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El Anatsui When I Last Wrote to You about Africa

Educator’s Guide

Museum for African ArtNew York

El AnatsuiWhen I Last Wrote To You About Africa

Educator’s Guide By

Erika GeeDirector of Education and Public Programs

Assisted by

Lisa M. BinderAssociate Curator

Donna GhelerterManager of Curatorial Affairs

Christine WeibleIntern

Education DepartmentMuseum for African Art, New York

El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa is organized by the Museum for African Art, New York, and has been supported, in part, by grants from Toyota as the lead corporate sponsor, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

This Educator’s Guide, developed in conjunction with the exhibition El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, is funded by Toyota Foundation and The May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., and supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Copyright 2011 © Museum for African Art, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced except solely for educational purposes. All other uses require written permission from the Museum for African Art, 36-01 43rd Avenue, Long Island City, NY 11101. www.africanart.org

Cover: Untitled, 1980s. Acrylic on masonite, 24 x 48 in. Collection of the artist Frontispiece: Plot A Plan III (detail), 2007. Aluminum, copper wire, 73 x 97 in. Collection of Joan and Michael Saike, Naples, Florida.

This educator’s guide is largely based on the catalogue El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, edited by Lisa M. Binder.

TOYOTA WarholFoundation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 About this Guide

3 About the Exhibition

4 About the Artist

9 Exploring Culture, Stories and Memory 10 When I last wrote to you .. II, 1986 12 God’s Omnipotence, 1974 14 Chambers of Memory, 1977 16 Omen, 1978 18 Beads, 1980 20 Leopard’s Paw-prints and Other Stories, 1991 22 Akua’s Surviving Children, 1996 24 Sacred Moon, 2007

27 Exploring Materials and Processes 28 Lady in Frenzy, 1999 Chief in Zingliwu, 1999 30 Peak Project, 1999 32 Open(ing) Market, 2004 34 Stressed World, 2011

37 Resources 38 Lesson 1: Research Activity: El Anatsui’s Life and Works of Art 41 Map 42 Lesson 2: Creating a Found-object Work of Art 43 Artist’s Timeline 46 Annotated Webography 47 Vocabulary

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

THIS EL ANATSUI EDUCATOR’S GUIDE is designed as a tool to assist educators in engaging students in the life and works of contemporary artist El Anatsui. Based on the exhibition When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, the guide explores the full range of the artist’s work, from wood trays referring to traditional symbols of the Akan people of Ghana; to early ceramics from the artist’s Broken Pots series, driftwood assemblages that refer to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and wooden sculptures carved with a chainsaw; to the luminous metal wall-hangings of recent years, which have brought the artist international acclaim.

This resource guide may be used by K-12 teachers in connection with class visits to the exhibition, or as an independent curricular resource. It provides an overview of El Anatsui’s life and highlights examples of his works of art. Educators can use individual works of art to explore El Anatsui’s process as an artist and the different materials that he employs. Teachers can also utilize Anatsui’s work as part of curriculum units that investigate contemporary art as well as African history, visual arts, folklore, symbols, and traditions. Each work of art has sample discussion questions to encourage students to closely examine the artwork, interpret possible meanings of the artworks, discover African traditions, and make personal connections. The guide also lists suggested activities, including doing further research, or creating works of art inspired by Anatsui’s examples. These suggested activities are designed to encourage interdisciplinary connections with other studies in history, social studies, literature, science, and performing arts.

While not specifically designed for a particular grade level, the suggested questions might be best suited for upper elementary and middle school students. Teachers are invited to adapt these materials for use with their specific students. For example, teachers may want to select a few works of art to explore with younger students. This guide is not designed to provide a comprehensive history of West Africa or its artistic traditions as teachers can refer to other sources for more detailed information.

2 EL ANATSUI EDUCATOR’S GUIDE

ABOUT THE EXHIBITIONEl Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa

IN WOOD AND METAL SCULPTURES, ceramics, paintings, prints, and drawings created over the past five decades, El Anatsui (b. 1944, Ghana) tells his personal story alongside local and global narratives. Today an internationally renowned artist, he lives and works in Nigeria and continues to use the simplest materials to create monumental sculptures. El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, the artist’s first retrospective, surveys his ongoing practice of juxtaposing color, form, and pattern to evoke major themes in African and world history.

Anatsui, best known for his shimmering metal sculptures made from thousands of West African liquor bottle tops, has also worked in a variety of other mediums, some of them long-established and some less conventional. He has often used materials from his immediate surroundings in his sculptures—in the 1970s he worked with wood trays like the ones sold in the market stalls of Ghana, in the 1980s sculpting with clay pots and yam pounders, from the 1990s onward fashioning metal bottle tops and milk-tin lids—and, by doing so, infusing his art with symbols and myth. Many of his large compositions consist of multiple parts. Anatsui encourages diverse readings by rearranging sections of scorched wood slats or linked aluminum caps, seeing such movement as part of his nomadic aesthetic.

Anatsui’s art, like his poetic titles, can be simultaneously diminutive and monumental, delicate and violent, whimsical and serious. There is no one single trajectory, no specific path to take through history. El Anatsui asks us to make connections between our knowledge and his message, our environments and his materials, and most of all, between our lives and his art.

ABOUT THIS EXHIBITION 3

El Anatsui carving Erosion with a chainsaw at an Earth Summit workshop in Manaus, Brazil, 1992. The finished work was dis-played in the exhibition Arte Amazonas at the Modern Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

EL ANATSUI WAS BORN on February 4, 1944 in the Ewe town of Anyako and later went to high school in nearby Keta; both are located in Ghana’s Volta region. Anyako and Keta are surrounded on one side by the sea, on the other by a lagoon. Anatsui remembers people concerning themselves with fishing and harvesting salt most of the time and with weaving during the off season. Though the artist never practiced weaving, his father and brothers did so in their spare time. In addition, several of his brothers composed lyrics for music related to traditional drumming. He refers to these siblings as poets. This exposure to cloth patterns and poetry provided Anatsui’s earliest interaction with media that would later inspire much of his mature work.

