This sort of horror vacui—the fear of empty
space—has long been regarded as a defi ning
feature of Kuba aesthetics. However, our research
78
indicates that it is a much more recent
development than previously thought. And
while this transformation became manifest in
the late nineteenth century, it did not reach its
apotheosis until the fi rst half of the twentieth
century. The explosion of geometric designs
embroidered on an overskirt made between
1912 and 1942 makes this clear (fi g. 4). Although
this garment also features a standardized
design unit—a rectangle—this shape is all
but obscured by the variety and intricacy of
the secondary design layers stitched in deep
black and luminous tan.
What results from this is a garment designed
not only to attract a viewer’s attention but
to hold it. Unlike a repeating pattern, which
allows a viewer’s eyes to settle because of its
standardization and regularity, the heterogeneity
of this overskirt’s design refuses to yield
to a viewer’s gaze. Although the framed rectangular
spaces that fl ow across the textile’s central
panels give the viewer visual access to the
piece and direct the eye across the horizontal
length of the garment, the radically different
designs nested within each rectilinear space
resist any attempt to fi t the textile into a preexisting
schema. The eye can neither focus nor
settle. There is always more to see and there
is not a center to focus on. And, as such, the
FIG. 10 (left):
Overskirt.
Kuba, Kasai Province,
DR Congo. 1919–1950
(date range determined by
carbon-14 testing).
Raffi a palm fi ber. 127 x 61 cm.
Private collection. R.18060.23.
FIG. 11 (below):
“Dignitary dancing.”
Photo postcard. Published by Photo-
Home, Léopoldville. No date.
Pierre Loos Collection. Courtesy of
Andres Moraga Textile Art.
ART ON VIEW