Zambezia (1979), VII (i).ESSAY REVIEWSHONA SCULPTURETHERE HAS LONG been a need for a comprehensive book on Shona sculptureand it was .with anticipation that this book by Joy Kuhn was received.1Unfortunately, it deals with only one aspect of the sculpture Š that of thebackground legends and myths which are the sources of the schematic figurestypifying this art form. As a book about sculpture in all its aspects, whichone would expect from the title, it fails dismally.It reads like the personal description in a travel brochure covering abrief visit to the country, confined to Tengenenge at Sipililo, and AfricanArt Promotions in Salisbury. The emphasis is on recorded conversations,character studies of people and descriptive of places which, although evoca-tive and interesting in another context, are totally irrelevant to a sculpture.The idea propounded that myth, dreams, and magic form the basis for Shonasculpture becomes unconvincing, for the author does not make comparisonsor correlate them with the sculpture at all and the superficial treatment doesnot leave one convinced that mysticism is a vital component in the life ofthe contemporary Shona.The style of writing could be described as impressionistic and is inclinedto be repetitive with the text full of topical and trivial detail such as thedescription of 'drinking tea Š or coffee Š or something cool in a comfortablechair' at African Art Promotions (p.64) or whether Tom Blomfield hadincluded meat with the provisions (p.46).The short sometimes incomplete sentences and innuendos of the ex-script writer lack continuity and flow and there is no concentration ofpurpose. Ideas are dispersed throughout the book without being questionedor followed through with any sense of depth or understanding of a profoundsubject. The vocabulary is, at times, naive with quoted comments containingtrite colloquialisms such as 'any old time' (p.79), 'so you know where you'reat' (p.52), or 'He's as chirpy as can be' (p.52). Even the chapter readingsare evocative of children's literature.The format of the book is satisfactory in size and quality of materials,and the photographs are excellent. However, there is nothing more irritatingto a reader than photographs with no captions and having to refer constantlyback to an index. It is noted by the author that 'emphasis has been placedon the mood and meaning of sculpture in relation to the text', but this wouldappear to be an excuse to use photographs that were availble and have noparticular relation to the text. There is no indication as to who the peoplephotographed with the sculptures are, and the selection would seem evenmore arbitrary in that three of the artists who have a chapter each devoted' J. Kuhn, The Art of Ihe Shooa of Zimbabwe (Cape Town, D. Nelson, 1978),111 pp., illustrated, R.15,00.Ill112ESSAY REVIEWto them, Sylvester Mubayi, Ephraim Mushambi, and Bernard Takawira, arenot illustrated at all. Further information lacking is that twelve of the photo-graphs have no acknowledgement to the artist in the index and none haveany indication of dimension, the present location, or type of stone used inthe sculptures.One very unnecessary and provoking feature of the book is the constantsnide and negative criticism in a racial context concerning the recognitionand appreciation of Shona sculpture by the European. (There is no mentionof the effect upon the African population.) The condemnation of, or lack ofreference to, what has been done in a positive way, such as the good teach-ing and encouragement at mission schools at Umtali and Serima, demonstratesa political bias which again has nothing to do with the art form. Her claimthat Shona sculpture was derided as 'Kaffir art' (p.12) or 'African junksuited only to a souvenir stall' (p.23)) gives the erroneous impression thatthis was the general reaction to it; but this is just not so, for it was acceptedwith great enthusiasm by those who were able to recognize its potential, asevidenced by the high sales of local exhibitions for private collections andfor the very large collection at the National Gallery. Any antipathy can beblamed on a universal tendency to neglect art appreciation in education sothat a majority of any given populace would not fully appreciate a non-representational, mystical type of contemporary art. The aesthetic sensibilityof many people is limited to a concept of 'beauty' formulated during thelast century in academic circles; and the sculpture of some of the greatesttwentieth century artists, Henry Moore, for example, was hardly appreciatedgenerally. This approach also applies to the special qualities of an 'artistic'personality such as Frank McEwan where the author labours the point thathe and his promotion of Shona sculpture were regarded with disdain anddismissed (p.23); and while this may be true in some cases, it is not trueof a great many discriminating people in Rhodesia. While she does creditMcEwan's great contribution in promoting and gaining recognition for Shonasculpture, she chooses to ignore the more recent efforts in both NationalGalleries (Bulawayo and Salisbury) to provide materials, equipment, work-shops and venues for exhibitions, while exhibitions of Shona sculpture areregularly sent abroard and works purchased for permanent collection.She gives the impression that nothing good has come from the Euro-pean settlers Š neither an appreciation of the African people and theirart Š or an understanding of them in educational matters (pp.57, 60) inan effort to demonstrate the difficulties the sculptors had to work against.Not only is this impression erroneous and biased, but it has little to do withShona sculpture as an art phenomenon.Her ignorance of art is illustrated by the remark: 'the white artiststands fascinated by a source of ancient magic to which his soul no longerresponds'_ (p.26). This is contradictory and fallacious, as it is the realiza-tion of this 'ancient magic' which is the source for much of contemorary art.European artists like Constantin Brancusi, Pablo Picasso and Henry Moorerecognized the energy in West African art and tried to recapture it in theirown art, which caused a revision of academic values of the time.One would expect from a book on sculpture a consideration of whya particular technique relates to a certain medium. The West African sculptorused mainly wood, which was freely available, and he used a similar toolto an adze which produced a geometric cut and consequently developed astyle known as 'Cubistic'. This aoplies particularly to the carvers of the Nokculture from Northern Nigeria. The Shona artist uses stone, a comparativelyJEAN DANKS 113alien medium to the African carver2 and its availability and potentialwas promoted by McEwan and Blomfield who also provided the tools andcommercial outlets The Shona carver's natural instinct for three-dimensionalform and tactile