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African Art
And That's Shown Here
u^m m ■ new African art: the central afr
All
Question: As • member of the Mercer community, whet does
Macon have to offer you?
Mn. Peggy Gough, Adminls-
itritor —
I * ‘Macon b en
tirely culturally
deprived. Mer
cer students
should fall
1 down on their
knees and give
' praise to Jerry
Stone and the Macon Theatre
for their efforts.”
Don Harrison, Student -
“The city of Macon has abeo-
| lutely zero to
offer me. In fact
it seems they
want Mercer to
get out. There
|seems to be
community
hostility and lack of interest in
Mercer’s well-being. I think
that somebody should take
steps toward better relations —
on both parts.”
Glen Hodges, Maintenance
— “Generally . .
nothing.-
Macon should
offer Mercer
and its people
more. Mercer
should be al-
lowed to
pand. Mercer
contributes a
good deal to
Macon and gets nothing but
hostility in return.”
>, Maintenan
B
Dr. Bond. Faculty — “No
thing! I believe
that traditional
ly Macon’s pro
blem is that it
has been too
provincial. I
would expect
that with the influx of major
highways and a change in the
face of the population that
Macon will, eventually, redeem
itself."
Karen Chester, Student —
“Nothing. There
are no facilities
for college stu
dents and as a
result, Mercer
students are re
strie ted to the
Mercer campus. Macon should
be willing to allow Mercer to
expand and progress. A college
town should have some rele
vance to its college.”
Columbus
H . Posey,
Registrar —
“Excellent
postal ser
vice."
Dori Ripley,
“Actually no
thing. Mercer
students have
been forced by
the conditions I
In Macon to I
become t
closed in their own world here
on campus. So little in Macon
attempts to relate to Mercer.”
Sorority Commended
On Rush Retreat
This summer the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority held their Rush
Retreat at Epworth-By-The-Sea, on St. Simons Island, Georgia. A
few days ago Dr. Harris received the following letter from Mr.
Bernard L. Brown, Superintendent of Epworth. Mr. Brown com
mended the group for their cooperation through the entire stay.
Dr. Harria stated, in a letter
NEW AFRICAN ART: THE CENTRAL-AFRICAN WORK
SHOP-SCHOOL, 46 sculptures in stone by 28 African artists, has
been on view at the Art Gallery of Connell Student Center,
Mercer University until Oct. 13, according to Marshall Dougherty,
chairman of the Art Department. Frank McEwen, Director of The
National Gallery of Rhodesia organized the exhibition for The
Museum of Modem Art, New York.
The Central African Work
shop-School, founded by Mr.
McEwen in 1957, is a self-sup
porting, non-profit institution,
consisting of 75 full-time art
ists. Of the more than 1,000
original applicants to the
chool, many coming on foot
from hundreds of miles around
Salisbury, the 75 remaining
have left former occupations as
farmers, builders, musicians,
etc. and are now supported
solely by sales of their works.
The artists work mainly in
stone, which they themselves
quarry from a great local
variety, in three centers, one in
Salisbury, and two far out of
the bush. The uniqueness of
their work results from the
complete geopaphk-al and
philosophical isolation of the
artists, and the rustic simplicity
of their lives. Still deeply im
mersed in belief in their anci
ent folklore, religious ritual
and magic, the artists' inspira
tion comes solely from within.
Before the founding of the Na
tional Callery no art had been
on view in Rhodesia, and since
the existence of the Workshop-
School that artists have created
their own local tradition, there
being no traces of any previous
regional art extant except the
stone pieces found among the
ruins of the ancient temple
Zimbabwe, dating from the
middle ages. These are now
housed in the British Museum
and in Cape Town.
In the body of work pro
duced at the Workshop-School,
certain characteristics common
to art of Western Africa are
present (prominence of the
head, emphasis on verticality, a
straight frontal pose, the
mouth puckered in trance,
human features on animal
shapes), as well as many purely
local characteristics: naturalis
tic rendering of men and
animals, a relaxed peacefulness
to Mr. Brown, “Yours is such a
fine and untuual letter that 1
am taking the liberty of send
ing copies to the president of
the sorority and a few of the
leaders on the Mercer Campus
who I feel sure will greatly ap
preciate its contents It will
serve as a source of encourage
ment to many here as we strive
constantly to attain the highest
goals in educational, spiritual,
and cultural endeavor.”
Below is the letter received
from Mr. Brown.
Dear Dr. Harris:
Very recently we have had
the pleasure of having thirty-
five young ladies of the Alpha
Gamma Delta Sorority of Mer
cer University with us here for
several days.
This is one of the finest
groups we have had to meet
with us here this wmmer. All
of them certainly upheld the
ideals of a Christian university
like Mercer. I want to com
mend them to you as a won
derful group of lovely young
ladies. No group could have
been more cooperative with us.
I was moat favorably Impressed
with the entire group.
It is a real priviledge to have
■ group like this come and
share our facilities at Epworth
By The-Saa. If we can be of
service to you or any of your
campus groups at any time, I
hope you will call upon ua
Sincerely yours,
Bernard L. Brown
Brother Wade
Golden Platter
Here. 1 wuz man. sitting at
my local chapter of the Stu
dents for a Digestive Supper
when in came our first witness
- the great Director, the magi
cian of Shepherds’ pie, and
mystery meat. He flowed
through the air on saintly saves
of aroma emanating on the re
frains of that hymn by Brother
Harlow Guthrie, “Krakow’s
Co-Op.”
He told us of the necessity
of meeting a budget - money
counts, not students - at heart
he’s just a dirty capitalist not a
dietician. He’s bigoted and
biased - he just likes fish-
sticks: fishsticks au gratin, fish
sticks scalloped, braised fish-
sticks, and peppermint peanut
butter fishsticks.
He told us about his help —
they all got arthritis — that’s
why they don’t ever smile.
They don’t make much money,
either, but they don’t really
need it, they’re only humans.
At least, they get to go home
and not eat school food all the
time.
He told us about the “open
door policy” — open it when
you want to and don’t worry
about the students. Ain’t they
already paid for their meal tic
kets? They're captured, ha, ha,
ha!
He told us all right — and
guest what? It’s easier to digest
his speech rather than his
meals.
Selah.
Bulawandi:BIRD LIKE SPIRIT.
Green Steatite (68.1094). Lent
by the artist
in pose and expression, and
many facets of local lore, such
as mythological foetus crea
tures, ancestor spirits, and ani
mals and men possessed by
spirits.
Some artists work in a
primitive style, the works
assuming a monumentality re
sulting from stark economy of
form: Heads, by Lemon Moses
(leader of one of the school
groups), Kitela, Simoni, and
Smart Garaza are all in this
basic vein. A few of the artists
begin work in a primitive
mode, then unaccountably pass
through what might be termed
a pre-Columbian period before
achieving personal realization.
Shumba, by Mazhambe, is an
example of this phenomenon.
The lyrical works of 19-
year-old Bernard Matemera re
present creatures from local
lore, the vulnerable foetus fig
ure waiting to receive a living
spirit, and the Wydoma,
mythological tree-dwellers said
to live in the dense forests of
the lower Zambesi. A sense of
the magical and supernatural
also surrounds the works of
Joseph Ndandarika, once
Movie Review
Grapes of
Wrath
by J. W. Right
VISIT SQUIRE SHOP FOR THE MOST TRUSTED
NAMES IN YOUNG MEN’S CLOTHES
Gaat Shirts and Wootslen Arnold Pilm«i Sweaters
GoM Cup Soclu Loodou Fog Outer Wear A Rain Wear
4U Cherry Strawt
Phono SH 4-2101
A good number of students
turned out to experience the
flint “Grapes of Wrath.”
Every other word oozed
with symbolism The Bank, the
government and the job-hold
ing public, time and time again
aimed for the roots of the
transient workers and made a
hit. Down and out they made a
pitiable journey to California
which resulted In nothing more
for the 2-hour trek than the re
solution that “we keep a
cornin’ — we’re the people that
live.”
Henry Fonda and cast were
for the most part convincing
though the irksomeness of
Rose Sharon during her pre
gnancy worked to defeat the
flawless noble condition of the
poor. For a despicable woman
she was believable while the
others, though comic or heart
warming at times, were too
philosophical to be true to
backward rural form. Their
movements were convincing if
the burning of old momentos is
interpreted symbolically apart
from their rural chatter inter
spersed with educated philo
sophy.
The backdrop painters must
have had a field day painting
shanties, hills and fog. The illu
sion of space normally found
outdoors was lost in the clear-
apprenticed to a famous
wizard, whose Sleeping Man, a
giant with an enormously long
neck, he has seen in dreams.
Botom Mpayi, himself prone to
trance, carves portraits of him
self in this semi-conscious
state.
Joram Mariga, leader of an
other group, an educated and
sophisticated artist in the
Western sense, is yet deeply
Immersed in local tradition,
and benefits widely from both
worlds. His works distinguish
themselves by the rare beauty
and high polish of the stone,
one. Baboon Spirit Man,
Seated, in a rarely used semi
precious purple lapidolite. The
exquisite six-legged unicorn.
Universal Spirit, is a mytholo
gical creature connected with
rain-making ritual.
The tree has a mythological
sympolism, believed to be the
cut outlines of the most distant
hills and trees. The contrast of
black, white and grey was well
done, however. At no point
were scenes obscured by exces
sive or suggestive darkness or
unbalanced by a disarray of na
tural shadows. A shadow on
the wall was meant to be
looked at and interpreted as
the shadow of this, that, or the
other. Each scene was carefutly
planned so as to work the angle
for what it was worth. No de
tails were left to the imagina
tion.
The poverty, and injustice
done to the migrant workers of
the thirties was brought home
long before the Joads’ resolu
tion to have faith and keep
trying for a better life. Taken
seriously as a whole, the film
forced the audience at every
turn to agree that a gross pro
blem existed. It did not offer
solutions or alternative themes.
It underlined one very biased
view of the Depression with
severe emphasis.
“The Grapes of Wrath” was
education to those who did not
read the novel and food for
thought for the abstract. It was
not pleasant light evening en
tertainment. Addicts to
imagery and theme should
watch for its return.
dwelling place of ancestor
spirits. It was perhaps this le
gend that inspired Henry in his
geometric renderings of Cactus
and Tree, the style and subject
matter of these works being
unique within the school
Although the works have all
been made in the last eleven
years, they are not “modern”
in a Western sense, and can
best be thought of as a move
ment in art executed by artists
whose frame of reference has
no basis in knowledge of other
art produced today, but rather
a rich heritage, coming from
deep within the vast regions of
ancient African civilization.
Mr. Carl Aeschbacher,
member of the famous archi
tectural firm of Skidmore.
Owings and Merrill, made a
special trip from New York to
see the exhibition before it is
moved to California.
Your Home Away from Home
The College
Snackbar
"A haven of Southern hospitality"
FOR A GOOD HOME-COOKED MEAL
Try One of the Snack Bar Weekly Specials
THEY ARE “GOOD!”
Only 97£, plus tax
Saturday 8:30- 100 5:00-11:00
Sunday 3:00-11:00
THELMA ROSS, Manager
THE MERCER CLUSTER. October 14, 1969 - S