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El Anatsui at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Saturday, January 31, 2009 at 12:43PM Since I find one of my overall passions as an artist and a blogger is to blur the line between fine art and craft, I like to feature both artist and art that walks this fine line. This past summer I was surprised to find Ghanian born artist El Anatsui featured as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's recent acquisitions. And for those of you who are lovers of art made from recycled materials you will be sure to love this find as well!
Dusasa II by El Anatsui @ the Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe piece you see featured above is made from thousands and thousands of found aluminum and copper wire (flattened and discarded aluminum caps) that are weaved together. It is a wall-hanging and is quite large (full wall scale) I was craning my neck and having to step far back in the gallery to photograph it. El Anatsui is considered the foremost African contemporary sculptor.
detail of Dusasa II 2007 by El AnatsuiThe community based Ghanian kente cloth construction of this piece can also be compared to mosaic work, folk art, and even the patterning that has been treasured in Gustav Klimt's paintings. The following images truly show the majesty and mastery of the piece.
detail shot of El Anatsui's DusasaII, 2007 pieceAccording to the artist (as I read on the title card)
the term Dusasa can be translated as 'a patchwork made by a team of towns people'However another beautifully poignant quote from the artist that I found at another site states:
Art grows out of each particular situation, and I believe that artists are better off working with whatever their environment throws up.- El Anatsui, 2003
super detail of El Anatsui's DesasaII wall hanging On a side note - if you enjoy seeing El Anatsui's work, I recommend the National Museum of African Art site, which has a specially designated section on El Anatsui and three of his major works with podcasts of the artist talking. In addition, if you just google 'El Anatsui' amazing articles and images of his work come up!
Furthermore, if you love this kind of eco-conscious art-making you will really enjoy the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. When I lived there I got to go often and it was indeed one of my all time favorite places to be! Please let me know what you think!