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| Beaten by men and drawn on by women, bark cloths are used as swaddling clothes, babies’ blankets, head gear, birthing tunnels through which young boys are reborn during puberty rites, and most commonly as loin cloths (pongo murumba). Each bark cloth is folded in quarters or halves before it is drawn on with a smoothed twig or stem dipped in a type of blackish ink. As a combination of drawing and sculpture (irregular contours/textured surface), Mbuti bark cloths are exceptional works of art. In all drawings the lines determine the shape and size of the spaces, and in turn the spaces affect the rhythm of the lines.
Even though this example is one of a style in which griddled squares and rectangles are involved in contrapuntal and syncopated dialogues, the dynamics, spatial, and linear rhythms vary from one example to another. In this piece, one of the more complex expressions, the artist creates a depth of field between the push and pull of the reticulated line and the griddled forms, but it’s the thrusting enveloped spaces that give diversity to and energize the whole engagement. A good sign of a Mbuti artist’s modus operandi is often the way she addresses the contours of the cloth, and in this case it’s direct and true to contour. Particularly arresting features are the formal activity and open spaces around the center of this enchanting composition. |
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Africa, DRC*
Ituri Forest,
Mbuti Pygmy Peoples,
Mbuti Sub-group
Bark cloth, fruit juice ink or charcoal pigment with fruit juice fixative
Late 20th century
2’7” x 1’5” Mounted
Price: $3500
*Democratic Republic of the Congo
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