Fisher College of Business

The Thinker
higher resolution 68Kb

Serpentine, 18" x 17" x 3"
Reception Area 100

Bernard Bore is part of the Zimbabwean Shona sculpture movement. Shona sculpture, a product of welding African themes and ideas with European artistic training, has been evolving over the past 30 years or so. Artists, including Bore, work together in small carving groups, usually at their homes.

The craft of stone carving was revived in the 1960s in Rhodesia, as it was then called, largely through the efforts of Frank McEwen, the founding director of the National Gallery of Art. The museum organized stone carving workshops and provided opportunities for students to study examples of European modern works in the collection.

Some Shona works take their themes from African folklore, while others rely on abstract forms. Stylized animals, gods, spirits, ancestors, and totems are the most popular subjects. Shona sculpture such as Bore's is carved from stone indigenous to Zimbabwe. Many works are made of serpentine, which offers a wide range of colors and hardness.