Lumumba in the Arts (Paperback)

Matthias De Groof

ISBN 10: 9462701741 / ISBN 13: 9789462701748

Published by Leuven University Press, Leuven, 2020

About this Item

Paperback. It is no coincidence that a historical figure such as Patrice Emery Lumumba, independent Congo's first prime minister, who was killed in 1961, has lived in the realm of the cultural imaginary and occupied an afterlife in the arts. After all, his project remained unfinished and his corpse unburied. The figure of Lumumba has been imagined through painting, photography, cinema, poetry, literature, theatre, music, sculpture, fashion, cartoons and stamps, and also through historiography and in public space. Reverting to either beatifying or diabolising his persona, no art form has been able to escape and remain indifferent to Lumumba. Artists observe the memory and the unresolved suffering that inscribed itself both upon Lumumba's body and within the history of Congo. If Lumumba - as an icon - lives on today, it is because the need for decolonisation does as well.Rather than seeking to unravel the truth of actual events surrounding the historical Lumumba, this book engages with his representations. What is more, it considers everyhistoriography as inherently embedded in iconography. Film scholars, art critics, historians, philosophers, and anthropologists discuss the rich iconographic heritage inspired by Lumumba. Furthermore, Lumumba's Iconography in the Arts offers unique testimonies by a number of artists who have contributed to Lumumba's polymorphic iconography, such as Marlene Dumas, Luc Tuymans, Raoul Peck, and Tshibumba Matulu, and includes contributions by such highly acclaimed scholars as Gayatri Spivak,Johannes Fabian, Bogumil Jewsiewicky, and Elikia M'Bokolo.Contributors: Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda (artist), Bogumil Jewsiewicki (em., Universite Laval), Christopher L. Miller (Yale University), Elikia M'Bokolo (EHESS), Gayatri Spivak (Columbia University), Gert Huskens (ULB), Idesbald Goddeeris (KU Leuven), Isabelle de Rezende (Central Washington University), Jean Tshonda Omasombo (Africa Museum), Johannes Fabian (em., University of Amsterdam), Julien Truddaiu (CEC), Karen Bouwer (University of San Francisco), Leon Tsambu (University of Kinshasa), Luc Tuymans (artist), Mark Sealy (Autograph - ABP), Marlene Dumas (artist), Pedro Monaville (NYU), Pierre Petit (ULB), Piet Defraeye (University of Alberta), Raoul Peck (artist), Robbert Jacobs (artist), Rosario Giordano (Universita della Calabria), Tshibumba Matulu (artist), Veronique Bragard (UCLouvain), Zana Etambala (AfricaMuseum)This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer Review Content). Lumumba as a symbol of decolonisation and as an icon in the arts Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9789462701748

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Lumumba in the Arts (Paperback)
• Publisher: Leuven University Press, Leuven
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9462701741
• ISBN 13: 9789462701748
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

It is no coincidence that a historical figure such as Patrice Emery Lumumba, independent Congo's first prime minister, who was killed in 1961, has lived in the realm of the cultural imaginary and occupied an afterlife in the arts. After all, his project remained unfinished and his corpse unburied. The figure of Lumumba has been imagined through painting, photography, cinema, poetry, literature, theatre, music, sculpture, fashion, cartoons and stamps, and also through historiography and in public space. No art form has been able to escape and remain indifferent to Lumumba. Artists observe the memory and the unresolved suffering that inscribed itself both upon Lumumba's body and within the history of Congo. If Lumumba – as an icon – lives on today, it is because the need for decolonisation does as well.

Rather than seeking to unravel the truth of actual events surrounding the historical Lumumba, this book engages with his representations. What is more, it considers every historiography as inherently embedded in iconography. Film scholars, art critics, historians, philosophers, and anthropologists discuss the rich iconographic heritage inspired by Lumumba. Furthermore, Lumumba in the Arts offers unique testimonies by a number of artists who have contributed to Lumumba's polymorphic iconography, such as Marlene Dumas, Luc Tuymans, Raoul Peck, and Tshibumba Kanda Matulu, and includes contributions by such highly acclaimed scholars as Johannes Fabian, Bogumil Jewsiewicky, and Elikia M'Bokolo.

Contributors: Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda (artist), Karen Bouwer (University of San Francisco), Véronique Bragard (UCLouvain), Piet Defraeye (University of Alberta), Matthias De Groof (scholar/filmmaker), Isabelle de Rezende (independent scholar), Marlene Dumas (artist), Johannes Fabian (em., University of Amsterdam), Rosario Giordano (Università della Calabria), Idesbald Goddeeris (KU Leuven), Gert Huskens (ULB), Robbert Jacobs (artist), Bogumil Jewsiewicki (em., Université Laval), Tshibumba Kanda Matulu (artist), Elikia M'Bokolo (EHESS), Christopher L. Miller (Yale University), Pedro Monaville (NYU), Raoul Peck (artist), Pierre Petit (ULB), Mark Sealy (Autograph ABP), Julien Truddaïu (CEC), Léon Tsambu (University of Kinshasa), Jean Omasombo Tshonda (Africa Museum), Luc Tuymans (artist), Mathieu Zana Etambala (AfricaMuseum)

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

About the Author

Matthias De Groof is a postdoctoral researcher at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies in Finland and is affiliated with the University of Antwerp.