Zimbabwe, a country roughly the size of Alabama, is located in Southern Africa. Formerly, Rhodesia, and under British rule, Zimbabwe achieved independence in 1980.
A Proud and Spiritual People
The Shona people, the largest tribe in Zimbabwe, make up approximately 70% of the population. Their culture is rich in tradition and deeply-held religious and spiritual beliefs. They believe in a Supreme Being, as Christians do, but their traditions also include spirit mediums or vadzimu, a deceased and benevolent ancestor who is always protecting them and acts as an intermediary between them and their God or Mwari. Through their religious ceremonies, they pay homage to the spirits of their ancestors passed. They also believe that animals, plants, stone and birds have a spirit. Their awareness that life is precious, be it in human form or nature, defines them as a part of a bigger whole.
The Beginnings of a Word-Renown Art Form
The European artist and collector, Frank McEwen, was responsible for bringing attention to the art form in Europe and eventually to art critics worldwide in the 1950s. McEwen, an artist and restorer of art grew up in Paris and was friends with Matisse and Picasso. Disillusioned with the art community in Paris, McEwen’s interest in African art led him to Zimbabwe. When talk began of opening the Rhodes National Gallery, McEwen applied and received the position of director.
McEwen wanted not only European art represented, but African art and culture as well. He hired Thomas Mukarobgwa, a native of the country, and employed him as a gallery attendant. McEwen encouraged Thomas to invite his friends to the gallery and gave them art materials. In a year’s time, stone indigenous to the country was brought into the workshop set up in the gallery’s basement, and the sculpting process began. With no instruction or formal training, these budding artists created beautiful abstract and complex forms. They often dreamed of what the sculpture was to become by looking at the stone. Through sculpting the stone, the spirit was set free and became the shape it was intended to be.
First-Generation Sculptors
From its beginnings in the 1950s, Shona Sculpture of Zimbabwe is one of most recognized art forms in the world. The practice of first-generation sculptors mentoring the next still exists today. The sculptors learn through watching and then through doing.
First-generation artists, such as Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Bernard Matemera, and Joram Mariga, had no formal training. Instead, they gleaned their inspiration from dreams and observations. Bernard Matemera, considered one of the greatest First-generation sculptors said, “The spirits are everywhere in the air, in the rocks. A rock is like a fruit – like an orange or a banana. You don’t eat them without peeling them first. It needs to be opened to be eaten. I open the rocks. The fruit is inside.” Through their mentoring, second and third-generation sculptors are now recognized as masters, and grace the homes of collectors and fine galleries worldwide. .
Shona Sculpture of Zimbabwe Today
Today, Zimbabwe faces enormous economic difficulties. Yet, Shona Sculpture still thrives and some pieces command hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many have tried to define or categorize the art form. From abstract and powerful sculptures to unbelievable realistic portrayals of its culture, the art spans the gamut. Although European influence is evident; some sculptures seem to represent cubism, while others seem Picasso-like in their angles and form. Each sculpture bears the soul of its creator and its creator uses his/her beliefs, traditions, environment, and spirituality to produce a wondrous and beautiful monument to a proud people.
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