Sculpture of Zimbabwe: Difference between revisions

ModernCentral AfricanZimbabwe sculpturecontains isthe not"[[Great Dyke]]"traditional", although– mucha source of its[[Serpentine subjectgroup|serpentine]] matterrocks hasof traditionalmany rootstypes including a hard variety locally called [[Springstone (material)|springstone]]. DuringAn theearly precolonial era,culture localof inhabitants[[Shona werepeople]]s alreadysettled artisticallythe predisposedhigh plateau around 900 AD and “[[Great Zimbabwe]]”, fashioningwhich worksdates from variousabout natural1250–1450 materialsAD, suchwas asa fibres,stone-walled wood,town clay,showing andevidence in its archaeology of skilled stone forworking. functional,The aesthetic,walls were made of a local granite and ritualno purposesmortar was used in their construction.<ref>Needham D.E., NumerousMashingaidze stoneE.K, artefactsBhebe suchN. as(1984) the"From Iron Age to Independence, A History of Central Africa", p17. Longman, England. {{ISBN|0-582-65111-5}}</ref> When excavated, [[Zimbabwe bird|six soapstone birds]] fromand thea [[Great Zimbabwesoapstone]] statebowl were found in the eastern enclosure of the latemonument, Ironso Ageart bearforms testamentin tosoapstone thiswere part of that early culture and local inhabitants were already artistically predisposed, fashioning works from various natural materials such as fibres, wood, clay, and stone for functional, aesthetic, and ritual purposes.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/zimb/hd_zimb.htm|title = Great Zimbabwe (11th - 15th century)|date = |accessdate = |website = |publisher = The Metropolitan Museum of Art|last = |first = }}</ref> PriorHowever, stone carving as art had no direct lineage to the openingpresent day and it was only in 19571954 ofthat its modern renaissance began. This was when [[Frank McEwen]] became advisor to the new [[National Gallery of Zimbabwe|Rhodes National Gallery]] into Salisbury,be itsbuilt first Director,in [[Frank McEwenHarare]], and from 1955 to 1973 was its founding director (it opened in 1957). He met with [[Thomas Mukarobgwa]], a young indigenous artist steeped in rural knowledge and spirituality, and offered him an opportunity to pursue a career in art. Mukarobgwa became "the perfect mentor to guide the director of the new gallery into the ways and mores of the African people."<ref name=Sibanda>{{cite book |isbn=3866789378 |first1=D. |last1=Sibanda |first2=R. |last2=Chikukwa |first3=F.M.|last3=Chabata|first4=T.|last4=Matindike-Gondo|first5=Z. |last5=Mandangu |title=Insights on Art in Zimbabwe: Mawonero/umbono |pages=151|publisher = Kerber Verlag|year = 2015}}</ref>{{rp|34}} It was an introduction to local artist [[Joram Mariga]] and his early soft stone carvings that prompted McEwen to encourage early soapstone carvers to create works that reflected their culture. The Workshop School established by the gallery soon attracted more artists, many of whom had already been exposed to some form of art training from early mission schools and were established art practitioners.<ref name=Sibanda/>{{rp|38}} These included [[Joseph Ndandarika]], [[John Takawira]] and [[Kingsley Sambo]].<ref name=Morton>{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/6779249/Elizabeth_Morton_Ned_Paterson_and_the_Cyrene_Mission_Tradition |title=Ned Paterson and the Cyrene Mission Tradition|last1=Morton|first1=Elizabeth|date=2003|access-date=2020-10-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Elizabeth |last=Morton |title=Father John Grober's Workshop at Serima Mission |date=2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/6779301/Father_John_Grobers_Workshop_at_Serima_Mission |publisher=Academia.edu |accessdate=2020-07-07 }}</ref> The budding art movement was relatively slow to develop but was given massive impetus in 1966 by [[Tengenenge|Tom Blomefield]], a white South-African-born farmer of tobacco whose farm at [[Tengenenge]] near [[Guruve]] had extensive deposits of serpentine stone suitable for carving. A sculptor in stone himself, Blomefield wanted to diversify the use of his land and welcomed new sculptors onto it to form a community of working artists. This was in part because at that time there were international sanctions against Rhodesia’s white government, then led by Ian Smith, who had declared [[Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence|Unilateral Declaration of Independence]] in 1965, and tobacco was no longer able to generate sufficient income. Appropriately, Tengenenge means "The Beginning of the Beginning" — in this case of a significant new enterprise.

In 2017 computerised sculpting was introduced by the visual artist [[Boarding Dzinotizei]]. His digital Shona sculptures comment on the Zimbabwean society through [[3D printing]]. The message conveyed represents a loss in the significance of [[totem]]s in Shona culture. This is being portrayed, in this case, through simplified forms and missing body parts.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.herald.co.zw/exploring-4th-generation-of-shona-sculptors/ |title=Exploring 4th generation of Shona sculptors|author=Tafadzwa Zimoyo |work= The Herald | location=Harare |date=2017-05-09 |access-date=2020-10-08 }}</ref>