Though he was the youngest of the thirty-two children in his family, Anatsui discovered ways to highlight his individuality within a large group. His interest in art quickly set him apart from other students and members of his family. He recalls his earliest experience with art as an attempt to write letters on a chalk slate: “I would copy the bold capital letters on the door of the general manager’s office or the headmaster’s office. Because I did not understand these, I regarded each of them more as an image than a letter. These forms were intriguing and attractive.” Even from this early age he was appropriating and connecting forms in order to discover new ways of communicating. Later, in high school, he would win awards for his artistic endeavors during the annual speech and prize-giving days. Advisors began to encourage him to study fine art in college. Knowing the path he wanted to take, he let those around him know that he would be leaving and not following in the footsteps of other members in his family.

EducationAnatsui earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana in 1968. At the time, the institution was affiliated with the University of London, specifically Goldsmiths, and employed mostly European lecturers; thus, after having grown up in a British colony, he received his university training under the British model, which continued in Ghana following its independence in 1957. He studied drawing, painting, and sculpture in the Western tradition and had art history classes that did not include discussions of African art. He followed his undergraduate degree with a postgraduate diploma in art education and secured his first teaching position upon graduation as a lecturer in the Art Education Department,


El Anatsui working in his studio at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, on a piece from the Broken Pots series, 1977.

Specialist Training College, Winneba, Ghana (now University of Education, Winneba). In 1975, Anatsui applied for an open lecturer position in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka. The following year, El Anatsui made his first trip outside of Ghana to live on the campus where he would teach for the next thirty-five years.

Teaching and Artistic PracticeEl Anatsui started teaching in the Department of Fine and Applied Art at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1975. From the very beginning, his work was informed by various local, regional, and international histories and art practices. One can find Ghanaian and Nigerian influences in his work as well as myriad other African, European, Asian, and American references. He has gained this knowledge through an intimate investigation of his immediate environment coupled with decades of travel for research, residencies, workshops, and exhibitions.

Anatsui has an edict that he, and those under his tutelage, turn to their respective environments for inspiration and materials. He urges them to look around and use “whatever the environment throws up.” In this, he is not only referring to organic materials—discarded bottle-tops, glass bottles, milk tin lids, market trays, old mortars used for grinding yams, and metal obituary plates may be used along with “natural resources” such as clay, driftwood, leaves, and logs.

Artistic media need not be expensive. Anatsui believes that an artist does not necessarily need to spend money on oil paints or chisels, but rather, he can free the creative process by turning to the humble everyday materials around us. However, this is not to say that simple materials render simple artworks. He has expressed the idea that when one has only humble materials to work with, the act of bringing them together in massive quantities creates the possibility for monumentality.

For example, when making Signatures on the campus of the University of East Anglia during an artist-in-residency program, he piled up hundreds

ABOUT THE ARTIST 5

El Antsui making Ambivalent Hold,1983, Nsukka, Nigeria.

of logs into a rectangular pile. Then, using common household paint, he added countless stripes of color to the end of each log. He hoped a viewer standing before the work would be “dizzied” by the massive movement of pattern and texture. He teaches his students, that when working with humble materials such as logs and paint, one should bring them together in a manner that renders them monumental.

Travel is a very important part of Anatsui’s teaching. He encourages his students to apply for travel grants, artist-in-residency programs, and study abroad opportunities. He suggests that they should experience the best of what the world has to offer, and then consider those

influences, along with local art histories, in their studio work.

One of the most important elements in Anatsui’s practice is the element of chance. His work is often comprised of pieces that can be arranged in a variety of ways. He encourages the installer to participate in the work by suggesting placement or order of the final installation. For example, in his bottle top sculptures, he asks the curator to add vertical and horizontal gathered points as they see fit. This often opens up different ways of seeing and reading the same work of art—and in this—new meanings can emerge. This is a practice he strongly encourages his students to follow as well.

Most importantly, rather than asking his students to copy or mimic an “Anatsui style” he teaches a way of seeing the world, a process of art making, and encourages individual artistic vision. He has taught generations of artists to consider process. In sum, these are the primary strategies Professor Anatsui has conveyed to his many students over the last four decades:

• Pull from your personal history for inspiration• Look to your environment for materials and give them the opportunity

to be more than just humble fragments• Travel when you can and bring all your experiences to bear on your work• Allow for the possibility of chance—something new and wonderful may

come of it


Signature in situ at the Cyfuniad Interna-tiona Artists Workshop in Plas Caerdeon, Wales, 1999. Wood, paint, dimensions variable. Collection of the artist, now destroyed.

Exhibitions and CollectionsStarting in the 1980s and ’90s Anatsui was included in numerous local and international workshops, artists’ residencies, collectives, biennales, and exhibitions. Anatsui’s work has appeared in group exhibitions at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA; the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC; the October Gallery, London; and in the celebrated exhibition Africa Remix, which opened in 2005 in Düsseldorf and traveled to London, Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm, and Johannesburg. His work has also been included in numerous biennial exhibitions, including in Venice (1990 and 2007), Havana (1994), Johannesburg (1995), Gwangju (2004), and Sharjah (2009), as well as in Prospect.1 New Orleans (2008). Gawu, a solo show of metal sculptures, traveled throughout Europe, North America, and Asia from 2004 to 2008.

In 2008, Anatsui received the Visionaries Artist Award from the Museum of Arts and Design, in New York City. He is also a laureate of the 2009 Prince Claus Award. His work is collected by institutions internationally, including the British Museum, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; the Denver Art Museum; the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; and many others.

El Anatsui constructing Gli, a metal wall sculpture commissioned for an exhibition at the Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, January 2010. In the past, Anatsui would deliver the metal hangings as complete works, but now he often brings large sec-tions to venues and fuses them together on-site.

ABOUT THE ARTIST 7

EXPLORING CULTURE, STORIES, AND MEMORY

EL ANATSUI uses double meanings, references to history, and

language mixing as elements of his art practice. For example, the

Broken Pots series ties to African traditions and beliefs regarding

the earth. This section explores how Anatsui incorporates signs,

symbols, and historical and cultural references in his works.

Akpukpoefi, part of the Broken Pots series1979Ceramic, glass 22.5 x 15.5 in.Collection of the artist

Anatsui used molten glass in several Broken Pots series objects. This use of drink bottles prefigured the employment of liquor tops in his current metal sculptures.

EXPLORING CULTURES, STORIES, AND MEMBORY 9

When I last wrote to you . . . II 1986Drypoint, aquatint 19 ½ x 15 ½ in.Collection of the artist


A letter explores the idea of language and communication.

