bisymmetrical pose, re-emphasized by the weighty aspect of the head, limited by the heavy torso area and then by the hips and base that seem to anchor the figure. Through an even use of parallel cuts over arms and legs that becomes muted on the abdomen, chest and face, active surface is achieved. Repetition of circular or ovoid shaped form (in the head, nectlace, breasts, curvature of the arms and so on) provides harmony and a restful sensation to the work. Subsequently, an irregular rhythm of form on the figure’s contour introduces a strong tension. Lines are broad and somewhat mechanical in many areas, such as on the hands, legs and hips, with strong slices made to form other parts of the work. These are then contrasted by the tiny, almost rippling surface treatment that gives a more free and active sense of linear effects, even though quite subtle. Flat planes on the chest, hand and leg areas bend to form curves, and then flatten again; but the overall effect is one of motionlessness. The form is solid; yet seemingly airborne because of the ⅓ or ¼ head-length-to-body ratio. However, the elimination of superfluous hands, feet, ears, and so on, heightens the monumental quality of the figure. Thus, The Crippled is a Sankofa work, both in form and in subject matter. The artists’ portrayal is naturalistic only to the point that all elements are easily recognizable, yet he is obviously unconcerned with an objective recording. In other words, despite its spiritual strength, The Cripple is not a portrait so much as a kind of identical assemblage of remembered characteristics: the stylized treatment of the facial features, especially the eyes, recall the Nigerian antique sculpture; frontality and a large head-to-body art ratio are standard features in Sankofa works; and customary neck ornament as well as headgear serve as transhistorical reference with deep meaning in relation to African culture and folklore. These are conceptual traits, trying at once to convey the physical and spiritual values of an African theme. As with all Sankofa works, The Cripple requires one’s possession of specialized knowledge to acquire its accurate artistic and aesthetic values. Yet a clear message can be sent to viewers who have little or no African cultural background. The inner struggle of knowing that one is disabled as a lame person (captured by the elliptical irregular rhythm of form) and the outward peace with oneself in accepting the reality of being crippled (sensed by the frontal and hierarchical repetition of oval shapes in the hands, breasts, chin and above all the headgear) combine the spirituality and the realism, the mysticism and the logic that inspire, in varying degrees, all the works of Sankofa art. Thus, the work is a powerful image of nobleness in defeat, defiantly confronting the viewer with a majestic pose as she internally struggles to resist divine judgment. Felix Idubor has indeed excelled himself in this modest masterpiece.
2.25 1928 Rosemary Karuga, Kenya: Rosemary Namuli Karuga was born on June 19 in Meru, Kenya. Her mother was Kenyan and her father was Ugandan, though he worked in Kenya. Her father was a progressive person who realized the importance of educating all of his children, both sons and daughters. Thus, when he moved to Nairobi during the 1940s, Rosemary accompanied 126