Astonishment & Power: The Eyes of Understanding: Kongo Minkisi / The Art of Renee Stout [Paperback]

MacGaffey Wyatt (Author), Michael D. Harris (Author), Sylvia H. Williams (Author), David C. Driskell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian (May 17, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560982748
• ISBN-13: 978-1560982746
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,537,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Am Still Astonished By This Book's Power, August 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Astonishment & Power: The Eyes of Understanding: Kongo Minkisi / The Art of Renee Stout (Paperback)

This book takes on a very difficult subject, African fetish statues, and with the help of wonderful photo plates, and a discussion of African American artist Renee Stout's contemporary interpretations of the subject, the work explains brilliantly the meaning of some of the most extraordinary works of art produced by humankind. Have you ever wondered why pins are stuck in voodoo dolls? Read this book and enrich your understanding.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Working Charms, March 13, 2010

By 

Derric "Rau Khu" Moore author of MAA ... - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Astonishment & Power: The Eyes of Understanding: Kongo Minkisi / The Art of Renee Stout (Paperback)

When I was younger growing up in Detroit, I remember there was an artist that took an abandoned house and placed all sorts of toy dolls around it. People use to call it the Dollhouse. I am not sure if it is still there but I was really fascinated by the oddity of it. Being a folk artist myself, I use to draw and paint things as a child of similar nature that people called weird. It wasn't until I read this book that I began to understand where I was getting my inspiration from and possibly what the Dollhouse meant. It was coming from an unexpressed part of my Spirit. At least that is how I interpreted.

I am extremely grateful for this book because the authors do a superb job trying as best they can to explain the aesthics of Kongo medicines of powers or charms (minkisi). It also highlights the extraordinary works of Renee Stout, which as I have already mentioned above, helped me to understand the Kongo spirit within.