on COBRA, the Copenhagen-Brussels-Amsterdam post-WW II movement of expressionist artists such as Asger Jørn and Ernest Mancoba. AfriCobra was a notable, Black platform which showcased a ‘transafrican aesthetic vision’ (Donaldson, ‘AfriCobra and the TransAtlantic Connection,’ Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa (1995: pp249-251). Such appropriation and homogenization of cultural production had initially stimulated Musa’s critical curiosity which he was to develop in his ‘artafricanism’ project. In this performance, he transformed his critique into a parcel—a metaphor for the external wrapping or tying up ‘African art’—and passed the parcel to a leading advocate of Afrocentric aesthetics!


What happened to the gri-gri? EC recalls the parcel/object was presented to Jeff Donaldson because he was our designated photographer; no other photos were taken and, unfortunately, we (Musa, Hassan, Court) never received Jeff ’s prints. Salah Hassan last saw the object ‘Who invented Africans?” in 1998 when it was exhibited at the Johnson Gallery, Cornell University. Since then, Jeff Donaldson has passed away (2004) and the fate of the parcel remains unknown. This was confirmed by his daughter who reported she had searched her father’s art collection without luck, though, as a parcel, it could have been stored elsewhere (EC personal communication, 29.05.08).


Discussion 24 September 1995, second day of the symposium The following text is based on transcriptions of the discussion on the first day of the symposium and edited by Elsbeth Court:


The physical conditions of performing in a cramped space on a small podium contributed to the atmosphere of tension and suspense during Musa’s ceremony. Both the silence and the immediacy of artistic activity made a striking contrast to most of the Symposium programme which adhered to the conventional format of presentation with images. An indicator of the strong effect of Musa’s approach was the extensive discussion it provoked immediately following his act and throughout the panel, ‘At Home and Abroad.’ Comments addressed two levels: the performance itself and its theme, ‘Who invented Africans?’ Below are selected comments about the performance, including how it embodied the theme, while more general debates concerning the ‘idea of Africa’ and the ‘construction of African art’ are found elsewhere including the Introduction.


Musa located performative art in terms of how it supplements the structure of exhibitions because “with an exhibition you cannot communicate everything you want to say …[some] problems are unless you exhibit you are not recognized as an artist and that the exhibition [gallery] is a marketplace —you must make a product that sells, must sell your product.” “… I am trying to transmit something that is not transmittable through exhibition.” Then, he explained his process of working; he stressed kinesthesia, the perception or sensing of motion through the body in which drawing is a form of dance—calligraphic


Performance and Persona • Hassan Musa | 143


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