HISTORY OF ZIMBABWE STONE SCULPTURE
"The majority of the artists in this country are Shona, athoughtful, profound and sweet people that is inclined to mysticismand armed with an infinite patience. The older Shona live from theland and have retained their mystical beliefs, profound in a magicalworld of ancestral and tribal spirits. ........ Today, the Shonaartist, in between two worlds, the new and the old, feels a need forexpression, and to mark his presence, in a new domain, relies on hisrich mystical heritage. His inspirations come from the mythicalreligion and the symbolism of the elders, through meditation, dreamsand dreaming."
Thus wrote Frank McEwen in 1971 for the catalogue of the MuseeRodin exhibition in Paris - one of the first major internationalexhibitions of Zimbabwean stone sculpture. Many regard him as the'founder' of the movement and his words here provide an insight intoits early days. They also serve as an assessment of the situation inwhich he found himself and of the future creative potential that hesaw within the Zimbabwean people.
When Zimbabwe was still Rhodesia (it gained its Independence in1980), it was decided that a National Gallery of Art should be builtin its capital, Salisbury. In 1954 Frank McEwen was asked to act as aconsultant on the design of the gallery, as well as its permanentcollection and future direction. At that time he was working in Parisas the Fine Arts representative of the British Council lived theresince 1926. As a result McEwen had many valuable contacts and friendswithin European art circles and important experience necessary todirect a new gallery.
McEwen had been brought up in a house filled with art, including,significantly, fine examples of early African carving. His love ofgenuine creativity, born from these experiences, was later to befurther influenced by the teachings of Gustave Moreau. These centredon the belief that true art is inherent within an individual; nottaught or disciplined, but emanating from a person's spirit andnatural desire to create. As McEwen was to write later,
"Art is a visual experience, entering the spirit by the eye totouch the subconscious and evolve. It must be free from the menace ofthose volumes of verbiage produced by some critics who neglect thevisual for the intellectual and make art part of a fashionable game.It is the direct visual identification with harmony that can inspirea whole lifetime."
It was on this basis that he was to work in Zimbabwe, gentlyguiding and 'defending' the new sculptors, always aiming to establishenvironments in which such 'natural' work could be created andappreciated.
Towards the end of his years in Paris, such beliefs were becomingincreasingly difficult to maintain. Artists such as Matisse, Picasso,Brancusi, Braque and Leger occupied 'star' status but new, youngertalents were following paths that seemed, to McEwen, trivial bycomparison. His disillusionment finally led him to write a somewhatcontroversial introduction to an exhibition catalogue in 1952. Inthis he expressed his view that,
"If some new vital art exists or is about to exist, it will occurelsewhere, imagined and created collectively in a different walk oflife with a different raison d'etre. It will not depend upon thewhims of art critics, but upon some original manifestation of theartistic mind, prompted by a new environment."
In writing this he had unwittingly predicted the future role ofart in Africa and had positioned himself for the challenge that layahead of him.
On the advice of Herbert Read, Frank McEwen accepted the post ofDirector of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (then called the RhodesNational Gallery). As he watched the new building rise he wasintroduced to the ways and beliefs of the Shona people by a mancalled Thomas Mukarobgwa. They talked every day and Frank McEwen'sopen mind and heart (unusual at this time in colonial Rhodesia)ensured that much was discussed that was rarely shared withEuropeans.