Anatsui made a suite of works in the late 1980s, all of which have the title When I last wrote you about Africa (or variations of it). In this print, Anatsui utilizes the aquatint etching process to create a soft image of a letter emerging out of what looks like a wash of grey. He fills the lines of his letter with symbols that are similar to adinkra ideograms, a system of linguistic symbols used in Ghana. Adinkra symbols appear on objects, jewelry, and brass weights and, are stamped on cloth using carved gourds. Adinkra symbols are ideograms, as each symbol visually represents a meaning or concept. These symbols are linked to proverbs, folktales, folksongs, and popular sayings as well with as flora, fauna, and everyday objects. One of the symbols, sankofa, represents a bird known for its ability to look backward and is associated with the concept of looking to the past in order to plan the future. Anatsui’s use of adinkra is an attempt to use tradition as a way of moving art forward. Another symbol, aya, depicts a fern and represents endurance, independence, hardiness, perseverance, and resourcefulness; it is connected with the phrase “I am not afraid of you.” Using combinations of symbols to create various meanings, Anatsui might suggest viewers to consider the idea of language and explore how communication happens.

Looking and Interpreting• What textures and patterns do you see in this work of art?• How do people use letters to communicate? What role do symbols and

language play in fostering communication?

Connecting and Doing• What symbols have you seen in use in the United States, i.e. eagle, flags,

etc.? What do they represent? • Create your own simple print using a Styrofoam plate. Cut the raised

edges off so you have a flat printing surface. Then carve a design on the plate using a ballpoint pen, being careful not to puncture a hole in the plate. Cover the surface with paint (preferable printing paint using a roller). Place a sheet of paper over the painted surface pressing down to ensure the paint transfers to the paper. Remove the paper from the Styrofoam plate to reveal your image.

EXPLORING CULTURES, STORIES, AND MEMORY 11

God’s Omnipotence 1974Wood, paint, lacquer 21 ½ x 20 ½ in.Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka


An ordinary tray is carved with new meaning.

Anatsui decorated this wooden tray with a central symbol surrounded by radiating decoration. These wood sculptures are among Anatsui’s earliest works and are based on Ghanaian market trays. The artist commissioned local wood carvers to make the kind of market trays conventionally used to display fruits and vegetables, then he branded and scorched the wood with shapes and patterns using a low-tech method of heated rods or knives. The symbol that Anatsui uses is akin to the adinkra symbol nyame ye ohene, meaning “God is King,” symbolizing the majesty and supremacy of God. Using a local form and processes, he blurs the traditional perception of fine art and craft.

Looking and Interpreting• What do you notice about the tray? How do you think the designs are

created?

Connecting and Doing• Research adinkra symbols from West African cultures. Select a few

symbols with meanings that you like or have significance for you. Carve your own symbol out of a potato or soap and use it to stamp different surfaces such as paper and fabric.

• Can you imagine an everyday object in your own life for which you could invent a new purpose? Draw how you might use this object.


How can we explore the role of memory in our lives through art?

With a speckled, brittle surface on a cylindrical base and a large, bulbous upper half, this work evokes an abstracted form of a human head. The front is defined by full, pursed lips and a narrowly slit nose and eyes, which may evoke a more literal history—the early art traditions of Africa. This sculpture can be seen as fashioned to resemble the ancient terra-cotta heads found around the village of Nok near the Jos Plateau region of Nigeria. Anatsui might ask viewers to reflect on their own, individual contributions to the history of humanity.

The back of the skull is incomplete with chambers delineated by rough, jagged edges. The interior divisions in Chambers of Memory could allude to

Chambers of Memory1977Ceramic, manganese16 x 10 in.Collection of the artist


the abstract sites of memory and history archived in one’s mind. The holes and cracks in the skull of this piece, along with its title, Chambers of Memory, suggest that the artist is toying with ideas of the fragility and elusiveness of memories. How accurately can our minds sustain memories? Can we lose memories permanently? Is memory interpretive or factual?

Earthenware is a principle material used in everyday life in many West African cultures from centuries ago to today. It is used for common as well as ceremonial activities. Anatsui has lived in Nigeria since the mid-1970s, and the cosmology of the Igbo, an ethnic group in Nigeria, has had an influence on his work and his aesthetic. For the Igbo, the earth is not only the source of all life and creation (many other genealogies trace the first humans to anthills), the earth is also the site and domain of Ala, the earth goddess—the divinity of creativity, communal balance, and moral righteousness. El Anatsui’s pots are formed by the artist’s hands, and consequently their form reveals the close relationship between the objects, their maker, and the earth.

Looking and Interpreting• What forms and shapes do you see in this work of art? • How many chambers do you see? What objects do you see in them?

Connecting and Doing• The Nok area in Nigeria is one of the earliest African centers of

ironworking and terracotta figure production. Research more about the Nok terracotta sculptures. How are these sculptures made? Do you see any similarities in how these faces are depicted and in Chambers of Memory?

• What do you think the role of memory is in your life? Do you have any favorite memories? What are they? How might you keep yourself from forgetting these memories?

• What ways do we remember important events or memories in our life? Create a work of art where you preserve your memories. This could take the form of an accordion book, timeline, quilt, or collage that depicts multiple events.


How can exploring brokenness help one understand history?

With an imperfectly rounded shape and ruptured opening, Omen is evocative of the moment where life begins anew and can be seen as a premonition for all of life’s possibilities. A coating of the mineral manganese creates the object’s speckled texture. Mined in Ghana, El Anatsui’s homeland, manganese is known to promote the biological process of healing wounds in living organisms. The egglike shape of Omen reoccurs in several of Anatsui’s drawings, paintings, and sculptures.

Omen1978Ceramic, manganese15.5 x 16.5 in.Collection of the artist


In 1978 El Anatsui began to work with clay, a material that held a cultural significance for him. A Nigerian poet Osmond Ossie Enekwe (b. November 12, 1942) wrote a series of poems also entitled Broken Pots (1977) that laments the consequences of wars—the human suffering, broken humanity, and the creating of a physical and spiritual wasteland. El Anatsui uses ceramic shards that he fabricated, broke, and repaired in his Broken Pots series.

Omen, created with damaged ceramics, might represent the idea of brokenness and fragility in a time of political instability in West Africa. The re-forming of the pot-like shape might represent regeneration and rebirth, while the materials relate to myths and stories Anatsui heard as a child in Ghana. These pieces are partially repaired in order to suggest that brokenness does not necessarily result in disuse; rather, through repair, objects might serve a new function.

