Levinson, Orde. The African dream: visions of love and sorrow: the art of John Muafangejo. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. 120pp. illus., bibliog. NE1336.M83L66 1992 AFA. OCLC 26998734.
Orde Levinson has cornered the market on the work of the late John Muafangejo. He is a veritable cottage industry on the subject. An unusual choice of subject, however, for a big art publisher like Thames and Hudson, not given to publishing monographs on African artists. Perhaps a benefactor subsidized this book. Whatever the case, The African dream is a neat, economical (at $14.95) introduction to the life and work of John Muafangejo, who was an engaging, guileless artist with a deep current of Christianity and humanity running through his work. Best known for his woodcuts and linocuts in the style and tradition of Rorke's Drift Fine Art School, Muafangejo had an undeniable originality and sincerity. The African dream reproduces 124 of his black-and-white prints. For true Muafangejo aficionados, the deluxe edition I was lonleyness is the real thing. See I was lonelyness (1992)
Reviewed by Brenda Danilowitz in African arts (Los Angeles) 29 (2) spring 1996, pages 94-96.
Lilienthal, Adelheid. John Ndevasia Muafangejo (1943-1987): etchings, woodcuts, and linocuts from the collection of the Arts Association Heritage Trust. Winhoek, Namibia: Arts Association Heritage Trust, 2010. 124pp. illus. NE1336.M83A4 2010 AFA. OCLC 651014963.
John Muafangejo is arguably Namibia's most famous artist. So it is appropriate that the Arts Association Heritage Trust (AAHT) of Namibia should have a collection of his prints, which are being officially transferred to the National Art Gallery of Namibia. This catalog showcases the AAHT collection of Muafangejo's prints, primarily linocuts, but also etchings. The four chapters address his life and art, his style and technique, and his enduring legacy with a final chapter on the AAHT and its role in preserving Namibia's artistic heritage.
Muafangejo, John N. John N. Muafangejo (1943-1987): Linolschnitte aus der Sammlung der National Art Gallery of Namibia: Forum fur Kulturaustausch, Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen Stuttgart, 26. Januar bis 27. Marz 1994 / [Text, Annaleen Eins; Katalogredaktion, Monika Winkler; Ubersetzung des englishsprachigen Beitrags, Elisabeth Brockmann]. Stuttgart: Das Institut,, [1994]. 95pp. chiefly illus. NE1336.M83A4 1994X AFA. OCLC 30475831.
The collection of prints by John Muafangejo in the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN) were exhibited at the IFA Gallery in Stuttgart in 1994. Annaleen Eins, curator of the NAGN, writes a biographical essay of this much revered Namibian artist whose life was cut short just as he was beginning to receive serious recognition. A complete list of solo and group exhibitions from 1968 to 1994 is included. Sixty-one prints are reproduced in this catalog, all black and white linocuts. This was the medium of choice for Muafangejo throughout his life from his training at Rorke's Drift in the 1960s until his death in 1987.
Muafangejo, John. I was lonelyness: the complete graphic works of John Muafangejo: a catalog raisonné 1968-1987 / compiled and edited by Orde Levinson. Cape Town: Struik Winchester, 1992. 427pp. illus. (pt. color)., bibl. refs. NE1336.M94A4 1992 AFA. OCLC 26865306.
This is the ultimate Muafangejo book, a catalogue raisonné, for which The African dream (preceding entry) was an introuduction. Orde Levinson is again at the helm, steering the course through the art corpus of Muafangejo. He offers an essay "John Muafangejo, Cubism and traditional African art" (pages 327-333). Other essays include: "The life and art of John Muafangejo," by Olga Levinson; "John Muafangejo," by British art critic Edward Lucie-Smith; "On not being a political artist," by Pat Gilmour; "The historical development of art in Namibia," by Olga Levinson; and "The Rorke's Drift Art and Craft Centre," by Steven Sack. Also included are a selection of interviews, statements and published conversations with Muafangejo.
Plus, there are the reproductions of Muafangejo's prints -- more than 300, a few in color. Public museum collections which own Muafangejo prints are listed (pages 384-385); his exhibition history is given (pages 387-394); and a complete Muafangejo bibliography is included (pages 397-420). In short, for anyone interested in the artist John Ndevisa Muafangejo, this is the vade mecum.
Reviewed by Brenda Danilowitz in African arts (Los Angeles) 29 (2) spring 1996, pages 94-96.
Muafangejo, John. John Muafangejo: linocuts, woodcuts and etchings = Linolschnitte, Holzschnitte und Radierungen / text by Bruce Arnott. Cape Town, Johannesburg: C. Struik, 1977. [64]pp. illus. Limited edition of 750 copies. Text in English and German. NE788.S6M94 1977 AFA. OCLC 03863719.
This was the earliest compilation of Muafangejo's corpus of prints, published when the artist was still alive. Twenty-seven of his works dating from 1969 to 1975 are reproduced in this limited edition volume. By the early 1970s Muafangejo had already achieved some international acclaim and exposure, possibly, according to Arnott, a "premature elevation." Muafangejo is presented as a man tormented by "paradox, contradictions, and injustices," which are reflected in his art. Having trained at the Fine Art School at Rorke's Drift, Muafangejo returned to his homeland in northern Namibia to work and teach. In 1976 he was back at Rorke's Drift as artist-in-residence.
Muafangejo, John. John Ndevasia Muafangejo (1943-1987): Second Guest Artist Award 1998 / text by Olga Levinson; introduction by Alan Crump. Standard Bank National Arts Festival 1988. A project of the 1820 Foundation. [South Africa]: Broederstroom Press, [1988]. [unpaged] chiefly illus. NE1336.M83A4 1988 AFA. OCLC 85844535.
The Second Guest Artist Award of the 1988 Standard Bank National Arts Festival went to John Ndevasia Muafangejo. What began as a celebration of this mid-career artist ended as a commemoration of his life. He died suddenly in November 1987 as the exhibition was being assembled. In this catalog of his linocuts and etchings, Olga Levinson writes of “The life and art of John Muafangejo” - - an essay that is reprinted in I was lonleyness (1992).
Sundermeier, Theo. Hoffnung für Namibia: Linolschnitte von John Ndevasia Muafangejo. Bielefeld: Luther-Verlag, c1991. 79pp. illus., bibl. refs. (page 77). NE1336.M83A4 1991X AFA. OCLC 28807906.
The late John Muafangejo was a deeply religious man whose childhood spent on a mission station in northern Namibia and Christian belief permeates his art work. Although Muafangejo's lino-cut prints done in the Rorke's Drift style sometimes have social, even political themes, the thirty selected for this volume are biblical. An essay on the life and work of the artist introduces the prints.
