History

The Great Excitement

This was the birth of the “work shop school”.
McEwan’s genius, as it turned out, lay not in his unquestioned artistic acumen, but in his openhearted ability first to sense, and then to foster raw creativity.  He listened, he encouraged, and he cultivated freedom.  Bit by bit, one awkward step at a time, the fledgling artists were born, unencumbered by theory, and drawn on only by the steadfast encouragement of their mentor to be true to the vision they were releasing from the stone before them. 

McEwen’s creativity was influenced by the teachings of Gustave Moreau, centred on the belief that true art is inherent within an individual; not taught or disciplined, but emanating from a person’s spirit and natural desire to create.

“In spite of fierce local opposition – ‘there was no such thing as African art’ – I encouraged, on my own, aspiring artists to bring their work clandestinely to the back door without fear of official criticism....  The criterion was enthusiasm and personal achievement..”

“Finally, up to 75 artists would come and go as and when they could.  There was not a trace of art school mentality. No teaching, but an atmosphere of individual ‘drawing out’ as Gustave Moreau had propounded and Henri Matisse and others had explained to me.”

As the movement grew, the miracle became apparent, that by virtue of a vivid and profound animist faith, artistic aptitude of remarkable strength came quite naturally to many Shona people, as they set about releasing the forms they sensed within the stone.

Yet the flowering of this movement was profoundly delicate, and McEwan’s guidance to his protégés, if placed in Shakespearean parlance, was simply lifted from Palonius’ advice to his nephew: “this above all else, to thine own self be true”.  Apart from imploring the artists to search their souls, and to follow what they found, the rest, with great wisdom, he left to creative providence; and in the fullness of time, his patience was repaid by a flowering of profound depth and beauty.

McEwan’s own words on art are a fitting tribute to his unique gift for calling forth inspiration:  “Art is a visual experience, entering the spirit by the eye to touch the subconscious and evolve.  It must be free…  It is the direct visual identification with harmony that can inspire a whole lifetime.”  And so it was, for many of his protégés; and thanks to him the work that arose will continue to inspire us, and the generations that follow after.