John Takawira
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John Takawira (1938–8 November 1989), was a
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
an
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. The background to the sculptural movement of which he was a leading member is given in the article on Shona art.


Early life and education

Takawira was born in
Chegutu Chegutu, originally known as Hartley, is a town in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe. Location The town is located in Chegutu District, Mashonaland West, in central northern Zimbabwe. It lies in the Hartley Hills southwest of the capital ...
, the son of a policeman, but grew up in
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where he was educated at the Mount Mellersay Mission School. He was deeply influenced by his mother, Mai, who had an imposing personality and a talent for story-telling based on her knowledge of Shona myths. She was also a
potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...
.
Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...
and
Lazarus Lazarus may refer to: People *Lazarus (name), a surname and a given name * Lazarus of Bethany, a Biblical figure described as being raised from the dead by Jesus * Lazarus, a Biblical figure from the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus * Lazar ...
( es), his younger brothers, became sculptors and John retained many elements of his traditional upbringing throughout his life. At the age of twenty, Takawira was introduced to sculpture by his uncle, the sculptor
Joram Mariga Joram Mariga has been called (and believed himself to be) the “Father of Zimbabwean Sculpture” because of his influence on the local artistic community starting in the 1950s and continuing until his death in 2000. The sculptural movement of whi ...
. Almost immediately he was noticed by
Frank McEwen Francis Jack McEwen, OBE (19 April 1907 – 15 January 1994) was an English artist, teacher, and museum administrator. He is best remembered today for his efforts to bring attention to the work of Shona artists in Rhodesia and for helping ...
, the founding director of the new Rhodes National Gallery who invited him to become among the first members of the Workshop School at what is now the
National Gallery of Zimbabwe The National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe's contemporary art and visual heritage. The original National Gallery of Rhodesia was designed and directed by ...
; from 1963 his work was exhibited there. In 1969, McEwen's wife Mary (née McFadden) established Vukutu, a sculptural farm near
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; when the School moved there Takawira followed, becoming one of its most important figures from 1969 until its closure in 1976. In this period pre-independence, the white Rhodesian government saw the Vukutu artists as a politically motivated group and John was at one time arrested for carrying stones, which was seen as a provocation. John Takawira contributed his sculpture ''Skeletal Baboon'' to an exhibition called Arte de Vukutu shown in 1971 at the
Musée National d'Art Moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou. In 2021 it ranked 10th in the list of ...
and in 1972 at the
Musée Rodin The Musée Rodin () of Paris, France, is an art museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as well as just ...
. These were arranged by McEwen, who had lived and worked in
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prior to his appointment in
Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
. The piece was an enormous success, being called by Charles Ratton the "finest art to emerge from Africa in the twentieth century". Almost immediately Takawira's international reputation was made and he became a full-time professional sculptor.


Later life and exhibitions

Takawira developed the skeleton theme that had inspired
Sylvester Mubayi Sylvester Mubayi (1942 – 13 December 2022) was a Zimbabwean sculptor. Early life and education Sylvester Mubayi was born in 1942 in the Chihota Reserve near Marondera, Zimbabwe, the sixth child in a family of nine. He left school aged sixteen a ...
, with whom he had worked at Vukutu, and it is a testament to his power as an artist that he was able through these works to express his own feelings about the Shona religion and its beliefs about contact with the spirit world. Some of the pieces from this time are ''Skeletal Man'' (1969), ''Owl Spirit'' (1977) and ''He Has Life: Human Skeleton with Baboon Skull'', the latter now in the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
as part of the McEwen bequest. One of John’s works, called ''Hornbill Man'', was depicted on a Zimbabwean stamp issued to commemorate
Commonwealth Day Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, held on the second Monday in March. While the date holds some official status in select member states of the Commonwealth, observances of the date are not uniform, an ...
on 14 March 1983. It formed the 30c value in a set completed with works by
Henry Munyaradzi Henry Munyaradzi, also known as Henry Munyaradzi Mudzengerere, (1931 – 27 February 1998) was a Zimbabwean sculptor. The sculptural movement of which he was part is usually referred to as "Shona sculpture" (see Shona art and Art of Zimbabwe ...
,
Joseph Ndandarika Joseph Ndandarika (1940 – May 1991) was a Zimbabwean sculptor known for his figurative works. Early life and education Ndandarika was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia and grew up in Rusape. He was the son of a Malawian bus driver and a Shona mother ...
and
Nicholas Mukomberanwa Nicholas Mukomberanwa (1940–12 November 2002), was a Zimbabwean sculpture, sculptor and art teacher. He was among the most famous protégés of the Workshop School at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. He was a mentor to the Mukomberanwa Family ...
. Takawira was among the first Zimbabwean sculptors to combine polished areas with rougher stone on the surface of his sculptures but he avoided coloured stones, preferring ''springstone'' (a type of hard black serpentine) which he is said to have named because his chisel sprang away from it owing to its extreme hardness. His subjects included references to traditional
Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people ** Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today ** Shona languages, a wider group of languages defined in the early 20th century ** Kingdom of Zimbabwe, a Shona stat ...
sources including ''Mwari'' (God), but women were a particular favorite which he returned to throughout his life: they were often shown with elongated necks and flowing hair. More of his works are in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe than those of any other artist. In 1988, one of John's works called ''Chapungu'' (a
bateleur The bateleur (; ''Terathopius ecaudatus''), also known as the bateleur eagle, is a medium-sized eagle in the family Accipitridae. It is often considered a relative of the snake eagles and, like them, it is classified within the subfamily Circaet ...
eagle) was presented to
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
. The catalogue “Chapungu: Culture and Legend – A Culture in Stone” for the exhibition at
Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
in 2000 depicts John’s sculptures ''United Family'' (Springstone, 1987) on p. 24-25 and ''Rural Mother'' (Springstone, 1986) on p. 60-61. Both show elements of John's characteristic hollowed-out style that can be considered an extension of his early skeleton figures. Takawira died suddenly in November 1989. His son Gerald Takawira also became a sculptor.Joosten B (2001), ''Sculptors from Zimbabwe, the first generation'', Nijmege Printers, The Netherlands,


Selected solo and group exhibitions

*1965 New Art from Rhodesia, Commonwealth Arts Festival,
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, London *1971 Sculpture Contemporaine des Shonas d’Afrique,
Musée Rodin The Musée Rodin () of Paris, France, is an art museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as well as just ...
, Paris, France *1972 Shona sculptures of Rhodesia, ICA Gallery, London *1976 John Takawira, Standard Bank Gallery,
Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
*1983 The sculpture of John Takawira, PG Gallery,
National Gallery of Zimbabwe The National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe's contemporary art and visual heritage. The original National Gallery of Rhodesia was designed and directed by ...
*1985 Big John Takawira, The Gallery Shona Sculpture,
Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
*1985 John Takawira, Feingarten Gallery,
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*1989 Zimbabwe op de Berg, Foundation Beelden op de Berg,
Wageningen Wageningen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a ...
, The Netherlands *1989 Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibition,
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,
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(toured for 9 months) *1990 Contemporary Stone Carving from Zimbabwe,
Yorkshire Sculpture Park The Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is an art gallery, with both open-air and indoor exhibition spaces, in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It shows work by British and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barb ...
, UK *1994 Moderne Afrikanische Kunst,
Palmengarten The Palmengarten is one of two botanical gardens in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is located in the Westend-Süd district. It covers a surface of 22 hectares. It is a major tourist attraction. History Like many public sites in Frankfur ...
, Frankfurt am Main, Germany *1997 Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture,
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,
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*2000 Chapungu: Custom and Legend – A Culture in Stone,
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, UK *2010 Embracing the Spirit,
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, Henley on Thames, UK


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takawira, John 1938 births 1989 deaths People from Mashonaland West Province 20th-century Zimbabwean sculptors