The dialogs of the spirits
Date
1993
Authors
Kangai, Phebion
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The idea behind this thesis can be traced conceptually to my early experiences with colorful reproductions of Western art at an Anglican mission high school in Zimbabwe. At that time I never suspected there could be a link between the Shona spirits and Western art, or any other art for that matter. But I do remember being intensely fascinated by pictures such as Paul Klee's "Death and Fire" (1940). I was attracted to Paul Klee and similar Western artists because of something powerful and familiar but intangible in their images. Later on I connected what I saw in these images to the spirit dances in Shona culture. This connection was even more powerful when I came across the work of the Abstract Expressionists later. Thus, this thesis revolves around the ideas of Shona dance rituals and spirit posession, current theoretical developments in contemporary Africa art, and the legacy of Western colonialism in African art.
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thesis