Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: May 27, 2021 at 11:44:04 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Africa]: Castillo on De Groof, 'Lumumba in the Arts' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Matthias De Groof, ed. Lumumba in the Arts. Leuven Leuven > University Press, 2019. Illustrations. 464 pp. $79.00 (paper), ISBN > 978-946270174-8. > > Reviewed by Joshua M. Castillo (Boston University) > Published on H-Africa (May, 2021) > Commissioned by David D. Hurlbut > > _Lumumba in the Arts_, edited by Matthias De Groof, provides > multidisciplinary analyses of Patrice Lumumba's life and legacies > through a remarkable range of art and media in a beautifully > illustrated volume that will benefit both scholars of Congo and > undergraduates alike. This is a momentous book in every sense of the > word, totaling twenty-two chapters written by twenty-five > contributors in addition to an extensive gallery section, and > numerous photos, poems, paintings, and songs. Part of what sets this > work apart from previous analyses of Lumumba and his legacies is that > it includes contributions from artists as well as scholars. > Established scholars of Congo and Lumumba, such as Jean Omasombo, > Karen Bouwer, Johannes Fabian, Bogumil Jewsiewicki, and Elikia > M'Bokolo, make important contributions, but we also hear from artists > like Tshibumba Kanda Matulu, and Luc Tuymans, as well as perhaps > Lumumba's most famous biographer, filmmaker Raoul Peck. > > Overall, this volume moves beyond earlier analyses of Lumumba, many > of which have focused on his rapid rise to power and the Cold War > politics behind his equally rapid fall, in order to grapple with the > global decolonization moment that Lumumba came to represent. > Contributors explore the myriad ways through which artists from > across Congo and around the world have honored his legacy, mourned > his premature death, and constructed their own versions of Lumumba in > the process. A common thread across these contributions is the idea > that Lumumba's specter, whether in film, photos, his writings, or his > speeches, continues to loom over international relations, > neocolonialist politics, and most of all, Congo's tortured > postcolonial history. For many Congolese, this is true in a literal > sense, as Omasombo and others discuss here. Lumumba's body being > dissolved into acid and denied a proper burial by his Belgian killers > freed his spirit to wander, both haunting those who conspired against > him and inspiring those whom he left behind. > > De Groof begins the volume with an introductory reflection on the > iconography of Lumumba that guides readers through previous > discussions of Lumumba while also laying out the multiple frameworks > through which he is analyzed in this volume. De Groof establishes two > questions that frame the work: "_What_ iconography arose around > Lumumba and _why _is that iconography so diverse?" (p. 9). This > volume builds off of two previous edited volumes from the late 1990s > (Pierre Halen and János Riesz's _Patrice Lumumba entre Dieu et > Diable: Un héros africain dans ses images _[1997] and Bogumil > Jewsiewicki and Donatien Dibwe da Mwembu's _A Congo Chronicle: > Patrice Lumumba in Urban Art_ [1999]), which reflected on Lumumba's > legacy and depictions, but it works to globalize and expand the > discussion to include a wider range of global perspectives and art > forms. > > Part 1 interrogates the historiography of Lumumba, focusing on the > shift from his initial demonization by European and other Western > writers to his beatification as a symbol of the still-born > possibilities of independence and third worldism. Izabelle de > Rezende's chapter sets the tone for the whole book when she notes > that "Lumumba's 'after-lives,' as items of living memory, have also > been of a strikingly visual nature, both in Congo and globally" (p. > 37). These visual memories are most prominent in the gallery, and in > part 2, they remain an important theme throughout. The remainder of > part 1 consists of primarily historiographic analyses that analyze > Lumumba's tragic death and the unfulfilled mourning of Belgian > colonization in Congo (Omasombo), Lumumba's influence on Congolese > intellectuals and absence from postcolonial theory (Pedro Monaville), > the ways intellectual and political actors have attempted to predict > what Lumumba would have done had he survived (Chrisopher L. Miller), > and the evolution of Lumumba's historiography over the past six > decades (interview with M'Bokolo). > > After part 1, the thirty-six-page gallery section enhances the > written analyses, using a combination of photographs from throughout > Lumumba's political career, political cartoons alternately lauding > and demonizing Lumumba, photographic coverage of the global protests > following Lumumba's death, and paintings from around the world > depicting Lumumba. Part 2, on the iconography of Lumumba, takes up > the bulk of the work and includes eighteen chapters subdivided into > sections on cinema, theater, photography, poetry, comics, music, > painting, and public space. De