L'attitude face à la mondialisation (Attitudes towards Globalization)
Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga, Congolese, born 1991
2015
Acrylic and oil on canvas
Canvas: 71 × 70 11/16 in. (180.4 × 179.6 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Contemporary Art Fund and the Alvin and Mary Bert Gutman 1940 Acquisition Fund
2017.4
Geography
Place Made: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa, Africa
Period
21st century
Object Name
Painting
Research Area
Painting
Africa
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed, on reverse, upper left, in black ink: EDDY KAMUANGA ILUNGA / Kamuanga [underlined] 2015
Label
In L’attitude face à la mondialisation (Attitudes toward Globalization), Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga blends vivid colors, invented language, Congolese patterns, electronic motherboards, and aspects of Mangbetu cultural identity. In the center, a Mangbetu woman balances a globe on her knee, alluding to the forces of globalization and acculturation. Ilunga refers to the Mangbetu through the figure’s traditional headdress, which emphasizes her elongated head, a sign of beauty in Mangbetu culture, and through the colorful and intricate fabric of her skirt. The artist contrasts these traditional elements with modern and digital imagery. Besides her Western footgear, bra, and skirt, the surface of the woman’s skin mimics that of a computer chip, immediately calling to mind technology and modernization. More importantly, this alludes to coltan, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s most valued natural resource, used to power computer chips and mobile phones. The brown shape under the figure’s foot could refer to the raw material wealth and mining history of the country. Additionally, Ilunga introduces his own signature language of pattern and form via two lines of code-like symbols that span the work. From the 2019 exhibition Global Contemporary: A Focus on Africa, curated by Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Curator of African Art
Course History
AAAS 67.5, GEOG 21.01, Black Consciousness and Black Feminisms, Abigail Neely, Winter 2019
HIST 66/AAAS 15, History of Africa Since 1800, Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch, Winter 2021
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
HIST 5.08/AAAS 19, Africa and the World, Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch, Summer 2022
HIST 5.08/AAAS 19, Africa and the World, Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch, Summer 2022
HIST 5.08/AAAS 19, Africa and the World, Naaborko Sackeyfio-Lenoch, Summer 2022
Humanities 2.01, The Modern Labyrinth, Lucas Hollister, Petra McGillen, Andrea Tarnowski, Laura Edmondson, Winter 2023
Writing 5.02, How to Look, John Barger, Winter 2024
Writing 5.03, How to Look, John Barger, Winter 2024
Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Spring 2024
Geography 21.01, International Studies 18.01, Global Health and Society, Anne Sosin, Spring 2024
Exhibition History
Global Contemporary: A Focus on Africa; Dorothy and Churchill Lathrop Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26-December 8, 2019.
Knowledge Transfer- Art History 5: Introduction to Contemporary Art, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 10-April 7, 2024.
Publication History
John R. Stomberg, The Hood Now: Art and Inquiry at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 2019, p. 215, ill. plate no. 146.
Provenance
Galerie Imane Fares, Paris, France; sold to present collection, 2017.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu