Issue 15
Strength in Numbers
By Camille Lowry
AN ELITE GROUP OF CONGOLESE ARTISTS SHOW THE WORLD THE VIBRANT URBAN CULTURE OF KINSHASA
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been long associated with war, corruption and destruction. From the megalomaniacal regime of Mobutu to the devastating fratricidal war of the last decade, this sub-Saharan African country has suffered economic ruin, and for its people, hunger, disease and death.
In December The New York Times reported that the Congo is on the brink of another civil war. As a result of the burgeoning conflict, 425,000 people have been displaced from their homes, and others are experiencing severe hardships. In contrast to these harsh realities there has existed a rich local artistry which reflects a thriving spirit and vibrant culture.
Chéri Samba, Moké, Bodo, Chéri Chérin and Cheik Ledy are the five men collectively known as the School of Popular Painting. The members of this group, founded in the mid-1970s by Samba, have served as both pioneers of Congolese contemporary art and unofficial cultural ambassadors for their country.
These artists were born in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and their work deals with themes of urban existence—violence, illness, sexuality and technology. They all share the same source of inspiration, the capital city of Kinshasa. Mostly self-taught, they use the skills they acquired as billboard and sign makers to make large scale acrylic paintings in vibrant colors, often incorporating text.
Due to a lack of local museums or galleries in the Congo, this artwork was first exhibited in the street, on the walls of the artists’ studios or even hung from mango trees, which attracted crowds to view and discuss the artwork. The artists’ careers progressed and they exhibited in important international venues. But the group continued to hang their art in the street, where the public could have immediate access to the work—the paintings were about the public, for the public.
Samba, Moké and Bodo were the trailblazers of Congolese popular painting. Their careers took off after they were included in the 1978 African art exhibition “Art Partout” [Art everywhere], in Kinshasa. In 1989 Samba brought international attention to the art movement when his creations were shown alongside major contemporary artists like Francesco Clemente at the Magiciens de la Terre [Magicians of the Earth] exhibit at the George Pompidou Center.
Since then, a number of the artists have exhibited internationally. Jean Pigozzi, a renowned art collector, and curator Andre Magnin have purchased their works, including them in the largest private collection of contemporary African art in the world, titled the Contemporary African Art Collection. Recently, the Tate Modern exhibited eight pieces from the Congolese School of Popular Painting in a show called States of Flux.
International exposure has brought a new dimension to the artists’ work. Tate curator Sheena Wagstaff says, “The School of Popular Painting [was] primarily geared towards the local [Kinshasa] market. But, of course most of [the artists] have sold internationally, and so their scopes have broadened, and therefore so have their themes.”
New themes that have emerged are cultural tourism, and a selfreflective examination of these men’s lives as successful artists. In one of Moké’s works, “Untitled,” the artist is depicted standing before several paintings wearing a dapper suit that is in stark contrast to his simple surroundings.
Wagstaff explains, “A lot of them have moved into a very selfreverential, wry take on the artist as celebrity, or people wanting to collect the artist as opposed to collecting the work.” Samba illustrates this in “Une Peinture a Defender” (A Painting to Fight For), in which he stands as if crucified before a painting, shielding it from collectors.
Chéri Samba, who is credited with coining the term “popular painting,” is the most well known artist of the group. He first found success as a witty comic strip illustrator, and his biting humor has translated into his fine art, which are cinematic in scope. In a review of Samba’s work, The New York Times said that the artist “portrays the difficulties and hypocrisies of everyday life with a combination of tenderness, humor and bitterness that cuts through language barriers.”
Samba says, “I favor a direct style to convey messages that speak to everyone, both the initiated and the uninitiated. And the term ‘popular’ seemed the most appropriate to me.” It should be noted that the word popular translates to “common” in French, the official language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Samba is known for his use of text, a practice he utilized to make his work stand apart from his peers, and engage his audience. He says, “I noticed that people in the street would walk by paintings, glance at them and keep going. I thought that by adding text, people would have to stop and take time to read it, to get more into the painting and admire it.”
He sees himself as not only a painter, but also an educator. His works are morality tales that transmit the socio-political issues of his home country to the greater world. “Little Kadogo” features a boy in fatigues raising his hands in surrender, with a third arm, brandishing a gun emerging from his back.