Groof's chapter on Lumumba in cinema > surveys some of his many depictions and emphasizes especially how > films have used Lumumba's specter or ghost to discuss his complex > legacy. Next, Peck, whose two films on Lumumba are discussed in > numerous contributions here, reflects, in Q and A form, on how he > came to write, direct, and depict Lumumba's tragic history in his > films. Bouwer follows with a gender-focused analysis of Peck's two > films that builds on her own path-breaking research into this topic, > _Gender and Decolonization in the Congo: The Legacy of Patrice > Lumumba_ (2010). Rosario Giordano then analyzes a little-known topic > within studies of Lumumba, Lumumba's multiple portrayals in Italian > cinema. Next, Congolese filmmaker and academic Balufu > Bakupya-Kanyinda, interviewed by De Groof, reflects on imaginings of > Lumumba in Congolese and foreign cinema as well as his own works. > > Following the cinema section, contributors discuss Lumumba in theater > (Piet Defraeye), photography (Mark Sealy), poetry (Mathieu Zana > Etambala), and comics (Véronique Bragard), before three longer > sections on Lumumba in music, painting, and public space close out > the work. Among these contributions, Léon Tsambu's analysis of > Lumumba in Congolese popular music stands out for its emphasis on > specifically Congolese depictions and imaginings of Lumumba, where > Gert Huskens and Idesbald Goddeeris focus on Lumumba's invocation in > rap music from North America and Western Europe. An important theme > that unites these diverse analyses is the global scale of Lumumba's > influence as a Pan-Africanist political figure and icon of > decolonization. We can see this in Jewsiewicki's "A Congolese Hero to > the Oppressed Peoples of the World" but also in Marlene Dumas's and > Tuymans's reflections on how they came to depict Pauline and Patrice > Lumumba in their art. On the Congolese side, we also have a > fascinating conversation between Congolese popular artist Tshibumba > Kanda Matulu by Fabian, recorded by Fabian in the early 1980s, and > interspersed with iconic works by the late Tshibumba. The final > section on Lumumba in public space reflects on how Lumumba has been > remembered in a range of artistic media, including stamps, banknotes, > and postcards (Pierre Petit); Belgian colonial propaganda (Julien > Truddaïu); street names (Robert Jacobs); and statues in Ghent's > Citadelpark (Piet Defraeye), while the epilogue by De Groof takes the > reader on an evocative visual exploration of Shilatembo, the place > where Lumumba was killed. > > This collection covers an impressive array of geographic, cultural, > linguistic, and artistic terrain in reflecting on Lumumba's > iconography in art. It provides an exciting array of new directions > for scholars of Congolese, African, and postcolonial studies to > follow toward furthering our understandings of Lumumba as a person, > an icon, and a martyr of Congolese independence. One notable absence > from this otherwise excellent collection is Lumumba himself in terms > of his thoughts, words, and writings. While readers do encounter > numerous excerpts from Lumumba's revolutionary independence speech > and his prophetic final letter, we do not encounter words from many > of his more mundane speeches or his evolving political thoughts as > laid out in his journalistic writings in Stanleyville throughout the > 1950s or his posthumously published book, _Le Congo, terre d'avenir, > est-il menacé? _(1961). The focus on Lumumba the icon tends to > overshadow Lumumba the man. This critique is by no means unique to > this volume but can equally be extended to numerous politically > focused analyses of Lumumba and the Congo crisis, which have tended > to limit Lumumba's voice and agency and instead have focused on how > Lumumba was acted upon by Western governments or Congolese > politicians. In any case, this edited volume represents a vibrant and > innovative, new approach to understanding Lumumba that brings > together a dynamic group of scholars and artists into a fascinating, > thought-provoking, and visually delightful conversation. > > Contributions from _Lumumba in Art _would work well in undergraduate > and graduate courses on African art, postcolonial Africa, > postcolonial studies, or global decolonization. While contributors > invoke complex theory in analyzing Lumumba in the arts, they do so > without resorting to difficult jargon or overly academic prose. > Although authors do engage with previous literature on Lumumba, they > primarily discuss primary sources relating to his iconography, making > for an easy-to-read and fresh discussion. This volume represents an > important contribution to the literature on Lumumba that underscores > Lumumba's impact as a Congolese, African, and international icon, and > opens new vistas for further research. > > Citation: Joshua M. Castillo. Review of De Groof, Matthias, ed., > _Lumumba in the Arts_. H-Africa, H-Net Reviews. May, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56173 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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