The intentions of the Gallery had been to exhibit art treasuresfrom all over the 'developed' world, and not those of Africancultures, but its new Director very quickly realised the artisticpotential of the indigenous people around him. Using the ideaspractised in his art workshop in Toulon, he quietly began encouraginglocal people to try their hand at art - initially, it would appear,in media with which they were familiar (ceramics, basketwork andweaving). But he also introduced the disciplines of Europeanexpression - most notably, painting on canvas. Hard facts about theprecise order of this early development are difficult to place, butit is suggested in discussions with the earliest artists that McEwenencouraged the techniques of sculpture after seeing early work by menas Joram Mariga who, at that time had broken away from the use ofsoft stones and was experimenting with harder materials and moreindividualistic expression and themes. It must be remembered thatthere was already carving of a sort in Zimbabwe in the Fifties andSixties. As is true now, there was stone work for sale to tourists -realistic interpretations of the wildlife, in the main produced insoft soapstone. Concurrent with the arrival of McEwen to thecountry's new National Gallery, it seems that a handful of carverswere independently breaking away from the established forms ofcarving and experimenting on their own. This new work seems to haveignited McEwen's enthusiasm and imagination and led to his assumingthe role of encourager and 'director". Such artists initially broughttheir work to the National Gallery for selection and sale and McEwen,as often, would visit their 'studios' to guide, comment and initiatethe relationships from which the movement was to be born. With thisnew, energetic 'teaching' others the new skills necessary for theharder stones and fostering the breakaway expressions, beganspreading the work in earnest - in full knowledge of the support thathe felt would lead them to exciting and uncharted territories in thefuture. Frank McEwen himself explains the background to the earlydays of his new Workshop School:
"In 1957 Rhodesia had just inaugurated a new National Gallery andI had in 1956/57 come from living with the School of Paris to be thefirst Director. In spite of fierce local opposition - "there was nosuch thing as African art" - I encouraged on my own, aspiring artiststo bring their work clandestinely to the back door without fear ofofficial criticism based on outdated academic standards. Thecriterion was enthusiasm and personal achievement, not as is usual,dusty inhibiting techniques taught in creatively dead classes a laWestern world. My first workshop was only begrudgingly recognised andaccepted over a year later."
It is easy to dramatise the incredible history of the Zimbabweanstone sculpture movement, given its extraordinary beginnings.Remarkable as they are, the facts are less glamorous. A discussionwith one of the founding sculptors will reveal the difficulties facedby McEwen and his artists; the lack of space and the basic equipmentwith which they worked. Progress was slow and , in the beginning,very uninspiring. In a room allocated for storage at the back of thenew National Gallery, McEwen supplied interested artists withmaterials that were available and encouraged them to experiment - inmost cases with painting.
Despite the difficulties, McEwen quickly knew that here wasenormous potential. Work spread amongst the local people and within afew years increasing numbers attended the Workshop School, oralternatively brought their own work from areas such as Nyanga andBulawayo. There is, now, much debate about Frank McEwen's preciserole within this informal 'school'. He defends his position using thetheories of Moreau, in which he strongly believed.
"Finally, up to 75 artists would come and go as and when theycould. There was not a trace of art school mentality. No teaching,but an atmosphere of individual 'drawing out' as Gustave Moreau hadpropounded and Henri Matisse and others had explained to me.Obviously, there must be an aura of vibrant art content to be drawnout."
The last few words of this quotation hold the key to the issue. Itis incorrect to imagine that McEwen stood back and let anythinghappen within the Workshop group of artists. He was honest about theimportance of his role and encouraged and offered guidance when hesaw a situation that required it. He had confidence in his beliefsand opinions (gained from years spent in one of the most importantperiods of European art history) and felt his involvement to be validand important. Today, discussion of this aspect centres around thevalidity of McEwen's appraisal of the developing work and theconsequence of these opinions. In his book, Contemporary Art ofAfrica (written in the late Sixties when Frank McEwen was activelyinvolved in the movement), Ulli Beier examines McEwen's role:
"McEwen's method of working is extremely interesting. He believesstrongly that nothing should be imposed on the artist, that any formof 'teaching' is in fact already an imposition. He sets no themes,makes no suggestions and insists that the artists develop their owntechnique. He does exercise a very strong influence, however, in twoparticular ways. His tremendous energy and enthusiasm are infectiousand few people have his gift of inspiring others with confidence andcourage. It requires great faith to believe in the artisticpossibilities of people who have no tradition to back them up and wholive in a country as culturally bleak as Rhodesia. McEwen neverfaltered. He had the courage to believe in the Gallery attendantThomas Mukarobgwa who started 'with a brand of adult child art.'
McEwen's second influence was that of a critic. He set highstandards and condemned pictures that did not work, making theartists overpaint them. He taught them to apply severe criticism totheir own work and insisted that they never sell anything they knewto be second rate. His constant approval or rejection subjected thewhole of African art in Rhodesia to a continuous selection process,and according to the law of survival of the fittest the work of theseartists was almost bound to improve."
Whatever differing views may exist on the value and the degree ofMcEwen's influence on these emerging artists, it must surely beaccepted that he had the expertise to make this judgement - and thevery phenomenon that has taken place in the last thirty years servesas evidence that such judgement was made with immense skill,compassion and an innate understanding of the possibilities thatexisted.
