Artforum International - Vol. 13, No. 9 May 1975

Archive

Mayombe (Zaire), Nkonde figure, 45", wood, glass, iron, cloth, shells, beads, activating materials. (Museum of Cultural History, UCLA.) POWER sculptures from the Kongo-speaking peoples of the Lower Congo River Basin were produced in a variety of sizes and configurations. Most exhibit an activating capsule in the center of the torso (or other locations), and the figures were often studded with nails, knifeblades or other bits of iron, and hung with strips of cloth, small sculptures, and other offerings. A hunting net envelops the hips of many of the larger examples, as here. Field reports indicate that the purpose for which they were used, under the control of a priest custodian, might range from witnessing oaths and punishing malefactors to healing sickness and fostering individual and group prosperity.

May 1975 Vol. 13, No. 9

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In this issue

Sol Yurick on Popular Culture and High Culture: An Analysis and Evaluation of Taste

The Great Curatorial Dim-Out

Accumulation: Power and Display in African Sculpture

A Tough Nut To Crack

View the entire table of contents here.