Congo

^{Posted on Tuesday, 1st April, 2008}

A Congo Chronicle: Patrice Lumumba in Urban Art

^{Courtesy of AfricanArt.org}

Painting of Patrice Lumumba by Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu

^{A Congo Chronicle: Patrice Lumumba in Urban Art consists of approx. 90 works, including a series of nearly 50 paintings by Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu, an influential artist of the 1970s, and a number of recent works by other Congolese contemporary artists who emulated his style. Reflections of prevailing popular taste, these paintings demonstrate how memories of Lumumba were transformed into a powerful visual narrative of a cultural hero.}

^{Urban art is traceable from early 1920s paintings depicting colonial “modern life,” through 1940s and 1950s paintings assimilating African “modern life,” to 1970s chronicles of social and political memory. The significance of the resultant African “social realism,” an idealistic historic documentation, is its focus on recognizable themes such as social injustice, street violence, political arbitrariness, and gender and generational conflicts. Through them, the viewer gains insight into the popular issues of the era.}

^{These popular depictions of Patrice Lumumba exemplify the Congolese tradition of venerating mythic or cultural heroes. Just as classical African sculptures portrayed cultural innovators, urban art helped transform Lumumba into a powerful symbol. He embodies the dream of national unity, democracy, and independence, despite being largely omitted from official Congolese histories of the Mobutu era. With the recent upheavals in the political leadership and social fabric, A Congo Chronicle is a timely examination of how Lumumba became not only a Congolese hero, but also an African and African-American hero.}

^{An adaptable installation offered as an option to venues is the Kinshasa Café, a recreated urban café with popular paintings hanging on the walls reminding customers of current issues. It was in these informal “village squares” where people socialized, discussed politics, and exchanged the latest news, that the popular movement took hold in pre-independence Congo. The café can serve as an ideal educational environment featuring Congolese music and documentary footage on Lumumba.}

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