In 1958 the National Gallery hosted its First Annual Federal ArtExhibition. Work from all over Rhodesia was submitted for selection,including painting, sculpture, design and objects d'art; theresulting exhibition of some 150 pieces set the foundations for anannual showcase of local talent (European and indigenous). As such itbecame an important 'tool' with which McEwen defended his belief inthe value of involving local people and encouraging local artisticabilities. This was no amateurish jamboree, but instead a rigorouslyselected display of startling expression - an insistent voice whichdemanded attention and which, within a few years, excited seriousinterest from the most important art centres of the world. Work byartists from McEwen's Workshop School was shown alongside that ofestablished artists. Painting was extremely strong within the Schoolbut it soon became clear that the medium with which the Africanartists worked most freely and imaginatively was stone. As the yearspassed stone sculpture assumed an increasingly strong presence in theexhibitions and significant purchases were made for the Galley'spermanent collection as well as for its international exhibitions.The catalogues from these early annual exhibitions make forinteresting reading. With each exhibition McEwen argues and providesevidence for the work to be taken seriously - not so much with aninternational audience as this seemed to happen from the first - butwith the national establishment. He quotes from impressiveinternational reviews and demands, "Is it not time to observe thesign of concrete Results?" In his introduction to the catalogue ofthe very first of these exhibitions, McEwen argues that:
"A Gallery stands for the promotion of visual culture, for thatimportant part of the art of living: the power to extract strengthand contentment from textures, from colours, from forms and designsin the surrounding world. ....... The power of Art in every greatcivilisation has been tremendous. It has moved races slowly toembellish their surroundings with images, objects and symbols, or ithas been an inspiring medium of religion. It has led to simple and tosacred joys."
And he goes on to reaffirm his commitment in fostering the newartistic expression of Zimbabwe:
"Within the last year astounding progress has been made in thiscountry, and it is precisely from so wonderfully rich and varied acompounding of effort and aspiration that great things will grow....... Young 'creators' and 'consumers' of art and design can beconfident in widening prospects from a growing land.
Their Gallery stands to help them help themselves.
Having introduced the art audiences of Paris to Henry Moore(organising the first Paris exhibition of the sculptor's work in1945) McEwen brought to Rhodesia celebrated art treasures fromEurope.
"shows of European masters from Rembrandt to Picasso, frommediaeval tapestry to Lurcat, with works lent from the Louvre, theRijksmuseum, The Stedelijk, and London's National and TateGalleries."
But, perhaps more significantly, he brought to the attention ofthe Rhodesian citizens the innovative dynamism within the creativeexpression of the indigenous African people. This was contrary to theinitial proposals of the authorities and he encountered consistentdifficulties as well as an absence of support or pride in thework..
"After a year running the workshop more or less clandestinely inthe bowels of the gallery's storerooms, the impetus obliged mytrustees to accept it reluctantly as part of the National Gallery.But our troubles were not over. Scorn and opposition from ourneighbours in the white community and hostility and insults from thelocal Rhodesian press were to continue during my seventeen years inoffice. Only African newspapers gave support."
Despite this, international interest was growing and art expertssuch as Alfred Barr, Tristan Tzara, Michel Leiris, John Russell,Roland Penrose and William Fagg Began to visit Rhodesia and examinethe origins of the work. In 1971, McEwen organised a criticalexhibition in the Musee Rodin, in Paris. This show was responsiblefor the serious assessment of the sculpture by the established artworld. Virtually every piece was bought by collectors and art lovers;some of which remain in important collections today. It seemed that,for the first time, the work could stand by itself in the face ofscrutiny - with no defence or explanation other than that required tosatisfy the interest of the uninitiated. The source of the work wasrespected and acclaimed and the sculpture itself was hailed as apotential influence on the world art scene.
Other important exhibitions were to follow, chiefly ShonaSculptures of Rhodesia held in 1972 at the I.C.A. Gallery, London anda major exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, also in1972. These received tremendous critical acclaim and marked thebeginning of acknowledgement of the sculpture as a serious genre.
McEwen's role as spiritual 'leader' and, to some extent,'protector' of the movement continued to the end of his Directorshipin 1973. Soon after the initial interest from internationalcollectors and organisations, McEwen sought a new venue for hisWorkshop School. Fearful of commercial pressures on the young work,he enlisted the help of sculptor, Sylvester Mubayi in establishing arural community in the powerful environment of the Eastern Highlandsof Zimbabwe - the Nyanga district - and named it Vukutu.
