Versions Compared

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.

...

Adinkra Sasa: Notably one of the darkest works in the exhibition. This relief contains hundreds of black labels woven in swaths. Adinkra is a traditional cloth that is typically used in funerals4. In this piece, Anatsui carefully crafts a work of art using "traditional weaving, minimalist sculpture, and references to the slave trade" and makes a very serious and solemn work of art.

Image Added
Crumbling Wall: This 13 foot tall, 18 foot wide wall is made of rusting perforated plates that were used to grate cassava, a very common dish in the West African diet. "My concept of a wall is something that not only hides but reveals things," explains Anatsui. "Your eyes can't see behind it, but your imagination projects and your curiosity is aroused." Image Added

Many Moons: This is a multicolored wall relief that depicts a variety of techniques and patterns used to compose it.

Image Added
 
Peak Project: One of the first pieces in this exhibition, this piece is a combination of 36, three-foot tall cones made up of golden lids from evaporated milk cans and resembles a mighty mountain range.

Image Added
 
The largest North American collection by Anatsui is encompassed in his exhibit titled When I Last Wrote to You about Africa11. The collection is seen as a reflective look back on his 30-year career. Included are examples of his monumental wall hangings and floor installations, as well as acrylic paintings, ink drawings, from different time periods in his career. This showing in the United States is the first time that many of these works have been shown outside of Nigeria.

Some works in the this exhibition include:

 

Other Works include:

...

Installation of Anatsui's work "Between Earth and Heaven": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7UBvknG8c4

References and Interesting Links:

1http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/art-of-africa-the-50-best-african-artists-426441.html 

 

2http://www.archives.gov/research/african-art/ 

 

3http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/gawu/about.html 

 

4http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/20/ST2008032003103.html 

 

5http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/style/tmagazine/22nigeria.html?pagewanted=all

 

6http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/34119/a-conversation-with-el-anatsui/

 

7http://www.africansuccess.org/visuFiche.php?id=160&lang=en

 

8http://www.artnet.com/artists/el-anatsui/biography-links

 

9http://www.octobergallery.co.uk/artists/anatsui/index.shtml

 

10Picton J, Houghton G, Kawaguchi Y, et al: A Sculpted History of Africa. African Arts, 32:91-92, 1999.

 

11http://blantonmuseum.org/exhibitions/details/el_anatsui_when_i_last_wrote_to_you_about_africa/Image Added