Looking and Interpreting• What do you notice about the surface of this work of art? What textures

and patterns do you see?• An omen is defined as something perceived or happening believed to

indicate a good or bad circumstance or event in the future. Look closely at this work. What “omen” might you read in this work?

Connecting and Doing• Have you ever broken something, only to find a new use for it? What was

it? • Are there stories that you have heard about rebirth and creation i.e. the

phoenix rising out of the ashes? Create a work of art that illustrates the story.

• Research more about manganese and its properties. For starters, manganese is a hard and brittle metal that is both nutritionally essential and potentially toxic. Its name comes from the Greek word for magic. Scientists are still working to understand its diverse effects in living organisms. Manganese plays an important role in the biological process of healing wounds.


Beads1980Ink on paper10 ½ x 9 in.Collection of the artist


A simple drawing of a decorative product.

Anatsui depicts a string of patterned beads in this black and white drawing. In many cultures beads are used as ornaments, currency, talismans, counting devices, religious objects, and as symbols of power, wealth, and affiliation. From 1979 to 1981, Anatsui made a series of elegant drawings that relate to works he created in other mediums. This drawing specifically depicts a type of bead made in Ghana out of recycled glass. These beads are made by selecting colored glass that is then pored into molds, fired in kilns, polished, and painted. They are also significant as trade items used as part of an international exchange in markets in Ghana and other areas of West Africa that exported these goods around the world.

Looking and Interpreting• What patterns and shapes do you see on these beads? What colors do

you imagine on these beads?

Connecting and Doing• Research the history of trade in West Africa. What items were being

produced and traded? Why might beads have been significant as trade items?

• Generate a list of materials that could be used as beads or made into beads. Create your own beads out of paper (rolling colored paper), papier mâché, bread dough, beans, noodles, or spices. Consider utilizing found natural materials such as seedpods, feathers, and small pines cones, as well as discarded bottle caps, hardware, and toys to make beads as well.



Leopard’s Paw-prints and Other Stories1991Wood, paint16 x 35 ¼ in. Collection of the artist and October Gallery, London

This work depicts a new visual language drawn from symbols and literature.

In Leopard’s Paw-prints and Other Stories, El Anatsui carves a number of textures and patterns on the slats of wood assembled together. While the symbols and patterns might not be discernible, viewers might liken them to systems of communication based on adinkra symbols and kente cloth. The act of naming a sculpture is an important part of Anatsui’s process. Although he may think of a title at any point during the production of a work, usually no final decision is made until he has spent time with a finished piece and the idea for it begins to emerge. His titles often relate to language, mythology, literature, or poetry, as well as major events in African history. This naming practice recalls the way in which weavers, brass casters, and carvers in Ghana name designs and compositions to reflect events, stories, or proverbs. Leopard’s Paw-prints and Other Stories may relate to how leopards are associated with kingship in West African folklore.

Looking and Interpreting• Imagine taking a rubbing of this surface. What textures would you

notice?

Connecting and Doing• Research kingship in West African cultures. For example, in Igbo culture,

one of the ethnic groups in Nigeria, a head, paw, or tooth of a lion or leopard is a symbol or power. Other Igbo associations with royalty include turtle shells, python skin, eagle feathers, crocodile skin, ostrich eggs and feathers, and elephant tusks. These symbols are displayed on fabrics or any piece of clothing and in wood such as mahogany, iroko, obeche, ebony, all from trees that are usually huge and strong-textured. Why do you think the leopard and its attributes might symbolize kingship? Why do you think leaders associate themselves with symbols of power? What symbols of power do you see today’s world leaders display?

• What stories do you know that incorporate animals? Can you imagine a story about a leopard based on what you see in El Anatsui’s piece? Act out your story.


How can found objects be transformed to tell a story of Africa?

Made of driftwood logs that had washed ashore on a beach in Denmark, Akua’s Surviving Children represents individual Africans who crossed tumultuous oceans and seas during the Danish slave trade. This sculptural installation was exhibited as part of the 1996 Images of Africa Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark. The wooden heads and bodies were attached using nails from a forge where, in the past, guns had been made for use in the slave trade. Anatsui also burned each figure’s head in the forge as a symbolic act of cleansing.

Akua’s Surviving Children1996Wood, metalInstallation dimension variable. Height of the tallest individual piece 65 in.Collection of the artist and October Gallery, London


In Ghana, El Anatsui’s home country, Akan children are given a “day name,” which is based on the name of the day of the week on which he or she was born. Akua is the name for females born on Wednesday. It is believed that all peoples born on the same day of the week have the same kind of soul. The Akan, one of the West African ethnic groups, also believe ancestors give children to the living to continue their family and their society. Ancestors are still involved in the life of the living, and the well being of the living depends on them. In light of this, an interpretation of this piece might be that Akua—depicted in this piece—is a revered ancestor, whose children continue to depend on her for the good of their family and are the continuation of her legacy today.

Looking and Interpreting• Describe the grouping of forms, including the spacing and variety of

heights. Arrange your own version of this piece, using either objects or people to fill the space.

• Anatsui encourages people to install his sculptures as they see fit. This open process suggests the innumerable combinations of interactions possible within a group of people, and demonstrates the fluidity of human relationships. If you were to install this piece, how might you arrange these sculptures?

Connecting and Doing• Research the African slave trade. What places are connected to this

history? What are the experiences of the people involved and affected? • Research stories from other cultures where ancestors influence or help

the living. What is the relationship between the living and those that came before them?

• Reflect on the members of your family. Do you have family members who are important to you? Why are they important? What have they taught you or passed on to you that you find valuable? What would you like to pass on to your children someday?


A shimmering piece could provide a backdrop for sharing stories.

Sacred Moon is a shimmering, shining, tapestry-like piece that ripples and gives the illusion of movement. One might see the work as a night sky for a fiery orange harvest moon against the silvery backdrop. On the left side, there is a tree-like shape anchored by a patch of color, which could be interpreted as earth. The ripples evoke a feeling of a breeze or life pulsing through.

In many cultures, storytelling serves a means of entertainment, education, and cultural preservation. One of the most popular times for storytelling

Sacred Moon2007Aluminum, copper wire103 x 141 in.Mott-Warsh Collection, Flint, Michigan, 608


is after the sun has set and the day’s work has been finished. Among the Limba, an ethnic group from Sierra Leone, a full moon is seen as the optimum opportunity for storytelling, because people go to bed later during this time. By creating a moon, El Anatsui might provide viewers with a new kind of social space within which viewers may be inspired to share stories with one another.

