the most part, these contemporary works resemble traditional African art, with their unusually twisted and distorted faces and figures that so influenced European modern art movements, including Cubism, Dadaism and Surrealism, and is most apparent in the iconic paintings of Pablo Picasso and sculptures of Constantin Brancusi.
However, the artists in the collective in Tengenenge do not actually consider themselves artists, at least in the Western sense. While they produce sculptures, most have had no art education or professional training. In African society, it is understood that anyone can create art, and thus very few people make special claims to being an artist. It is the same attitude held about anyone making music in Africa, especially drumming or dancing in the village — these are talents considered innate, and are shaped by each community’s unique traditions.
The works for the National Gallery exhibition were selected by the former Czech ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jaroslav Olša, and another Czech, Mirka Sodomková. They selected the “best of Tengenenge” on their intuition and aesthetic judgment, without knowing the artists or studying the region’s art beforehand. As a result, the selection represents works by three generations of artists and includes both the best-known sculptors and unknown artists from the village. The oldest artist, Fanizani Akuda, was born in 1932; the youngest, Bhabhabisi Mukousa, was born in 1986.
In the catalog for the exhibit, Milan Knížák, director of the National Gallery, who also came up with the concept for the show, contends that this unique period of Zimbabwean art is over, even though the global sales of its works may be at its peak.
This, he says, is precisely why “the collection of statues on display is so important. … We are witnessing the peak and demise of an epoch of African art.” Knížák’s sharp remarks seem almost aimed at the other exhibit of African art, not too far away from Veletržní palác on the other side of Stromovka Park.
The selection of four generations of Zimbabwean sculpture at Prague Botanical Garden at Troja is more abundant and offers a greater variety of shapes, sizes and forms — all settled comfortably on the plush lawns of the hillside overlooking Prague Zoo. The sources for these works also include the artist workshop of Tengenenge, as well as other sculpture collectives in the country.
Compared with the works at Veletržní palác, these sculptures are more playful and innocently childish in form. There are also more works that are essentially kitsch — lots of babies, frogs and little birds. Children love them and, while this is not necessarily a bad thing, they are clearly created for tourists and sale abroad.
There was a similar exhibition last summer on the same lawns, though this time all of the works have price tags, ranging from 2,500 to 15,000 Kč ($122–730), with the largest sculptures going for as much as 150,000 Kč.
Overall, the sculptures at both locations are full of spirit and imagination, with lots of elongated heads and wonderfully surreal forms. And, conveniently, these two shows are separated only by a good walk through Stromovka Park. Seeing them on the same day is the best way to appreciate and compare the craftsmanship, styles and trends of four generations of Zimbabwean sculptors.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at features@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (29/08/2007):

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