Living in the region between the Lubudi and Kasai rivers in south central Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Luluwa people are known for their elaborately carved male and female figure sculptures, masks, and decorative arts. Constantine Petridis draws on first-hand accounts of numerous explorers, missionaries, colonial servants, anthropologists, and art historians who visited the region between the 1880s and the 1970s, to comprehensively situate the Luluwa’s ornate art in its original environment of production and use. Through a close study of published and unpublished sources as well as museum objects and archival photographs, this book sheds new light on the historical context of one of central Africa’s most spectacular artistic legacies, whose creation presumably dates back to the second half of the 19th century.

Luluwa: Central African Art between Heaven and Earth

Arts & Photography

Petridis, Constantine

History & Criticism

Mercatorfonds

The World of Songye

Neyt, François

Dumouchelle, Kevin

Buchhart, Dieter

De Grunne, Bernard

Kloman, Susan

Himmelheber, Hans

Entwistle, Lance

Maggiar, Alexis

Cuisin, Bernard

Timmermans, Karel

Teodorescu, Victor

Schweizer, Henrich

Anne Vanderstraete-Van, Cutsem

South of the Sahara opens with general observations on the immensely rich and diversified artistic heritage of sub-Saharan Africa. Constantine Petridis examines the relationship between contemporary and so-called traditional African arts, and presents examples showing that many African works were originally part of an ensemble or one element of a performance. He discusses how works relate to ideas about leadership and the supernatural and then relates the many misunderstandings that still exist concerning the history and the chronology of African art. After dissecting the complex issue of style, he concentrates on the relationship between styles and both time and geography. Finally, Petridis considers the little-known issue of African aesthetics, investigating how the aesthetic preferences of the makers and users of the works differ from those of the Western museum audience and art lovers. Forty-two important works from thirty different cultures are featured in color, including objects from the ancient kingdom of Benin and examples of two of Africa’s oldest archaeological art traditions: Nok in Nigeria and Djenne in Mali. Enriched with many field photographs and much ethnographical information, this presentation emphasizes the extraordinary formal invention and spiritual power of the objects.

South of the Sahara: Selected Works of African Art

Cleveland Museum of Art

Even before its doors opened to the public in 1916 the Cleveland Museum of Art had begun to collect the art of Africa, and in 2003 reaffirms its commitment with an innovative reinstallation of a gallery of sub-Saharan African art. Enriched with many field photographs and much ethnographical information, this presentation also emphasizes the extraordinary formal invention and spiritual power of the objects. This volume celebrates the new energy and clarity brought to the collection with discussions of forty-two important works, newly photographed and generously illustrated, a concise introduction, and a list of references that range widely through the literature of the field.

Art and Power in the Central African Savanna: Luba, Songye, Chokwe, Luluwa

Mercatorfonds/The Cleveland Museum of Art

•Features 78 exceptional works - many never published before - drawn from the Cleveland Museum of Art, the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., and a large number of American private collections The arts of southeast Africa embrace astounding diversity and limitless inventiveness in materials, forms, and styles. Small and portable in nature - snuff containers, pipes, headrests, staffs, clubs, beer vessels, beaded garments - they were created by semi-nomadic pastoral peoples and primarily intended for daily use. Whether figurative or abstract, carved out of wood, ivory, or horn, or made of cloth, glass beads, or clay, most of these works were much more than exquisitely designed functional objects. Some signaled status, gender, or age; others served as symbolic intermediaries between the world of humans and the realm of the ancestors.

The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southeast Africa

5Continents

•An in-depth exploration of the significance of art in Yoruba culture, focusing on form, function and meaning, as well as the interplay of verbal and visual imagery Numbering more than 25 million people living in Nigeria and parts of adjacent Benin and Togo, the Yoruba are sub-divided into different kingdoms. Study of the archaeological evidence and historical sources indicates that by the beginning of the second millennium, many Yoruba kingdoms had become major urban centers with highly developed economic, cultural, political and religious institutions. The exceptional quality of Yoruba art from ancient times to the present - with forms ranging from the naturalistic to the schematic - is an expression of the complexity of Yoruba culture, history and religion. Significant regional variations within the culture are reflected in the regional and individual characteristics of the Yoruba style. Art features prominently in Yoruba culture. It is used not only to enrich life and project taste and status, but also to signify, venerate and influence deities who administer the cosmos on behalf of the Supreme Being. Based on field observations, contextual analyses and a variety of oral sources and published materials, this volume offers rare insights into the poetics and dynamics of art, its ontological significance, and the Yoruba belief that the 'beautiful' or the 'well-made' generates a special power that commands attention.

Yoruba: Visions of Africa Series

Lawal, Babatunde

Expressing one of many Luba sub-styles, the tall, standing male figures created by master carvers of the Hemba culture in southeastern Congo since at least the mid-1800s arguably rank among the noblest sculptural depictions of the human figure in sub-Saharan Africa. With their serene gaze and meditative expression, they exude a tranquility and dignity that befits these idealized likenesses memorializing esteemed leaders of the past. Infused with a life-force or vital energy, these spirit-invested objects were able to communicate between the living and the dead. Thanks to their inner power they had the capacity to impact the material sphere by allowing the ancestors to positively influence the well-being of their surviving relatives. In this publication, through the perceptive lens of art photographer Luigi Spina, we discover nine of the most accomplished Hemba creations whose classical style has triggered comparisons with some kouroi sculptures of ancient Greece. Spina's photographic interpretations help us understand why these proportionally balanced and symmetrically conceived ancestral figures have earned the admiration of African art lovers around the world. These personal readings of the beloved Hemba commemorative portraits also confirm why these sensitive renderings of the human anatomy deserve inclusion in the universal history of artistic creativity and a place in André Malraux's 'Museum Without Walls'. Text in English and French.

Hemba

Spina, Luigi

5 Continents Editions

Art and Power in the Central African Savanna: Luba . Songye . Chokwe . Luluwa

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