Looking and Interpreting• On first glance, what do you think this piece is made

of? Look at this work more closely. What materials do you see?

• How is this work constructed? How long do you think it might have taken to put this together? Note: Anatsui has employed a delegation of labor throughout his career; he currently has more than twenty assistants who help make his metal wall sculptures.

Connecting and Doing• Upon seeing Anatsui’s hangings, many people associate them with

kente cloth. Kente cloth is special fabric that was developed in Ghana. Kings, queens, and other important people wore special designs during ceremonies and other state occasions. The kente patterns contain many cultural concepts from history, literature, and political thought, codes of conduct, moral values, and philosophy. Research kente cloth and create a piece using a pattern that conveys a message.

• Think about story time in your school or family. Where and when are these stories told? Are there particular times, places, seasons, or events where storytelling has been a part of your social interactions, i.e. summer camp? What kinds of stories have you told or heard?

• El Anatsui’s father and brothers practiced weaving in their spare time. Several of his brothers composed lyrics for music related to traditional drumming. What skills have you seen your family members do, i.e. cook, sew, etc.? Are there skills or traditions that you have learned from your family members? Are there skills that you hope to learn from your family members?


EXPLORING MATERIALS AND PROCESSES

Many of El Anatsui’s sculptures employ materials once

designated for other purposes. Using found objects such as

market trays, old mortars, fallen logs, can lids, and cassava

graters, he reworks and rearranges materials and transforms

them into something new. The vocabulary of Anatsui’s work

involves exchanges between seemingly humble materials, that

are constructed into monumental works.

Signature (detail) in situ at the Cyfuniad International Artists Workshop in Plas Caerdeon, Wales, 1999. Wood, paint, dimensions variable. Collection of the artist, now destroyed.

In Nigeria, cut wood that is for sale will often be marked with a stroke of paint to denote the logs’ owner. Anatsui is making reference to this proctice and the individual “signatures” left behind.

EXPLORING MATERIALS AND PROCESSES 27

Lady in Frenzy1999Metal, wood, fabric74 x 26 in.Collection of the artist and October Gallery, London


Chief in Zingliwu1999 Metal, wood, fabric66 ½ x 29 ½ in.Collection of the artist and October Gallery, London

These whimsical sculpture are made from a variety of materials.

In 1999 Anatsui began to use found objects more frequently than he had in the past. Metal and wood, two of his predominant mediums throughout his career, are combined with fabric here to create each figure of this freestanding couple, Lady in Frenzy and Chief in Zingliwu.

Looking and Interpreting• Look carefully at the artwork. What materials were used to make these

sculptures?

Connecting and Doing• Anatsui often creates his own words, or uses words in other languages,

to title his artworks. For example, zingliwu is an Ewe word that references the zinc roof-top materials used in the body of the sculpture Chief in Zingliwu. Have you ever created your own words, or used another language to express something? Come up with some new words for a concept, story, or work of art.

• Create an artwork made out of a number of materials, like metal, wood, and fabric.


Peak Project1999Tin, copper wireInstallation dimensions variable, each sheet approximately 24 x 48 in.Collection of the artist


How can an artwork explore issues of consumption and waste?

This sculpture is made from the shiny lids of Peak Milk cans linked together by wire into 2-foot-by-4-foot sheets. The number of sheets can vary (usually from 20 to more than 150), depending on the available exhibition space. Although Anatsui encourages each installer to arrange the sheets as he or she likes, he prefers that the pieces be shaped into peaks as a play on the milk’s brand name. Produced by a Dutch company in Holland, Peak milk powder and cans of condensed milk are widely used in Nigeria because some people cannot keep milk cold in areas where electricity is often limited and intermittent.

In the National Museum of African Art’s website for the Gawu exhibition, Anatsui explains that this work and others in the series were inspired by “huge piles of detritus from consumption,” such as the mountains of milk tins and bottle tops that have been growing throughout West Africa due to limited recycling technology. A lot of things which are made in Europe and America and are sent over arrive in certain kinds of packaging, for example, fresh milk comes in tins. We have our own milk too, of course, but in addition there are huge imports of milk from outside, which is accessed by way of tins.”

Looking and Interpreting• Notice the details of this sculpture. What is this sculpture made out of?

How is this arranged?• Why might you work with discarded materials?

Connecting and Doing• Research how products are imported in the United States. What are

the costs to import products? What conveniences and advantages might an imported product offer when compared with a local product? Conversely, what conveniences and advantages might a local product offer when compared with an imported product?

• Collect and repurpose lids from cans or caps from bottles to create a found object sculpture. In creating your artwork, do you prefer that the labels show? Why or why not?


Open(ing) Market2004Tin, paper, wood, paintInstallation dimensions variable, 1,767 piecesCollection of the artist


A colorful sculpture evokes the stalls of a marketplace.

The thousands of tin boxes in this sculpture refer to the vibrant, exciting, and often vast African marketplace. Capturing the moment of anticipation of stalls just about to open for business, Open(ing) Market represents the emergence of local and global African markets. Anatsui commissioned the handmade boxes from local tinkers. Each box is painted on the exterior in black with red, chevron-shaped marks, and has typical product labels from West Africa cut and glued to the inside. The colors, patterns, and spatial relationships of the sculpture are closely related to Anatsui’s work in other mediums.

Looking and Interpreting• Notice the details of this sculpture. What materials is this sculpture made

out of?

Connecting and Doing• Research marketplaces both in Africa and the United States. How might

this piece remind you of stalls in marketplaces that you have seen?• Repurpose old boxes to create a found object sculpture. Add colored

paint, fabric, or papers such as magazines or wrappers to decorate your sculpture.


A luminous sculpture fashioned of a web of folded and crushed materials.

The eroded patterns and distressed sections of Stressed World demonstrate Anatsui’s most recent production techniques and thematic concerns. While certain sections are densely populated, web-like areas appear to be worn thin by time and use. Sharply folded and crushed liquor bottle tops, in various configurations, firmly hold together the seemingly fragile material.

