BOOK REVIEWS155Shona Sculpture By F. Mor. Harare, The Author, 1987, 160 pp., 100 col. pi.,ZS26.00.The third and most recent publication on the stone sculpture of Zimbabwe is thebook Shona Sculpture by Fernando Mor, written while he was the ItalianAmbassador to Zimbabwe.* This local publication appeared simultaneouslywith the Italian original in Italy, and the author's intention is to introduce thesculpture movement to the foreign public, basing his work on 'notes, reflectionsand conversations on Shona sculpture' during his time in Zimbabwe.Mor has attempted to summarize the phenomenon of what he terms the'Shona sculpture movement', firstly by analysing the movement's historical andcultural relevance from an art-historical perspective, secondly by analysing thework itself in terms of aesthetics, and thirdly by examining the motivations behindthe artists' drive to creativity.The issue of defining the contemporary sculpture movement in terms of itsrelevance within the cultural and historical context of African art generally iscontentious and has occupied critics since the beginnings of the movement in theearly 1960s. Mor's factual knowledge of contemporary African art and thehistorical background to the arts of Zimbabwe in particular is insufficient, and hedoes not present the reader with any clearly-defined perspective which couldfacilitate a more perceptive response to the work. He claims Shona culture isinteresting historically only from an 'anthropological and human' point of view(p. 13), and dismisses or ignores any aesthetic traditions which preceded themodern. The most innovative art movement will reflect what has gone before inthe very process of focusing on new dimensions; in fact, Mor himself states in alater chapter 'all true form is metamorphasis, the reflection of the past and ofbecoming' (p. 61). However, he makes no reference to the precedents of theZimbabwe Birds (found at Great Zimbabwe and other similar ruins), or to anyother evidence of the traditional use of sculptural form, as may be found in mediasuch as clay and wood.Mor's historical summary also contains inaccuracies, including referring tothe 'beautiful graffiti' on the walls of caves in the context of Shona culture (pp. 13,17) although these are creations of the San people. He also makes the curiousannouncement, in referring to the students of the National Gallery's BATWorkshop, that he has 'never seen in their hands a book or illustrations of plasticarts' (p. 22). Here he erroneously uses the term 'Workshop School', a phrase usedto describe the loose association of sculptors who centred their activities aroundthe National Gallery during the 1960s and 1970s.From a rather shaky attempt at a historical perspective, Mor examines thework in its cultural context. To what extent is it rooted in an 'ethnic' culture, andwhat has been the influence of the European model? He points out that themovement arose 'without any specific heritage', that it surpasses 'the ethnicelement... the figure or mask that has often degenerated into mass produced craftwhich satisfies tourists' facile tastes for the exotic (p. 38.) He sums up his*The other two are J. Kufan, Myth and Magic: The Art of the Shona of Zimbabwe (Cape Town, D.Nelson. 1978), and M. I. Arnold, Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture (Bulawayo. Books of Zimbabwe,1981); see the essay reviews 'Shona sculpture', Zambezia (1979), VII, 111-14, and 'Contrastingviews of Shona Sculpture', Zambezia (1982), X, 49-57.156BOOK REVIEWSperspective by saying, 'It is African sculpture that nonetheless unconsciouslyexpresses itself in modern terms, akin to the European sensibility' (p. 38.)The problem that a contemporary art movement can flourish in the heart ofAfrica without obvious links to an ethnic tradition continues to perplex manyEurocentric critics and historians. During a recent discussion which took place inParis following the opening of a major exhibition of Zimbabwean sculpture,museum directors, critics and historians were concerned almost solely withobtaining an explanation as to how the work was related to a 'tribal' origin. Whenan explanation could not be given in obvious terms Š such as, perhaps, that theShona worshipped stone images Š the movement was dismissed as derivative ofEuropean traditions, although it was acknowledged that the work itself wasextremely successful in aesthetic terms. An artist and sculptor showed greaterunderstanding with the comment that 'there has been nothing new in art since thestone age' Š in other words, the deeper currents of aesthetic creativity flow onirrespective of the superficial changes wrought by time and culture.It has been something of a tradition for many European writers to fall back onFrank McEwen's considerable influence as first director of the National Galleryin attempting to explain the 