"In Vukutu, an ancient sanctuary of great beauty and completeisolation, surrounded by sculpture-like rocks, our best artists cameto live in an art community. They hunted for pure food according totheir belief in life-force. Here they produced their finest work awayfrom the encroaching tourist trade. It was the best move we evermade."
Other centres of encouragement and creativity existed, includingthe artistic teaching at two mission schools - Serima and CyreneHowever, a quite separate and different community of sculptors,Tengenenge, was founded by Tom Blomefield, in the late sixties in theNorth East of Zimbabwe. Blomefield had been a tobacco farmer inGuruve who, through the pressures of international sanctions afterIan Smith's Declaration of Unilateral Independence (UDI), was nolonger able to provide reliable employment for his farm workers -many of whom had travelled to Zimbabwe from Malawi, Mozambique,Zambia and Angola. In an effort to continue his support for these menand their families he encouraged them to make the change from farmlabouring to art. The land on which the community was sited includedan impressive natural deposit of hard, carveable Serpentine and itwas to be stone carving for which his men became respected andapplauded over the following twenty years. Frank McEwen and theNational Gallery supported this community for several years, beforethe establishment of its own rural Workshop at Vukutu. Tengenengethen continued on its own path and still thrives today. As expressedin the quotation by Ulli Beier, about Frank McEwen, Blomefield had asimilar, remarkable, ability to foster and extract latent talent fromartistically untrained people. Like McEwen, he too has an infectiousenthusiasm and gift of inspiring others, if not to create, then tounderstand and appreciate. Tengenenge simply would not have comeabout were it not for more these qualities. The two men, however,could not have had more different backgrounds and experiences onwhich to base their theories. With no artistic training and verylittle knowledge of the arts, Blomefield nevertheless feltpassionately about the natural creative potential within the Africanpeople in Zimbabwe. Within an unshakeable (some would say naive)belief in the ability to live by simple means and personal resourcesin times of hardship, he displayed immense courage in implementinghis ambitions.
He first asked to be shown how to sculpt - approaching ChrispenChakanuka. (Here again we can detect the influence of Joram Mariga.Mariga, after all, had taught Chrispen Chakanyuka in his early Nyangagroups at the time that contact was first made with Frank McEwen).After a short time of experimentation and hard work, he felt able toencourage anyone interested within the community around him. Fromsuch simple beginnings a movement was created which bore testimony tohis beliefs and ideals. With similar, but less stringent guidelinesas those practised by McEwen, he encouraged the emerging artists oftengenenge to search their souls and create whatever they felt drawnto. He offered basic 'criticism' and advice if asked but in the mainsaw his role as a source of support. It is unquestionably due to thissensitive attitude that such extraordinary and unique talents foundtheir expression -Lemon Moses, Bernard Matemera,
Josiah Manzi, Wazi Maicolo, Amali Malola, Henry Munyaradzi,Sylvester Mubayi. Some sculptors moved from the community to work ontheir own, or to join McEwen's various groups - but all benefitedincalculably from Blomefield's generous spirit and sense of good. Whoelse could have seen and encouraged the potential in an 84 year oldman, inviting him to 'try his hand at sculpture' and then leaving himto find his own path? The artist in question is Kakoma Kweli, now 87,and his work has been included in recent major internationalexhibitions to great interest and acclaim. The remarkable communityhas struggled through difficult years (the Seventies), but has nowgrown considerably and operates by the same criteria established byBlomefield in the beginning. He remains with the community and hisguidance continues to be essential to its survival.
Despite the serious recognition and international success of thesculpture, tensions between Frank McEwen at the National Gallery andthe establishment at that time governing Rhodesia continued to grow,eventually forcing him to resign from his post as Director in1973.
Difficulties within the country also heightened at this time and aten-year internal struggle finally led to Independence for the newZimbabwe in 1980. The years of war represented an extremely difficultperiod for the sculptors. Many abandoned their art and returned tomore conventional activities; many were unable to work in the ruralareas as these became increasingly dangerous. Lacking the system ofsupport and encouragement that existed with Frank McEwen, someartists struggled in isolation, only to re-emerge as confidenttalents in the middle- to-late eighties.
