In the summer of 1960, the Congolese people were set free from 75 years of Belgian colonial rule. Under the leadership of Patrice Lumumba, the Congolese people forged a new coalition government, but Lumumba would not enjoy his triumph for very long. Just months after leading his people toward independence and becoming the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the popular Lumumba was assassinated, viewed as a threat by many government officials.
By killing him, the new Congolese government hoped to erase Lumumba and his ideals from the minds of the Congolese. The plan proved futile. Lumumba, through his tireless efforts for his people, left an indelible mark on Congolese history and the hearts of the Congo citizens. Remembered now as a larger-than-life figure, Lumumba has been immortalized as a martyr for Congolese independence in the Hood Museum of Art's newest exhibition, "A Congo Chronicle: Patrice Lumumba in Urban Art."
African urban art is rarely displayed for public viewing, let alone in a museum in the United States. Therefore, "A Congo Chronicle" offers a unique opportunity for an American audience to enjoy an art form that has been popular in central Africa since the early twentieth century.
"One of the things we hope people get from this exhibit is an understanding of a vital art tradition within Africa. We are used to seeing traditional African art, but it is interesting how the political history forms this art. It offers an incredible look into a very turbulent time in the Congo," Hood Curator of Academic Programming Kathy Hart said.
Usually urban art was intended for display in public venues such as cafs, where Congolese men would congregate to discuss politics. While urban art often decorated the walls of these cafes, the art in "A Congo Chronicle" was held in private collections, due to the controversy surrounding Lumumba's role in the Congo. In the Hood Museum's galleries, the Congolese bar setting has been recreated, providing the originally intended home for the works on exhibit.
Contemporary issues and historical narratives lay at the heart of urban art, which often reworks political issues into symbolic visual images. In addition, the urban art presents an interpretation of African history from the African point of view, as opposed to an often biased Western standpoint.
"Rather than portraying facts, they interpret history as they see it," Hood Museum Public Relations Coordinator Sharon Reed said.
The exhibit mainly focuses on the work of Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu, a leading Congolese folk artist of the 1970s, as well as several other artists. The exhibit traces the political history of Lumumba through colorful oil paintings, mainly based on media images of the 1950s and 1960s. Certain key photographic captures of Lumumba have become the basis for Lumumba symbolism.
For example, a much-interpreted photograph of Lumumba features the hero with his hand upon a globe of the world. This globe appears in numerous paintings in the exhibition, always situated alongside Lumumba. The globe has come to symbolize Lumumba's role as the "master of the world" in the eyes of the Congolese people.
The familiarity of imagery plays an integral role in the popularity of urban art. As in the globe photograph, urban art focuses upon symbolism that relates to the local people and retells a narrative from a popular viewpoint. The paintings of Lumumba in "A Congo Chronicle" are not necessarily factually precise, but they are based on a mythologized memory of Lumumba that relies on much more than historical accuracy.
"This folk art is done by untrained painters who are reworking popular themes about the history of their country and other themes important to everyday life," Hart said.
Usually created with oils upon fabric and other inexpensive materials, urban art seems to have grown out of the African tradition of oral narration and history. Oral histories are often reinterpreted or retold in different ways over time, but still retain the key elements and messages of the original telling.
"Urban art complements oral histories. You do not often find straight fact in oral history," Reed said.
The exhibit does follow a specific chronology, though. The paintings trace Lumumba's rising popularity and power in the Congo, his arrest and imprisonment, his release, and his eventual assassination. The paintings also feature an extraordinary amount of unity in their characterizations of Lumumba as a leader, as well as his appearance as a prisoner. For instance, in most of the paintings, Lumumba is well dressed in a suit and tie, his elegance translating into his power as a leader.
Lumumba came to the forefront in Congolese politics in 1958, when he founded the Mouvement National Congolais, a national political party based on the ideals of a free and democratic Congo. Lumumba's favor among common Congolese posed a threat to both African and Western political leaders early on. Lumumba's association with the cause for independence had made him the icon of the movement.
It is clear that Lumumba is still remembered by most as the true leader of Congolese independence, both in his actions as well as his ideas. In "Martyr of Independence, January 4, 1959", Lumumba leads a riot for freedom through the city of Leopoldville. Lumumba, who was not an actual participant in this riot, is shown breaking the chains that bind the Congolese to Belgium.
"Lumumba was in jail at the time of these riots. He is symbolically leading them," Reed said.
Even imprisonment could not deter Lumumba. In 1959, he was arrested for inciting riots, but his followers did not give up. In fact, just days after his conviction, Lumumba was released to attend a conference in Brussels. Months later, he became the first Prime Minister of the new Congolese democratic government, with Joseph Kasa-Vubu serving as President.
Lumumba is remembered as a powerful orator and is depicted as such in paintings like "Lumumba's Speech Cause Panic". In this work, Lumumba delivers a speech to a mass of fleeing whites, a literal representation of the fear Lumumba's words provoked in the central government and the West.
Following the secession of the Katanga province from the newly formed Republic, Lumumba's government stood on shaky ground. When Western powers were hesitant to aid the fledgling government in its fight against secession, Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union. Lumumba's reliance on the Soviets put him on bad terms with both Europe and the United States.
In September 1960, President Kasa-Vubu removed Lumumba from the office of Prime Minister. He was placed under house arrest, but fled his home, only to be arrested during the flight. In January 1961, Lumumba was secretly assassinated along with his vice president and a cabinet member. News of Lumumba's death was kept quiet until weeks after the assassination. His body was never found.
After his death, Lumumba became known as a martyr for the cause of independence. In the final section of the exhibition, entitled "Lumumba Mythologized", Lumumba has become a Jesus-like figure. In the final paintings of the exhibition, Lumumba is shown at peace, lying out in the woods, with a gunshot wound in his side. Two paintings show similar scenes of the assassinated Lumumba, but each has a different intention. One is designed for a local Congolese audience, featuring subtleties that are meaningful to the Congolese. The other more colorful work is designed for a Western audience, with less muted associations to martyrdom, as represented by three crosses near Lumumba's lifeless body.
"Patrice Lumumba is a great African hero and has become as mythic " as legendary " as John F. Kennedy for the United States or Che Guevarra for South America," Hart said.
Although the government that assassinated Lumumba tried to censor all imagery and discussion of him after his death, urban artists continued to keep Lumumba's memory and legend alive. Among the Congolese, Lumumba came to symbolize a hope for the future. His memory lives on in the minds of the people he helped to free from colonization and in the urban art tradition that breathes new life into the historical narrative.