'modernity' of Zimbabwean sculpture. Morsubscribes to this view: 'we owe to Frank McEwen ... the perspicacity whichrecognised the plastic potential of some industrious artisans in a distant area of theNyanga mountains ... (p. 20). He goes on to state thatthe clarifying and illuminating work of McEwen did not consist in the imposition ofEuropean influences or models, with the attendant risk of an inauspicous acculturation.Instead he offered to talented young artists the arduously reached conclusions of Europeanaesthetics on the concept of Art: understood not as the representation of an hypotheticalgiven exterior, but as a creative spiritual fact (p. 20).The African artist does not need to be familiar with the paths of European arthistory in order to reach the same conclusion, for his perception of the nature ofart is instinctive, as indeed is the perception of the creative artist from timeimmemorial. The process of intellectualizing the creative act was a part of thedawning of the 'modern' age in Europe, accompanied by the compartmental-ization of life and thought into specific disciplines, and a separation of art fromlife. This led to a certain spiritual sterility in European art, resulting in the artistgrasping after form and technique as ends in themselves.By contrast, Zimbabwean sculpture is generally accepted as having animmense vitality of expression, the inspiration for which is drawn from the artists'inner reality, a reality which encompasses a rich panorama of beliefs concerningthe mythical, the spiritual, and which are their cultural heritage. Mor acknowl-edges that the unique characteristics of the sculpture have been influenced by theartists' cultural orientation: 'it would have been a serious error to have sought tosuffocate the ethnic culture which still survives and is at the origin of theinspiration and authenticity of the Shona sculptors'. However, Mor has no wish todelve into Shona symbolism in his quest to explain the inspiration of the work, ashe states that the themes of Shona animistic symbology 'are irrelevant to ouraesthetic vision and independent of the works' true artistic value' (p. 40).The greatest strength of Mor's book lies in his descriptive prose of the aestheticqualities of the work itself, and in describing the response to art. For those wishingto gain some understanding of the nature of sculpture as an art form, said byBOOK REVIEWS157Henry Moore to be one of the most difficult arts to understand, passages of Mor'sdescriptive, sometimes lyrical, prose can be illuminating, although the prolifer-ation of words and ideas sometimes borders on the obtuse.The book contains 100 photographs of works in Harare at the time of writing,which together with a biography of artists, gives the most up to date source ofreference currently available.National Gallery of ZimbabweGILLIAN J. HUIZENGAThe Commonwealth Observer Group in Zimbabwe By S. Chan. Gweru,Mambo Press, Occasional Paper Socio-Economic 18, 1985, 93 pp., Z$4.50.The first half of this booklet is a personal recollection by a participant while thesecond half is made up of his letters written at the time to a friend. As such it is auseful, lively adjunct to H. Wiseman and A. M. Taylor's, From Rhodesia toZimbabwe: The Politics of Transition (Oxford, Pergamon, 1981, reviewed ante(1983), XI, 73, 78). The author emphasizes the lucky improvization that helpedmake the group and the elections of 1980 a success; the one politically significantdetail is the Group's pressure on the Governor to moderate his increasinglyanti-ZANU (PF) stance.R.S.R.Local Government in Zimbabwe By J. D. Jordan, Gweru, Mambo Press,Occasional Papers Socio-Economic 17, 1984, 92 pp., Z$3.60.This booklet is designed as an introduction to the functions of local government.At a time when the structures of local government are being rapidly changed,students will find it useful, and salutory, to be reminded of the basic facts of whylocal government is necessary, what it does and how. Local government has beena much neglected subject in this country and it is to be hoped that this booklet mayhelp stimulate further academic work on the subject.John [R.] Bradburne of Mutemwa [1921-1979] Three Wishes Fulfilled By J.T. Dove. Gweru, Mambo Press, 1985, 24 pp., Z$1.04.Strange Vagabond of God: The Story of John Bradburne By J. T. Dove.Swords, Eire, Ward River Press, 1983, 296 pp., no price indicated.John Bradburne was a mystic, poet and musician, who joined the Third Order ofSt Francis and came from England to Zimbabwe in 1962. In 1969 he moved tothe desolate Mutemwa Leprosy Camp where he lived in total simplicity anddedication. Unlike Arthur Shearly Cripps, Bradburne was a mystic who had notime for the world of politics and publication and devoted himself entirely to thelepers. He did not endear himself to the local people and it seems that they