So it was then, that the responsibilities of the private promotersbecame more important. During the war years it was almost impossibleto exhibit or sell work and individuals such as Roy Guthrie couldonly encourage and financially support the artists by purchasingworks for the future exposure they believed possible in more peacefultimes. Through this process Guthrie established strong friendshipswith the major artist of the time (John Takawira, Sylvester Mubayi,Joseph Ndandarika, Joram Mariga, Henry Munyaradzi, Bernard Takawira,Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Boira Mteki et al), and at the firstopportunity, began to organise definitive exhibitions abroad. These,in turn, aroused international interest that had existed previouslyand provided new impetus for the established artists as well asencouraging fresh, younger talent. Important exhibitions in theseyears of recovery and renewal were: Shona Sculpture, Zimbabwe House,London, England (1981); Stein Skulpturen Aus Zimbabwe, ZoologicalGarden Museum, Frankfurt, Germany (1983, 1984 and 1985); ContemporaryStone Sculpture From Zimbabwe, Irving Sculpture Gallery, Sydney,Australia; and Stone Sculpture from Zimbabwe, Margam Castle, WestGlamorgan, Wales (1986). During the first six years afterIndependence, Roy Guthrie's Gallery Shona Sculpture (later to becomethe Chapungu Sculpture Park) was responsible for all the majorinternational exposure of the sculpture. It continues to be theleader amongst promoters of the art form and such comprehensiveexhibitions would not be possible without the process of purchase andcollection carried out by Guthrie over the last twenty years. It nowowns the largest Permanent Collection of the sculpture anywhere inthe world and it is this collection that resources the most importantexhibitions in recent years. The preservation of important works forthe cultural heritage of Zimbabwe is an ongoing commitment forChapungu Sculpture Park, as is the essential documentation of boththe sculpture and artists.
As a result of recent exhibitions, much has been written andpublished about the stone sculpture movement. Additionally, interestin the work of younger generations of Zimbabwean sculptors is nowshown by international audiences - in art historical terms work hasnow been produced by second and third 'generations'. The sculpturehas taken new direction and tackled different issues than those ofthe 'founding' artists and it is wit this new talent that the futureof the movement lies. With the inevitable commercial interest in thesculpture, increasing responsibility lies with the promoters inpresenting work that has the integrity and innovation originallyfound in the early years of the movement. In a country whereunemployment is high, the personal and financial success of the majorsculptors understandably beckons to numerous technically skilled, butartistically unoriginal, carvers. The serious promoters distancethemselves from the production of these 'artefacts' and presentexhibitions of sculpture by the top artists - work which ranksamongst the most valid and interesting in the world today.Enlightened promoters and collectors must indeed foster and encouragethe artistic talent of Zimbabwe, in much the same way as Frank McEwenintended in the very beginning.
Recent definitive exhibitions include Contemporary Stone CarvingFrom Zimbabwe, Yorkshire Sculpture Park Wakefield, England (1990);Stenskulptur Fran Zimbabwe, Millesgarden Museum, Stockholm, Sweden(1990); Spirit In Stone - Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture, Cleveland Museumof Natural History, Cleveland, U.S.A. (1991);
Stone Sculpture, Zimbabwe Pavilion, Expo' 92, Seville, Spain(1992); Stone Sculpture From Zimbabwe, Galarie Im Scholssgarten,Heidelberg, Germany (1993); Ludwig Forum For International Kunst,Aachen, Germany (1993); Modern African Art - The Stone Sculptors ofZimbabwe Frankfurt, Germany (1994); Tengenenge Old and New KasteelGroenveld and Africa Museum, Holland (1994); The Second Generation,Millfield School, England (1994); Modern African Art - The StoneSculptors of Zimbabwe, Dortmund, Germany (1995); Modern African Art -The Stone Sculptors of Zimbabwe, Berlin, Germany (1996), with theexception of the exhibition held at the Museum of Natural History inCleveland, these were all organised from the Chapungu SculpturePark's permanent collection. Wherever the work is exhibited, itevokes powerful, and often emotional, reactions from audiences ofvarying experiences and cultural backgrounds. It is interesting toexamine why this should be.
