Engaging Modernities: Transformations of the Commonplace

African Arts, Winter, 2004 by Lize Van Robbroeck

Engaging Modernities

Transformations of the Commonplace

Anitra Nettleton, Julia Charlton and Fiona Rankin-Smith

University of the Witwatersrand Art Galleries, Johannesberg,

2003. Full color, 96 pages, softcover.

R120.00, students R80.00

The Mlungu in Africa

Art from the Colonial Period, 1840-1940

Michael Stevenson and Michael Graham-Stewart

Michael Stevenson Contemporary, Cape Town,

2003. Full color, 111 pages, softcover. R170.00.

Two recent South African publications are welcome and valuable additions to the growing corpus of literature dealing with sub-Saharan transculturated or "hybrid" art. Both publications accompanied exhibitions: The publication of The Mlungu in Africa coincided with the May 2003 debut exhibition of the new Michael Stevenson Contemporary in Cape Town, which showcased a selection of objects featured in the book, while Engaging Modernities was published in tandem with a 2003 exhibition of the same name at the Durban Art Gallery.

The two books cover related but different terrains. The Mlungu in Africa deals with sculptures and relief carvings of colonial figures from approximately 1840 to 1940, while Engaging Modernities covers the production of a wide array of hybrid forms from the colonial era to the present day. Neither of these publications targets an exclusively academic readership. The Mlungu, with its large, glossy, full-color photographs and detailed information on individual objects, clearly aims at attracting collectors. On the other hand, Engaging Modernities, which deals with African cultural modernity in an intelligent yet accessible manner, is ideal for students and a culturally literate public.

The Mlungu in Africa features wood and ivory carvings of the colonial era. The selected objects constitute a shrewd and experienced dealers' collection--a collection that testifies to an eye for finely executed and ethnographically rich pieces that cohere aesthetically and thematically. The terrain is very clearly articulated: Stevenson and Graham-Stewart take pains to stress that these pieces were created before the introduction of jet travel in the 1950s and that it therefore predates the proliferation of formulaic colon figures--brightly painted wooden sculptures of colonial officials and functionaries--created for the mass tourist market. It incorporates a rich diversity of wall plaques, free-standing figures, walking sticks, and miniature ivories that fascinate and amuse the viewer with their bare observation of the brutal pomp and self-importance of colonial functionaries and their imperial leaders.

These are quality pieces, shining with the irresistible patina of age, most of them produced with the characteristic attention to fine detail and finish that predates the era of mass production in Africa. Although the authors take pains to convince the reader that these pieces, "contaminated" as they are by European presence, tend to be overlooked in favor of "authentic" precolonial sculptures in most international collections and exhibitions, it is immediately clear that these objects share, in dealers' terms, the combination of age and scarcity that makes the market in "traditional" African art such a lucrative one. Now that the sources of precolonial African art have dried up, pieces such as these, which document the earliest production of an African modernity, are becoming more and more valuable, with additional impetus provided by an academic environment fascinated by cross-cultural encounters and alternative modernities. The presentation of these sculptures as rare and desirable objets d'art confirms that collections such as these stretch the limits and extend the boundaries of the elite market for "authentic" African art, rather than posing a serious challenge to it.

After a general introduction of thirteen pages, the bulk of the book comprises beautiful color photographs of individual pieces (sometimes cropped to show detail and patina), accompanied by information that confirms that this publication is primarily targeted at collectors. Where attribution is possible, details are provided about the master carver and information is supplied about similar pieces in reputable collections. Lot numbers of comparable objects auctioned by Christie's enable the prospective buyer to evaluate the rarity and potential value of the sculpture concerned. Stylistic characteristics are contextualized by comparing the carving to similar pieces. Information is relayed, where available, on where and how the objects were collected. Anecdotal details, including observations from colonial diaries or tales of encounters with the artists concerned, enrich the text.

The painstakingly researched information on individual items is put in perspective by the introduction, which deals, in very broad terms, with academic debates and problematics in the field. In this background discussion, Stevenson and Graham-Stewart consider the shortcomings of existing taxonomies to describe these early colonial representations of Europeans and modernized Africans. The introduction also deals in broad (but not overly reductive) terms with collection practices in the colonial era; the creation of new markets for art; issues of attribution and anonymity and the role of the individual artist in colonial culture. The tendency on the part of museums, collectors, and academics to regard the hybrid object as sign of contamination, acculturation, and loss of authenticity is roundly criticized. A cursory survey is also provided of recent exhibitions on the representation of the colonial figure in Africa and of current academic approaches to the topic. A comprehensive bibliography points the reader to virtually all that has been published on nineteenth and early twentieth century "hybrid" African art between 1927 and 2002.