Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture Paperback – October 15, 2013

Finally, something worthwhile coming out of Belgium related to the historical and cultural "art" narratives of African plight.It would be a travesty to misunderstand the careful messages and research credibility this exhibition catalogue offers. And, it is well worth the low price, erroneously overlooked , undervalued and an unpopular read for many.This exhibition catalogue debut of the Delenne (Belgian) collection of Congo sculpture - acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art - favored figurative sculpture and almost exclusively focused on the human body.One of the things which makes this catalogue particularly intriguing is the hegemony expressed, which influenced Congolese sculpture, SPECIFICALLY during the 19th and 20th centuries, not prior. Frankly, this is refreshing, and quite unusual for exhibition catalogues and publications relative to African "art." Another important aspect: it exposes the 2010 Brussels Centre for Fine Arts survey exhibition for what is truly was... A selection of so-called tradition-based artworks stemming from (1) the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, (2) from private Belgian collections, and (3) contemporary African art works. Within this catalogue, the photos and illustrations presented support, align with and "back up" the text. Suffice to say, there are several photo plates of Kongo figurative sculpture and well beyond, but this is not simply a photo exhibition catalogue... Far from it.In reality, any museum or collection "object" alone is but a mere cultural fragment.Such "fragments" have been (and still are) vastly misunderstood. For Western viewers, a kaleidoscope of (often bizarre) notions and perspectives are the norm, especially when poorly presented sculpture and other "art" forms exist.The subjective criteria many aesthetic critics (or book photo critics) use can be amusing. And when one considers "how" such criteria of visual evidence was determined, it becomes down-right jocular at times. It is clear that appropriate cultural relevance and context; vernacular, symbolic, ritual, ceremonial, satirical, entertainment or even the plausibility of therapeutic activities remains grossly misunderstood or lacking.European images, artifacts and ideas first entered Central Africa (Kongo) in 1483 through Portuguese explorers and clerics in search of maritime passage to India. During the first decades of contact, Iberians and Africans had cordial diplomatic relationships between the two continents. They shared beliefs and Central Africans took part in court life with the Portuguese, as well as inter-married into royal households. Africans even reached high ecclesiastical distinctions. By the 15th and 16th century things began to change... Insidiously and drastically.Page 38 provides information about the 1950s Kongo ruler Bambi Graça receiving a visit from a European priest.The Catholic priest sought relics attesting to the region's ancient engagement with Christianity. This "guised deviation" by the Kongo ruler presented a tribal raffia cap, tribal necklace of animal claw and fangs, a European coat, and bronze tribal-made crucifix reflecting deeply disruptive times of civil wars, human catastrophe, slave trades and European colonial assaults. The Catholic priest was more intent on documenting the crucifix rather than its beholder. In the process of his 'astonishment of evangelical proof', he took a snapshot of the entire crucifix that cut off part of Bambi Graça's face. LOL...Pages 88-93 presents a narrative about "two figurative couples" supposedly from the Ubangi region.The Ubangi region was an insignificant area for investigation during the 1800s. Former "Ubangian" languages were Adamawa-Eastern as dozens of tribes were attributed to the Ubangi region. Their sculpture, musical instruments, weaponry, masks, etc. were also known. In 1938, a Belgian curator raised the problem of the lack of specific collection data, and another Belgian art historian again during the late 1950s. It is important to consider the fact that the Ubangi region was characterized by successful migrations and assimilation of Sudanic peoples. Yet, the French publication  Lectures Pour Tous  describes how Father Oliver Allaire of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit was almost killed by the "Bondjo". The "Bondjo" were consistently depicted as ferocious cannibals --- the most primitive of men. By 1910, the "Bondjo" had essentially disappeared, and no longer considered a "threat" for Europeans to deal with. A highly regarded and prized "couple figurative pair" was (falsely) alleged to have come from the supposed "BONDJO-MONZOMBO" peoples according to a French missionary before 1914. The only evidence to this felonious claim was a note attached attributing it to the "Bondjo." The first time the term "Bondjo" appeared was during the 1880s within the writings of French missionary colonialists. William Samarin wrote that the "Bondjo" were never real: a colonial invention by the French  Black Man's Burden: African Colonial Labor on the Congo and Ubangi Rivers, 1880-1900 (African Modernization and Development Series) . However, this invention continued to live in both scientific and popular literature. In short, during the year 1918, the former chief colonial administrator of French equatorial Africa wrote in his survery that "two riverine populations were generally known under the improper name of Bondjo, namely the Ngbaka-Ma'bo... Interesting how this Judeo-religious lie was debunked.And what of real insights concerning nkisi / minkisi?For an exhibition catalogue, the research and collective data is imposing and distingué. It delineates far beyond a publication merely reflecting CT imagery of a Songye power figure. Actually, it succinctly works to aide understanding of 19th and 20th century Congo sculpture - explaining how groups within the DRC constructed (earthly organic) contents needed to eradicate or distance "a source" of antagonistic -- confrontational and warmongering evil, while matching it with another set of substances believed to provide directional orientation for positive affects to occur (cosmology)... Hence, the "POWER FIGURE."Collectors with that "don't give me the facts, just let me look at the object" prism might remain impervious for the moment, but that surly cannot last.

Softcover with flaps, 120 Pages, 12" x 8.5". 125 illustrations (mostly in color). Five-Page "references"/bibliography. Author : Constatine Petridis. Contributions by Cecikle Fromont, Jan-Lodewik Grooters, Frank Herreman, Dunja Hersak, John M. Jansen, Mary Nooter Roberts, Colleen Snyder, Samantha Springer, Hein Vanhee. Published on the occasion of the exhibition "Fragments Of The Invisible : The Rene and Odette Delenne Collection Of Congo Sculpture", October 27th 2013-February 9th 2014, at The Cleveland Museum Of Art. Published by The Cleveland Museum Of Art and 5 Continents, 2013.In 2010, The Cleveland Museum Of Art purchased 34 Congo sculptures from the Belgian Collectors Rene and Odette Delenne, many of which have not been published or exhibited. This is one of the best-presented Museun Exhibition catalogues of tribal art I have seen, with really interesting essays on the figurative art of the Congo, and beautifully photographed Congo figures. Includes a fascinating study of the materials used to create a Songye power figure. Inludes essays on the Art Of The Christian Kongo, Minkisi, Nkisi Figures, Songye Figures, Luba Arts, and the Ubangi Region.See also :  Ancestors of Congo Square: African Art in the New Orleans Museum of Art

Ok these books they have different kinds buy them all get these things into museum s and private tours. I figured out the statues of wholly people and Foods look different in every country. But figured they represent a energy that takes form in different areas. Something from the deep mind enviorment patterns and story representation. So buy this books if you want to study it. I suggest study them all even folk art voodoo flags which really look nice and people worked out God and saint stories charts so you can see the same God in different countries going by different names and looking different. And see different people being them who believe in them or going through a similar story via a God head or God occurrence. What ever you make of these statues make them good or they are no good for you or your Town. Book very big lots of colors. Newspaper size folded in half almost. Would buy it New for better color. Collect a lot wish they would come to your Town follow links for rest of effigy books.

Not much of a collection. CT scan of the Songye Fetish the best part of the book, but the book is not worth the price.