Attitudes amongst the Zimbabwean sculptors to their work areperhaps different from artists in other, Western cultures - it is, onthe one hand a vital and influential way in which to express oldbeliefs and truths in an ever-changing society; but at the same timethe life of a sculptor is seen often as a successful and much soughtafter way of earning a living at a time of national economichardship. But here lie the areas of strength in this remarkable workwhich perhaps help to establish the reason for its success incommunicating directly to a varied and demanding internationalpublic. It is powerfully human - with much of the work portrayingmessages in a figurative manner, and carved with immeasurable skill,it cannot help to convey feelings and experiences basic to mankind,whatever their cultural heritage; it is seductive and extremelybeautiful - the material alone (an impressive variety of soft andhard coloured stone) invites exploration, both visually and mentally;but perhaps most important of all it is truthful -firstly, to itsmaterial (the sculptors have both an intensive technical knowledgeand understanding of the stone, but also a great spiritual respectfor this natural resource which they believe, like all other thingsaround them, has an innate spiritual life force of its own); andsecondly in the ideals and subjects with which the artists work.Although many of the beliefs seem complex to outsiders they expressthe fundamental relationships between the two guiding forces in Shonalife - the visible physical world and the unseen spiritual world thatexists in all cultures, but in this culture represents the veryinfluential ancestral spirits - communicators between the dead andthe living.
There has been a tendency in the past to see the work ofZimbabwean sculptors as a single cultural group - often beingreferred to as Shona Sculpture. Whereas this term may have servedsome purpose of identification in the early days of the movement, itis now misleading and unrepresentational. A number of the importantsculptors do not in fact belong to the Shona tribe, but withincreasing international interest in the work of individual artistsand important one-person exhibitions, it is interesting to see thesetalented Zimbabwean sculptors occupying their rightful places amongstother top artists on the international scene. The work of someartists had almost immediate international appeal, in that theimagery used was more accessible to the new audiences. HenryMunyaradzi in particular seemed to reach out to European art loversin a language that was both simple and sophisticated: his Klee-likeuse of line and minimalistic form astonished many who expected a'primitive' or 'exotic' type of work from an African country. Thismisconception about contemporary Africa is common and brought aboutby the ancient African images used so successfully by Western artistssuch as Picasso and Matisse. The work of Nicholas Mukomberanwa andJohn Takawira presented these audiences with similar surprises intheir powerful depictions of the gamut of human experience, as wellas the natural world around them. The striking images from the worldsof Bernard Matemera and Joram Mariga perhaps take a little more timeto relate easily to but they persist and remain with the viewer untilaccepted and understood. A new generation of sculptors such asTapfuma Gutsa and Agnes Nyanhongo, however, speak in a universal andcontemporary language and provide much food for thought for youngartists in the more accepted art centres overseas.
Many of these artists occupy coveted positions in the art worldwith great pride and authority - the development and success of thismovement, although relatively young, has been hard won but can beseen in any international gallery environment as proof that theartistic expression of this remarkable people has come of age. Anyoneactually visiting Zimbabwe has a unique opportunity to see many ofthe artists working, but can also absorb and come to know the deeperinfluences and surroundings from which this work is born. However, itis an indication of the direct strength of the sculpture, thatfirst-hand experience of the work in an art gallery in, say, Paris,London or New York can also provide an often precious glimpse intothe culture and ancestry of a spiritual and artistic people.
Zimbabwean stone sculpture offers much-needed inspirationaldirection to artists worldwide; but also reaffirms, to all peoples ofthe world, the cultural and spiritual strengths embodied in acontemporary African society - one that is new, alive and can havegreat meaning to modern life in any culture.
Breaking free from the accepted images of ancient, tribal Africanart, audiences are invited to view this work with an open heart andmind and take what relevance they may for their lives, wherever inthe world they may be. Surely this is the purpose of Art?
"So take the hint: throw aside art-history ideas of influence,Europeans, and enjoy these as sculpture, as in the language ofsculpture discovered a fresh, under the chisel. The sculptors ofZimbabwe have a lot to teach us, already. .......... The next centurymust be Africa's - in conflict or in harmony; there is just a chancethat the profound, peaceful and spiritual values that the best ofZimbabwean art enshrines, may help to lead Africa back to rest in itsown soul, its own spirit; and lead world art back to the realm of thespiritual where it belongs."
Frank McEwen died on 15th January 1994. A lover and supporter offree creative expression and an acknowledged expert on the visualarts (in particular the 'primitive' arts), he was perhaps mostrespected for his role in the emergence of Zimbabwean stone sculptureand remained an authority in this field. McEwen was possessed of adeep love and commitment to art. It was his life. He believed thatthe creation of art drew out those higher spiritual values inherentin man and uplifted both maker and viewer.
We hope that, through our work at the Chapungu Sculpture Park,Harare,
we many continue to pay tribute to him.
Frank McEwen O.B.E., Chev. des Arts et Lettres
1908 - 1994
Joceline Mawdsley
Former Exhibitions Curator
Chapungu Sculpture Park, Harare, Zimbabwe
