Korte beschrijving/Annotatie

Lumumba as a symbol of decolonisation and as an icon in the arts

Tekst achterflap

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)

Slogan/Promotie

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)

Biografie

Matthias De Groof is scholar and filmmaker. He became Fulbright scholar at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Postdoctoral Fellow (FWO) at the University of Antwerp and Fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies in Helsinki. His latest films include Lobi Kuna (2018), Diorama (2018) and Palimpsest (2019).

Inhoudsopgave

Introduction by Matthias De Groof – The Iconography of Patrice Emery Lumumba PART 1 – LUMUMBA IN HISTORIOGRAPHY: FROM BÊTE NOIRE TO BEATIFICATION Isabelle de Rezende – History as Spectacle Jean Omasombo Tshonda – Lumumba, a Never-ending Tragedy and the Unfulfilled Mourning Process of Colonisation Pedro Monaville – A History of Glory and Dignity: Patrice Lumumba in Historical Imagination and Postcolonial Genealogies Christopher L. Miller – Patrice Lumumba and the Past Conditional: The Virtual Reality of a Martyr Elikia M’Bokolo, interviewed by Julien Truddaïu & Matthias De Groof – The History of Patrice Lumumba’s Historiography GALLERY SECTION PART 2 – ICONOGRAPHY OF LUMUMBA Cinema Matthias De Groof – Lumumba in Cinema Raoul Peck – It’s About the Image Karen Bouwer – Lumumba entre deux genres: Peck’s Filmic Diptych Rosario Giordano – The Masks of the Savage: Lumumba and the Independence of the Congo Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, interviewed by Matthias De Groof – Imagining Lumumba Theatre Piet Defraeye – Lumumba on Stage: X Times a Murder Photography Mark Sealy – Picturing Lumumba: Framed in Colonial Time Poetry Mathieu Zana Etambala – Tributes to Patrice Lumumba in the Poetry of the American Continent, 1961-1966 Comics Véronique Bragard – Between Communicative and Cultural Memory: The Figure of Lumumba as Decolonial Counterpoint in Nicolas Pitz’s Comics Les Jardins du Congo (2013) Music Léon Tsambu – The Figurative Representation of Lumumba in Popular Music Gert Huskens and Idesbald Goddeeris – Lumumba in the Hood: The Legacy of Patrice Lumumba in Rap Music since 1990 Painting Bogumil Jewsiewicki – A Congolese Hero to the Oppressed Peoples of the World: Lumumba, from Christlike Martyr to Guide for the Future Tshibumba Kanda Matulu and Johannes Fabian – Conversations Marlene Dumas and Luc Tuymans, interviewed by Matthias De Groof – My Pauline and Your Patrice Public space Pierre Petit – Official Miniatures: The Figure of Patrice Lumumba in the Global and the National Contexts Julien Truddaïu – Representing Lumumba (1956-1961): The Twists and Turns of Belgian Colonial Propaganda Robbert Jacobs – Down Lumumba Lane Piet Defraeye – Lumumba’s Bike: A Rhizomatic Walk in the Park Epilogue by Matthias De Groof – Shilatembo Contributors Bibliography Index Colophon

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