John Ndevasia Muafangejo (born 5 October 1943 in Etunda lo Nghadi, Angola; died 27 November 1987 in

Katutura Katutura (Otjiherero for ''The place where people do not want to live'') is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which a ...

Township,

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...

) was a Namibian artist who became internationally known as a maker of

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

prints. He created

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum s ...

s and

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

Biography

Muafangejo came from the people of Kwanyama (Kuanjama), who inhabit the northern parts of

Ovamboland Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Ovambo people. The term originally referred to the parts ...

. As a child, he tended cattle barefoot. 1955 his father died, leaving his mother, who was one of eight wives, with no assets. His mother converted to Christianity and moved in 1956 to the Anglican mission station in Epinga which lay south of the border in Namibia. In 1957 John followed her there and attended the local missionary school. At twenty Muafangejo moved to the Holy Cross School of Mission in

Onamunhama Onamunhama (IPA: []) is a village in the Ohangwena Region in the north of Namibia in the Oukwanyama tribal area. It is the location of the former Anglican church, Anglican Mission (station), mission station of Holy Cross. The mission station was f ...

, then to the St Mary's School in

Odibo Odibo is a village in the north of Namibia close to the Angolan border known for its Anglican mission ''St Mary''. It belongs to the Oshikango electoral constituency in the Ohangwena Region. Odibo is also an Archdeaconry in the Diocese of Nam ...

. He stayed there until 1967. An American missionary named C. S. Mallory supported his artistic talent and helped him with the application to the Arts and Craft Centre of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in

Rorke's Drift The Battle of Rorke's Drift (1879), also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the ...

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

in South Africa. The Rorke's Drift Art and Craft Centre was founded in 1962 by the Swedish couple Ulla and Peder Gowenius and played a significant role in the development of

South African art South African art is the visual art produced by the people inhabiting the territory occupied by the modern country of South Africa. The oldest art objects in the world were discovered in a South African cave. Archaeologists have discovered two s ...

in the second half of the 20th century. Here Muafangejo came into contact with different artistic techniques, such as the

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

woodcarving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

, painting and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

. One of his teachers was Azaria Mbatha (b. 1941). He distinguished himself particularly in

and

. In 1968 he suffered a nervous breakdown and was in treatment in the

Madadeni Hospital Madadeni is a town in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which falls under Amajuba District Municipality Amajuba is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of Amajuba is Newcastle. The majority of its 468,040 people sp ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

due to a severe depression. After his release he acquired a degree from Rorke's Drift in 1969. From 1970 to the end of 1974 he worked as an art teacher at the mission school in Odibo. In 1974 he was awarded the Artist-in-residence scholarship in Rorke's Drift. In 1975 he returned to Odibo, and in 1977 moved to

. During 1986–1987 he built a house in the suburb of Katutura. He died suddenly of a heart attack on 27 November 1987.

Works

Muafangejo is considered one of the most important visual artist of his generation. His linocuts are powerful depictions of people and events, expressed in black and white imagery, condensing the colourful landscapes and animal images of Namibia's artists of European origin. He often combines text with images, and his images contain references to the history and culture of the ovaKwanyama. He did not live to see the independence of Namibia, but the violent struggle for it formed the background for his art. Muafangejo’s output contains only ca. 260 different prints. The Namibian Arts Association in Windhoek has a large collection of his works in their Permanent Collection.

Exhibitions (selection)

*1969 Contemporary African Art Exhibition, Camden Arts Centre, LondonA list of Muafangejo's exhibitions until 1988 can be found in Collin Cole: ''John N. Muafangejo 1943–1987 a perspective on his lino-cuts''. 1993 MA Thesis, pp. 77–8
Rhodes University Zaire
*1972 São Paulo Biennial *1975 Arts Centre,

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

(solo exhibition) *1976 Black South Africa: Graphic Art, Brooklyn Museum, New York *1980 John Muafangejo Graphic Art (solo exhibition), Bullankulma Art Gallery, Helsinki *1987 Black Art – John Muafangejo and Peter Clarke, IFA Gallery, Bonn *1988 National Arts Festival,

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana ...

(retrospective)

Literature

*Bruce Arnott: ''John Muafangejo: linocuts, woodcuts and etchings. Linocuts, woodcuts and etchings.'' Struik,

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

. 1977. *Theo Sundermeier: ''Hope for Namibia: linocuts by John Ndevasia Muafangejo.'' Luther-Verlag,

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

1991. *Orde Levinson: ''I was lonelyness. The complete graphic works of John Muafangejo: a catalog raisonné 1968–1987.'' Struik Winchester, Cape Town 1992. *Orde Levinson: ''The African Dream. Visions of love and sorrow: the Art of John Muafangejo.''

Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

, London 1992. *Brenda Danilowitz: John Muafangejo picturing history. In:'' African arts. vol. 26, no. 2'' (1993) pp 46–57, 92–94. *John N. Muafangejo (1943–1987): linocuts from the collection of the National Art Gallery of Namibia: Forum for Cultural Exchange, Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, Stuttgart, 26 January to 27 March 1994. catalog, text: Annaleen one. Stuttgart, 1994. Orde, Forcible Love, A play about John Muafangejo presented at the National Theatre of Namibia for Independence Celebrations March, 1990. Orde Levinson: Visions of Love and Sorrow, the Art of John Muafangejo, trilingual publication in English, with Oshikawanyama and German Translations of updated edition of 1992 Thames and Hudson publication. Includes the script of "Forcible Love" and "A Poets Grave". Kuiseb Publishers, indhoek 2020

References

External links

John Muafangejo Art Centre (JMAC)
John Muafangejo Trust, c/o DACS, for the estate of the artist. {{DEFAULTSORT:Muafangejo, John 20th-century artists Namibian artists 1943 births 1987 deaths Namibian printmakers Ovambo people 20th-century printmakers