“When I first found the bag of bottle tops, I thought of the objects as links between Africa and Europe. European traders introduced the bottle tops, and alcohol was one of the commodities they brought with them to exchange for African goods. Eventually alcohol was used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Europeans made rum in the West Indies, took it to

Stressed World2011Aluminum, copper wire186 x 258 in.Collection of the artist


Liverpool, and then sent it back to Africa. For me, the bottle caps have a strong reference to the history of Africa.” – El Anatsui

In 2002, Anatsui was walking in the area surrounding the university and stumbled across a stash of tops from schnapps, whiskey, wine, rum, gin, brandy, and vodka bottles produced in West Africa. He took the tops back to his studio and began to affix them together much as he had done with the milk lids. The result was astounding. The gold, red, black, and blue colors and images blurred into each other forming a tapestrylike metal wall sculpture. Though many have compared his works to West African cloth, when he found the tops, one of the artist’s first thoughts was of the history of migration and consumption. In this recent piece, Anatsui continues to use these materials in new and surprising ways.

Looking and Interpreting• Notice the different areas of the sculpture. What makes them different?

How are each of the areas created? • Look carefully of at the materials used in this sculpture. What brands can

you make out?

Connecting and Doing• Research the history of the brands of the bottle tops that Anatsui uses.

Some of the companies have European origins with factories in Africa which produce their products for West African consumption.

• People in West Africa give these brands of liquors used in the sculptures as gifts to hosts or for special occasions. Are there gifts that you give to people when you visit or to celebrate special occasions? What are the reasons why you might give a specific item?


RESOURCES

Old Cloth Series (detail)1993Wood, paint31.5 x 60.25 in.Collection of Neil Coventry

RESOURCES 37

LESSON 1Research Activity: El Anatsui’s Life and Works of Art

ObjectivesUsing information gathered on websites, students will research the life of contemporary artist El Anatsui and examples of his work in a variety of materials.

Grades 4-12

Materials Computers with Internet access, worksheets

ProcedureMany websites and image galleries feature El Anatsui’s work. In this lesson, students will use these sites to research El Anatsui’s life and select examples of works of art in the variety of materials that he uses. The worksheet included can provide a guide for this research. Note: Teachers can assign any number of questions to the students depending on the time. If computers are not available in the classroom, this can be done as a homework assignment.

1. Researching El Anatsui’s Life a. Where was El Anatsui born? Where did he go to

school and get his training?El Anatsui was born in Ghana in 1944. He • earned a bachelor’s degree in sculpture and a postgraduate diploma in art education from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

b. Where does El Anatsui teach and work? From 1975 to 2010, he was professor of • sculpture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he taught since 1975.

c. Where was his work exhibited?Anatsui’s work has appeared in group • exhibitions at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA; the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC; the October Gallery, London; and in the celebrated exhibition Africa Remix, which opened in 2005 in Düsseldorf and traveled to London, Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm, and Johannesburg. His work has also been included in numerous biennial exhibitions, including in Venice (1990 and 2007), Havana (1994), Johannesburg (1995), Gwangju (2004), and Sharjah (2009), as well as in Prospect.1 New Orleans (2008). Gawu, a solo show of metal sculptures, traveled throughout Europe, North America, and Asia from 2004 to 2008.

d. What awards has he won?In 2008, Anatsui received the Visionaries • Artist Award from the Museum of Arts and Design, in New York City. He is also a laureate of the 2009 Prince Claus Award.


LESSON PLANS

e. Which institutions and individuals collect his work?

His work is collected by institutions • internationally, including the British Museum, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; the Denver Art Museum, Denver; the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; and the de Young Museum, San Francisco and many others.

2. Researching El Anatsui’s works of art and materials: Examples of works of art included in this packet are in italics. Note: Many websites feature examples of El Anatsui’s work created in materials and processes other than those included in this packet. a. Find a work by El Anatsui made out of ceramic.

Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

Omen• , Ceramic, manganese, 1977Chambers of Memory• , Ceramic, manganese, 1977

b. Find a work that El Anatsui created out of wood. Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

Akua’s Surviving Children• , Wood, metal, 1996God’s Omnipotence• , Wood, paint, lacquer, 1974Lady in Frenzy,• Metal, wood, fabric, 1999Leopard’s Paw-prints and Other Stories• , Wood, paint, 1991

c. Find a work that El Anatsui made out of recycled materials. Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

Opening Market• , Tin, paper, wood, paint, 2004Peak Project• , Tin, copper wire, 1999

d. Find a work that El Anatsui made out of metal. Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

Sacred Moon• , Aluminum, copper wire, 2007Stressed World• , Aluminum, copper wire, 2011

e. Find a work by El Anatsui that reminds you of fabric. Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

Peak Project• , Tin, copper wire, 1999Sacred Moon• , Aluminum, copper wire, 2007Stressed World• , Aluminum, copper wire, 2011

LESSON PLANS 39

WORKSHEET

Exploring El Anatsui’s Life: 1. Where was El Anatsui born? Where did he go to

school and get his training?

2. Where does El Anatsui teach and work?

3. Where was his work exhibited?

4. What awards has he won?

5. Which institutions and individuals collect his work?

Exploring the El Anatsui’s works of art and materials1. Find a work by El Anatsui made out of ceramic.

Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

2. Find a work that El Anatsui created out of wood. Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

3. Find a work that El Anatsui made out of recycled materials. Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

4. Find a work that El Anatsui made out of metal. Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

5. Find a work by El Anatsui that reminds you of fabric. Share which artwork you chose and describe what you see.

Possible Website ResourcesEl Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa,

Museum for African Art’s Exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum

http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/special/elanatsui/index.php

New York Times, “A Thousand Bottles…” by Alexi Worth www.nytimes.com/indexes/2009/02/22/style/t/index.html#pageName=22nigeria

“El Anatsui, a Sculptor Who Starts From Scrap” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/

story/2008/03/20/ST2008032003103.htmlEl Anatsui Bio http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/anatsui.htmSome Artworks with audio from El Anatsui http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/gawu/artworks.html


LESSON PLANS 41

LESSON 2: Creating a Found-object Work of Art

ObjectiveStudents will create their own found-object work of art based on one of their memories.

Grades 1-12

MaterialsFound objects (magazines, string, bottle caps, boxes, etc.); paper; pencils and markers; and glue, glue sticks, pipe cleaners, wire, and other fasteners.

ProcedureHomework: Have students collect and bring objects from home, i.e. magazines, wrappers, bottle caps.