His paintings also exhibit a brazen sexuality, featuring ripe, curvaceous women. Chéri Samba acknowledges this with the cheeky statement, “My popularity made me quite a hit with the ladies. I was proud of my conquests. I was the ladies’ Chéri, and I also wanted to be the art lovers’ Chéri, and the Chéri of the gods.”
Unlike the other self-taught popular artists, Cheik Ledy was a skilled painter, having trained under his older brother Chéri Samba for 10 years. He mimicked his brother’s style of using text in his work and using humor to address grave topics. Andre Magnin described Ledy’s work as “an exhortation” to his countrymen “to take responsibility” for the conflict and corruption predominating their nation. Ledy died of AIDS in 1997.
Moké differs from the other artists in the group by focusing on the lively world of the local middle class—who were the patrons of his work. He painted street scenes, bar life, celebrations and portraits of the Kinshasa bourgeoisie.
Magnin says that Moké painted characters “without concern for likeness or perspective. Instead, he celebrated the painterly aspects of his art, using a rich palette and vividly animated compositions.” The artist did not rely on text to convey his messages—the images were strong enough. Some of his paintings were so beloved that, that local admirers reproduced them by the thousands. The artist passed away in 2001.
Bodo, who is an evangelical Christian pastor for the Pentecostal church, creates artwork that is more internally reflective than the work of his compatriots. He says, “I express everything that happens to me, so that I am no longer focused on specifically African topics and address myself to the entire world.”
In 2002, the surviving members of the School of Popular Painting, along with some emerging artists, formalized their fellowship, by creating the Association of Painters of Popular Art (AAPOOO). The group’s slogan is “Unity Makes Force.” The School of Popular Painting has garnered the admiration and “participation of ministers and government officials,” Bodo says. “We have been admired by the people.”
Jean Pigozzi says, “African art is a weapon against prejudice… Africans produce art that is as good and as creative as any other region in the world, and such art can help to keep this huge, bubbling continent proud and vital.”
The artists of the School of Popular painting have broadcast a purely Congolese perspective to the world. Unified, they have created a formidable, internationally recognized voice for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
History of the Congo1482
Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão becomes the first European to navigate the Congo region.16th-17th Centuries
The slave trade spreads to the Congo.1870s-1880s
King Leopold II of Belgium sets up a private colony, known as the Congo Free State.1908
Belgium annexes the territory from Leopold’s private control, in light of atrocities committed under the king’s reign being publicly exposed. The region is renamed the Belgian Congo.
1960
Independence. The fiercely anti-colonial Patrice Lumumba, 35, becomes the first prime minister, Joseph Kasa-Vubu becomes the first president. The Congolese army mutinies, causing civil unrest. Lumumba seeks financial assistance from the Soviet Union. The CIA backs a coup d’état, orchestrated by Colonel Joseph Mobutu to oust Lumumba from office.
1961
Lumumba is assassinated, likely killed with the concent of Belgium and the U.S.
1963
Moïse Tshombe, leader of the separatist Katanga region, agrees to end secession.
1964
President Kasa-Vubu appoints Tshombe prime minister of the Congo.
1965
Joseph Mobutu becomes president after he seizes power in a bloodless coup.
1971
Mobutu renames the country the Republic of Zaire, changes his name to Mobutu Sésé Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga, which means “The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake.”
1974
Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s famous fight, “The Rumble in the Jungle,” is held in Kinshasa, Zaire. Mobutu Sésé Seko puts up $10 million to finance the fight.
1996-1997
The First Congo War breaks out. Anti-Mobutu forces, with the backing of Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Angola form the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo- Zaire (ADFL)—and successfully ousts Mobutu from his 32-year presidency. Laurent-Désiré Kabila becomes the new president. The country is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
1998
The Second Congo War breaks out.
1999
The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement is signed by six nations embroiled in the war: Angola, the DRC, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Two rebel groups, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) and the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) also signed the treaty.
2001
Kabila is assassinated. His son succeeds him as president.
2003
The end of the Second Congo War.
2005-2006
A new constitution is approved by parliament and democratic vote; the first free elections since Mobutu came to power are held. Joseph Kabila continues his presidency.
2008
As civil unrest continues, peace talks take place between the government and General Laurent Nkunda, leader of rebel forces in eastern Congo.