Congo Stars does not attempt to trace the historic development or even deliver a definition of what popular painting in the Congo is. It is in fact much more about the dimension of fiction in the writing of its history. Processes of nation building, facets of social order or the realities of everyday life are the major themes of popular art in the Congo. Painters see themselves as reporters or chroniclers of the everyday. They tell stories and thus offer an alternative historiography, confronting the traditional colonial narrative. "Congo Stars" places these popular painters alongside artists who work with installations and conceptually with photo and film, while often tackle the same themes.

 

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Congo Stars
Edited by Barbara Steiner & Nicole Fritz
With contributions from Sammy Baloji, Bambi Ceuppens, Christian Hanussek, Gerda Heck, Günther Holler-Schuster, Fiston Mwanza Mujila & Barbara Steiner
Published by Buchhandlung Walther König
Languages: German/English
ISBN: 978-3-96098-434-4
22 x 30 cm, 208 pages with 150 colored illustrations, paperback