Start a discussion asking students to list the objects that they see in their daily lives. What are the materials these objects are made out of? Where do they encounter them? Introduce at least one example of a work of art by El Anatsui. Discuss the materials that he uses. Then ask students to recall and identify five memories or events that are significant to them. Ask students to choose one of those memories or events as an inspiration for creating an artwork using found objects. Students should be encouraged select objects or images that have significance for them and to use a variety of materials to create either a two or three-dimensional work of art.


DATE El ANATSUI’S LIFE WORLD EVENT

ARTIST’S TIMELINE

TIMELINE 43

1944 Born in Anyako, in the Volta Region of Ghana. June 6 – Allied Forces, including British, American, Canadian and Free French airborne troops, invade Normandy to combat German forces on what was called D-Day, a turning point leading to the end of World War II.

1965–68 Attends College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

1967 – The Nigerian-Biafran War, also known as of the Nigerian Civil War, begins on May 30 as a result of economic, ethnic, cultural, and religious tensions existing between the nearly 300 different ethnic and cultural groups which inhabit the Nigeria.

1965 Produces heraldic sculptures, including coats of arms for Ghana, Uganda, Tunisia, and Zambia, in preparation for a meeting of the heads of state for the Organization of African Unity (O.A.U.) conference in Accra, Ghana.

Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s leader at the time, was made Secretary-General of the O.A.U. in October 1965, and presided over the summit.

1969 Receives postgraduate diploma in Art Education from University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

1969–75 Lecturer, Art Education Department, Specialist Training College, Winneba, Ghana (now University of Education, Winneba)

1970 – Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, declares itself an independent and racially segregated republic on March 1.

1970s Begins to incorporate adinkra, a Ghanaian symbolic language of ideograms, into his art practice. One of the symbols, sankofa, represents a bird known for its ability to look backward and is associated with the concept of looking to the past in order to plan the future. Anatsui’s use of adinkra is an attempt to use tradition as a way of moving art forward.

1972–75 Exhibits with a group of artists who hold annual shows in Ghana (both at Winneba and Accra) under the name Tekarts. Members include Desmond Fiadjoe, Philip Amonoo, Edith Agbenaza, Richard Ekem, Hope Gamor, and David Akotia.

1972 – Eleven Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich are killed after eight members of an Arab terrorist group invade the Olympic Village.1975 – Pol Pot (May 19, 1925 – April 15, 1998) and the Khmer Rouge, a communist party, take over Cambodia in April. They rule for four years, during which approximately 2 million Cambodians die due to political executions, starvation, and forced labor.

1975–82 Lecturer, Fine and Applied Arts Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

1976 First major solo exhibition, Wooden Wall Plaques by El Anatsui, held in Nsukka, Nigeria. The plaques are produced by the same carvers that make trays for market wares. Anatsui marked the trays with adinkra symbols and hung them on a wall. This is the first time Anatsui sculpts with materials originally intended for another use.

1977–79 Begins to work on his Broken Pots series in 1977—a group of ceramics based on the idea that fragments of a sculpture, or pieces of history, are equally powerful as a complete work. Exhibits the suite in 1979 at the British Council, Enugu and at the Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

1980s Makes a number of paintings during this period using colors and patterns that later appear in some of his carved wood sculptures and his sculptures using metal bottle tops.

1982–96 Senior lecturer, Fine and Applied Arts Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

1983 Joins an art collective called SKEP, coined from the initials of members S.P.K. Awa, S.E. Anku and E.K. Anatsui. Out of a series of proposals submitted, Anatsui’s designs, Ambivalent Hold and For the Upliftment of Man were selected by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to be realized on the grounds of the new Physical Sciences building. The sculptures were fabricated jointly by the group.

1985–87 Visiting artist at the Cornwall College of Further and Higher Education in Redruth, England. In 1987, a solo exhibition, Venovize: Ceramic Sculpture by El Anatsui, is held at the college.

1986 – Desmond Tutu (b. October 7 1931), a Christian cleric and South African activist known for his opposition to Apartheid, becomes the first black elected as an Anglican Archbishop in South Africa on April 14.

1986 Founding member, AKA Circle of Exhibiting Artists in its first year, 1986, and participates in their exhibitions for more than a decade. Each exhibition starts in Enugu and continues on to Lagos. Other founding members include Obiora Udechukwu, Tayo Adenaike, Chris Afuba, Chike Aniakor, Obiora Anidi, Ifediorama Dike, Chike Ebebe, Chris Echeta, Nsikak Essien, Bona Ezeudu, Boniface Okafor, and Samson Uchendu.

1986 – Wole Soyinka (b. July 13, 1934) is the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for his political activism and his criticism of Nigerian military dictators. Soyinka published poetry that he had written on toilet paper while imprisoned in Nigeria for conspiracy. His works include poetry, plays, memoirs, essays, and novels laced with Yoruba legends and political protest.

Mid-1980s to present

Makes wall sculptures from wooden slats that hang vertically side by side. Continues to use this format throughout his career.

1986 Creates a wood sculpture and several prints titled When I last wrote to you about Africa . . . (or a variation of that title), using adinkra symbols. This wood sculpture is rare for Anatsui in that it consists of horizontal, rather than vertical, wood slats.

1989 – Tens of thousands of Chinese students take over Tiananmen Square in Beijing demanding democracy, beginning on April 19. Thousands of students are ordered killed by the military and police in Tiananmen Square by the communist Chinese government.

1990 Participates in the exhibition Five Contemporary African Artists at the 44th Venice Biennale.

1990 – On February 11, the South Africa government frees Nelson Mandela (b. July 18, 1918), after 27½ years of imprisonment.

1990 Begins to make wood sculptures using a chainsaw during an artist-in-residence program at the Cummington Community of Arts in Massachusetts.

1991 – Apartheid laws in South Africa are repealed by the country’s parliament on June 5.

1992 Produces the wood sculpture Erosion at an Earth Summit workshop in Manaus, Brazil. The works made by participants are displayed in the exhibition Arte Amazonas at the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro.

1992 – The Cold War ends on February 1 as the result of a formal proclamation by President George H. W. Bush (b. June 12, 1924) of the United States and President Boris Yeltsin (February 1, 1931 – April 23, 2007) of Russia.



TIMELINE 45

1996 Creates the wood sculpture Akua’s Surviving Children from driftwood found on the beach while he is a visiting artist at International People’s College, Helsingør, Denmark.