surface Š usually smooth in consideration of the stonemedium Š then manifested itself. What of the Shona sculptor's personalapproach to the medium? He is sensitive to its properties and allows it tocommunicate to him through its shape, size, colouring and markings, theeventual form that will emerge based on his tribal legends. He has an aware-ness of the abstract qualities of form for its own sake, its solidity, rhythm,negative and positive areas, surface design and so on, which are Westernideals and foreign to the West African carvers who, in contrast, impose theirideals and personality on to the medium and make it work for them, evenmaking use of the shapes and textural quality of seeds, grass, shells and paintto enhance the effect they are striving for. Both approaches are valid as anexpression of the culture from which they emerge and it is interesting to notethe different intentions, influences and resultant styles of one race. To illus-trate the response of Shona sculptors, the recent carvings of BernardTakawira are not deeply incised or changed drastically from their originalshape, but are almost moulded and smoothed off to produce subtle, simplisticsculptures sometimes foetal in concept.What effect does the climatic and geographical situation have uponthe type of art produced? For generations the West African tribes hadsettled homelands and available materials, the opportunity to develop theirspiritual beliefs and play on superstition and legend and they were in con-tact with sophisticated Arab influences from the north. The Central andEast African tribes were unsettled and the climatic conditions forced amore nomadic way of life which allowed little opportunity to develop asingificant art form of their own despite powerful religious beliefs andrituals. Their crafts relating to daily life, including basket ware, pots, carvedhead rests, etc., were of very high quality. In a world of their own werethe wandering, hunting groups of Bushmen who did a high art form oftheir own as a form of communication and recording between the groups,which convey their mystical attitude to nature. There is plentiful evidence ofthese Bushman paintings in Zimbabwe Rhodesia and other parts of Africa,but they had no significance for the Bantu-speakers who feel more for the'presence', or reality, of three dimensional form anyway.Other questions which could be considered in a book on this subjectwould include conjecture on the origin of the schematic forms used by theShona sculptor. Do they emanate from European artefacts or have theyseen photographs, or examples of the well known West African sculpture?Why also are the Serima carvings in wood so different in concept from theShona stone carvings when they are both of Shona sources?Another feature of great importance would be how the Shona sculptorreconciles tribal beliefs with Christianity. The sculptors featured by Kuhnare Christians and she quotes Bernard Takawira: 'I have been taught touse reason to dispense such thoughts. But, in spite of Christianity I shuddereach time I see an owl' (p.14). In another context she suggests that CanonNed Patterson saw a parallel between Christianity and the old superstitions(p.19) which would be an interesting idea to develop.See W. B. Fagg and M. Plass, African Sculpture (London, Studio Vista, 1964),f 14 ESSAY REVIEWThe question arises as to whether the sculptors feel the conviction andintense need to express their beliefs in stone, as did the West African inwood carvings of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for instance.Illuminating comments on the artists' attitudes include that of Sylvester 'Mubayi: 'He does not speak lightly of the spirits Š but, very obviously hehas no problem with them' (p.71), and that of Henry: 'although he accepts Łthe presence of the spirits he actually has no fear at all of what they coulddo to him. For he is a member of the Mkaila Sect... a branch of the Apos- ;olic Church' (p.52), and that of Joseph Ndandarika; 'I lost all that [belief in ,the witchdoctor] through religion' (p.83). These indications show that the (contemporary Shona is not vitally involved in the 'magic' of their ancestors iand they have to refer to their elders for information as Joseph Ndandarika ,points out: 'when I am doing my art, you see, I go to the old people andtalk to them about what happened before Š about witching Š about be- )lieving' (p.86). All this could lead to the hypothesis that the old legendshave been resurrected for the purpose of producing an ethnic type of sculp-ture, which could lack the intense conviction required for the revelation of \the artist himself and his tribal beliefs. How much does the Shona artist [consider his art to be a commercial commodity for he has to consider this 'iwhen there is a family to keep. He must keep his artistic integrity to allowthe sculpture to retain the value that is put on it as an aesthetic and exotic yart form. The imagination and creative inventiveness of the Shona sculptorcannot be denied. One could just ask whether it has dynamism of an art 'which stems from an inner necessity, or is it the 'biological phenomenon' >mentioned by Herbert Read.3 The West African artist felt this deep innerneed to put into visual form their beliefs in fetishes and ancestor worship.'fley used a grotesque idiom to create an empathy between the art object andthe viewer to strengthen and confirm the beliefs which had portent and pre-sence for the tribe. Fear, ritual and respect were the keys which set off theseconvictions and it is evident that these emotions are diluted in the Shonasculpture. He has more of the Western consciousness of pure aesthetic formstor its own sake and this is unavoidable in the mass media world in whichwe live today. His emotion has been subdued by the intellect, and yet he is *trying to depict emotional subjects., ."naMy> a book on Shona sculpture would not only look in depth to *fn lnsPirational sources from which it arises, but it would consider theiuture development when more finance could be made available andmore reciprocity can take place between artists from other countries andŽn ?* Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Dangers to beware of in the situationalre d Ł temptation to succumb to other styles submerging that which (in ntK 6??**' anc* commercialism for its own sake, which has been observed .xi otner Atrican countries where the only art manifesting itself is that for rthk^f0Ł tourism and the craft and purpose of art deteriorates. To avoid >ws situation the artists should be free of financial worry and this requiresdistance trom Arts Councils or Government organizations and let us hope ;art- fZl Zll??Twe can achieve this and maintain and promote significant .art forms which characterize this country. (JEAN DAMKSŁ Read, Origins of Form in Art (London, Thames and Hudson, 1965), 174.