- Title
- Ukwowa mumwela nabangeli: transcendence, flight and inculturation in Zambian devotional artwork
- Creator
- Mulenga, Aaron Samuel
- Subject
- Idols and images in art -- Zambia
- Subject
- Transcendence (Philosophy) in art
- Subject
- Christianity and culture -- Zambia
- Subject
- Flight in art
- Subject
- Christian art and symbolism -- Zambia
- Subject
- Representation (Philosophy)
- Subject
- Black people in art
- Subject
- Ethnicity in art
- Subject
- Group identity in art
- Subject
- Art and society -- Zambia
- Subject
- Yombwe, Laurence
- Date Issued
- 2020
- Date
- 2020
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MFA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146278
- Identifier
- vital:38511
- Description
- With a focus on my artistic practice, this paper seeks to interrogate the tensions and overlaps in various representations of transcendence that have shaped my spirituality by interrogating how these have featured in Eurocentric Christian iconography and Zambian cultural practices, particularly cultural artefacts used for spiritual flight, housed in Zambian museums. Transcendence is understood by some as a change in a person’s physiological or psychological state that allows them to go beyond their experience of time, place or being. I understand transcendence to be the moment that one’s spirit is elevated beyond the limitations of their physical body. The use of Biblical text relating to flight will also be discussed as a comparative study to explore how transcendence through flight operates within Christianity and a Zambian cultural context. Furthermore, I shall interrogate how black artists (particularly Zambian), such as Laurence Yombwe, address the omission of black people from Christian iconography (which is predominantly depicted as white people). I aim to highlight the important role that representation plays in allowing for an individual to experience transcendence. I believe inculturation is a fitting solution to address some of the pitfalls in Christian iconography brought about due to the lack of representation of black people. Inculturation can be understood as an adaptation in the way the gospel of Jesus is preached to non-Christian cultures, and in turn, how these cultures influence the teachings of the gospel. Finally, I will explore how transcendence as a concept applies in my artworks and how the materials I use highlight this concept. Through my art, I grapple to combine what seem like disparate spiritual paradigms, arising from my culture and my faith. My artwork seeks to contribute to the work that particular artists (a majority of them black) are grappling with to correct the lack of representation of black people in Christian iconography. I will use the notion of inculturation as an avenue through which to interrogate the tensions I experience while exploring the concept of transcendence.
- Format
- 81 pages
- Format
- Publisher
- Rhodes University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Humanities, Fine Art
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Mulenga, Aaron Samuel
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RU Department of Fine Art
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | MULENGA-MFA-TR20-287.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |