Sculptures and the Idea of Lifelessness

[Obododimma Oha]

It was Foucault who introduced me to the similarity between imaging and death. But from my African childhood, I have always had this crippling fear for motionless human images. Okorocha, in his akpuruakpu culture, brings that fear nearer now. Read my essay on "Sculptures and the Idea of Lifelessness" by clicking on this link:

https://edutitra.blogspot.com/2019/05/sculptures-and-idea-of-lifelessness.html

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Obododimma.

--
--
B.A.,First Class Honours (English & Literary Studies);
M.A., Ph.D. (English Language);
M.Sc. (Legal, Criminological & Security Psychology);
Professor of Cultural Semiotics & Stylistics,
Department of English,
University of Ibadan.

COORDINATES:

Phone (Mobile):
              +234 8033331330;
              +234 9033333555;
              +234 8022208008;
              +234 8073270008.
Skype: obododimma.oha
Twitter: @mmanwu
Personal Blog: http://udude.wordpress.com/

[Harrow, Kenneth]

hi obodo, missed you on the group call for african studies review yesterday. did you have difficulty joining the call?

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

---

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Obododimma Oha <obod...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2019 6:18:32 PM
To: USAAfricaDialogue
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sculptures and the Idea of Lifelessness

 

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAA-CzCEX7zOqRVnjs3TVD8PS85cF78aAQ%3D3Nc92LsTV_%3DEjJiw%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Michael Afolayan]

Quite philosophical. Apparently, art imitates life, or is it life imitating art in this case? If I may speculate: as long as Buhari's image is north of the Niger, I think it may stand for some time. If south of the great divide, it might be Zumarized. Watch!

Michael

[Biko Agozino]

Foucault got it wrong. The sculpture in Africa does not signify death but a living spirit. The masks that scared you were neither stationary nor dead. The ancient Egyptians captured this with the image of the ankh or cypher or zero which is far from empty but stands as a place holder gto signify billions in exchange value sometimes. The African world view never thinks of the world of the ancestors as monolithic sculptures but as vital living spaces of the other world where life is ever present at every meal. The Europeans also borrowed this in the image of the Kristi who is not dead in the crucifix but signifies everlasting life. The sculptures of Zuma and Buhari do not signify dead stationary forces but living forces to be bargained with. When Rochas ga akpu gi, you ent dead yet.

Biko

Biko

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/1427769077.5113211.1558922315125%40mail.yahoo.com.