El Anatsui (born 1944) is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. His work inspires me in its scale, its craft and the beauty found in everyday discarded materials. The texture and the sheen really draws the viewer in. If you have a chance to go see it at the Blanton Museum in Austin, TX you should really go check it out.
Anatsui celebrates the beauty and possibility found in everyday materials. After flattening the aluminum wrappers from local Nigerian-brand liquor bottles and folding their edges, the artist and his team of assistants use copper wire to tie the small strips of metal together. The time-intensive process transforms what would otherwise be discarded materials into undulating and reflective hanging sculptures. Echoing the patterns of kente cloth—a Ghanaian fabric used for religious and ceremonial occasions and made by male weavers such as Anatsui’s father and brother—the work links traditional and modern African life. Untitled references the historical importance of alcohol in Africa, where it was an imported product exchanged by colonial traders for ivory, gold, and slaves. Further, the large volume of wrappers necessary for a sculpture of this scale suggests the high rate of alcohol production and consumption faced in modern Africa and throughout the developing world. [From the wall text at the Blanton Museum, Austin TX]
The Jack Shainman Gallery has a pretty good sample of his work. Click! and check it out:
Anatsui celebrates the beauty and possibility found in everyday materials. After flattening the aluminum wrappers from local Nigerian-brand liquor bottles and folding their edges, the artist and his team of assistants use copper wire to tie the small strips of metal together. The time-intensive process transforms what would otherwise be discarded materials into undulating and reflective hanging sculptures. Echoing the patterns of kente cloth—a Ghanaian fabric used for religious and ceremonial occasions and made by male weavers such as Anatsui’s father and brother—the work links traditional and modern African life. Untitled references the historical importance of alcohol in Africa, where it was an imported product exchanged by colonial traders for ivory, gold, and slaves. Further, the large volume of wrappers necessary for a sculpture of this scale suggests the high rate of alcohol production and consumption faced in modern Africa and throughout the developing world. [From the wall text at the Blanton Museum, Austin TX]
The Jack Shainman Gallery has a pretty good sample of his work. Click! and check it out:
RSS Feed