1995 – The Nigerian government hangs writer Ken Saro-Wiwa (October 10, 1941 – November 10, 1995) and eight other minority rights advocates on November 10. Saro-Wiwa was the leader of a nonviolent campaign against environmental degradation of land and water in his homeland of Ogoniland in the Niger Delta.

1998–2000 Head of Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

1999 Creates the wood sculpture Signature at the Cyfuniad International Artists Workshop, Plas Caerdon, Wales. In Nigeria, wood planks and logs cut for sale are often marked with a stroke of paint to denote the log’s owner. In Signature, Anatsui makes reference to this practice and the individual “signature” left behind.

2001 Creates the ceramic-and-glass sculpture Digital River for the Biennale de Ceramica dell’ Arte Contemporanea, Villa Groppallo, Vado Ligure, Italy.

2001 – Twin Towers in New York City collapse after attack by Muslim extremists on September 11. Attacks are also directed at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and a plane which crashes in Pennsylvania. Three thousand people lose their lives. As a response military campaigns in Afghanistan are launched on October 7.

2002 Begins to make sculpture from the metal tops of local liquor bottles, which he finds while walking in the area surrounding the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Liquor brand names include Black Gold, Chelsea, Dark Sailor, Ecomog, King Edward, Mac Lord, 007, and Top Squad, among others.

2004 Creates the wood sculpture Aziza Gate during a residency at the Eden Project, Cornwall, U.K.

2003 - US Military campaign begins in Iraq due to suspicions of Iraqi possession of weapons of mass destruction and accusations of Iraq President Saddam Hussein’s (April 28, 1937 – December 30, 2006) harboring of members of al-Qaeda, a militant Islamist terrorist organization.

2005 Participates in Africa 05 celebration in London and in the touring exhibition Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent.

2005 - Chimanga Ngozi Adichie (b. September 15, 1977) receives the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book for her novel, Purple Hibiscus. The book is set in post-colonial Nigeria and follows the life of Kambili Achike, a young woman growing up in a disintegrating family set against the backdrop of Nigeria’s political instability and violence.

2007 Participates in the 52nd Venice Biennale, where his bottle-cap sculptures Dusasa I and Dusasa II are installed as focal points in the international exhibition in the Arsenale; a third bottle-cap sculpture, Fresh and Fading Memories, is draped over the entrance of the Palazzo Fortuny, commissioned for the exhibition there, Artempo: Where Time Becomes Art.

2006 – Sudanese government and the largest rebel group in the Darfur region of the country sign a peace accord, ending three years of conflict related to ethnic conflict, which resulted in the death of 200,000 people and the displacement of two million people. The accord resulted from intense talks in Nigeria calling for the disbandment of rebel forces and pro-government militia.


ANNOTATED WEBOGRAPHY

El Anatsui Installation Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7UBvknG8c4In this video, El Anatsui discusses the methods, history, and philosophy of his work. The video can promote a discussion about materials and the relationship between art, ideas, and everyday life. The video documents the process of installing one of his tapestries with curatorial commentary.

Danudo: Recent Sculptures of El Anatsui. Skoto Gallery (in collaboration with Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York)http://www.skotogallery.com/viewer/press.release.danudo.asdThis site features a personal statement by Anatsui about his work with liquor bottle tops. He explains his philosophy and approach to working with these materials, and shares the differences between his previous art and recent developments in his work.

El Anatsui Microsite: October Gallery, Londonhttp://www.octobergallery.co.uk/microsites/anatsui/This website offers a detailed look at El Anatsui’s life, career, and artistic process. It provides a general overview of his work and can be utilized for extensive research. The site features images, biography, lists of shows that have featured El Anatsui’s work, collections that include his work, and an extensive bibliography and filmography.

The October Gallery offers a book in pdf format for download that contains curatorial notes on Anatsui’s work and exhibitions, interviews with the artist, essays, photographs of his works, and a timeline : http://www.octobergallery.co.uk/artists/anatsui/el_anatsui_asi.pdf.

A PDF catalogue of the Gawu exhibition can also be downloaded http://octobergallery.co.uk/pdfs/gawu_el_anatsui_october_gallery.pdf that includes photographs of El Anatsui’s works and biography with the artist’s education, teaching history, and exhibition history, and an extensive bibliography.

Duvor. An Indianapolis Museum of Art Installationhttp://www.artbabble.org/video/ima/el-anatsuis-duvor-new-ima-installationThe Indianapolis Museum of Art has created several short videos about El Anatsui’s works of art.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Audio Podcast – Interview between El Anatsui and curator Alisa LaGammahttp://www.metmuseum.org/special/african_textiles/more.aspThis website features a curatorial essay, brief history of African textile traditions, and transcribed interview between the artist and Alisa LaGamma, curator of African Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Anatsui discusses his education, his reasons for choosing to work with bottle tops, and the way that he intends to reach viewers. The curatorial essay helps relate his work to West African history.

Rice University Art Galleryhttp://www.ricegallery.org/new/exhibition/newinstallation.htmlThis website focuses on El Anatsui’s installation at Rice Gallery and includes photos and a video of the installation as well as links to a radio piece and articles.

Zebra Crossing, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NYhttp://www.jackshainman.com/exhibition56.htmlThis website offers a curatorial essay detailing Anatsui’s approach to what constitutes refuse, as well as the purpose and creative challenges related to recycling objects and materials. The site also contains a brief biography, Anatsui’s education and exhibition history, and includes four photographs of the gallery installation.


VOCABULARY 47

VOCABULARY

Abstract Nonrepresentational, focused on formal relationships.

Adinkra Visual symbols used in Ghana and West Africa that represent concepts and ideas. May be used on fabric, pottery, woodcarvings, and other locations.

Composition The arrangement of elements in a work that form its whole.

Consumerism Social and economic order based on the creation of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever-greater amounts.

Ewe An ethnic group from the southeast corner of Ghana, east of the Volta River, in an area now described as the Volta Region, extending to southern Togo and western Benin. They speak the Ewe language.

Found-object An object used in artworks, which was originally created for another purpose.

Globalization The integration of regional economies, societies, and cultures through a global network of political ideas.

Kente Cloth Sacred strip-woven cloth worn by Ewe and Akan people from Ghana on important occasions. Characterized by bright, multicolored patterns, geometric shapes, and bold designs.

Monumental Massive, imposing; being larger than life.

Sculptural Three dimensional, consisting of sculpture-like qualities.

Textile Flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibers.

Transience Impermanent; lasting only a short time.

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