El Anatsui (born 1944) is asculptor from Ghana. He has spent much of his career in Nigeria (a country in West Africa) where he is an artist and professor at a local college.
He has recently become popular around the world for his recycled "bottle-top installations".
Inspired by the growing waste from things humans use such as metal cans and bottle tops. West Africa, where El Anatsui lives, has limited recycling technology. Think about in what ways you notice waste around us at school, our home, our city, our country.
His materials are gathered from recycling stations and sewn together with copper wire, which are then transformed into metallic cloth-like wall sculptures resembling large pieces of shiny fabric.
“Individually, caps don’t have much to say but together they have a voice.”
Such materials, while seemingly stiff and sturdy, are actually free and flexible, which often helps with manipulation when installing his sculptures.
His art makes us think about "...consumption-the things we use, the garbage we create, and the environment".
In his studio, he works with teams of assistants--sometimes as many as 40-50 at a time-- to crush, crumple, twist, flatten, bend and fold these discarded items and then thread and bind them with copper wire.
Often times when artist start to become famous, they have to get help completing pieces. They can’t keep up with the demand of their work and need others to help execute their vision.
Once his art arrives at a museum, El Anatsui allows the museum to decide how to hang these large metal artworks. Usually they look similar to this.
Maybe you will get a chance to visit the art of El Anatsui here in our St. Louis Art Museum. The St. Louis Art Museum is in Forest Park. One of the best parts is that it's free to see all the art on exhibit.
Will your art help bring attention to the amount of waste people and companies make?
Will you use recycled materials in your art?
Will you work with metal to create your idea?
Your Turn
Maybe you will create with wire and bottle caps. Use a hand drill to make holes in the cap (use cardboard or your art book underneath what you are drilling). Wire cutters to cut and pliers to bend the wire.
Or maybe you will work with metal by embossing metal with metal tools. Metal tooling, also called “repousse” and “metal embossing” is a type of low-relief sculpture in which tools are used to create a design on metal.
Center a piece of cardboard onto a sheet of metal. Carefully fold over all 4 sides and press
Use popsicle sticks and wooden stylus to emboss aluminum
add color with Sharpie.
Metal is not porous. The ink will not soak in and dry like it does on paper so a permanent marker is the right tool for the job.
Let's look at the artist Fahrelnissa Zeid (far al nissa z-eye-d), "The Turkish Artist who walked on her canvases".
Prepare to be mesmerized! Fahrelnissa's paintings may remind you of looking through a Kaleidoscope. Notice the 'COOL Colors' in this Untitled work. Mostly blues and greens.
Karma bir doğurganlık Geometric shapes fill this canvas looking almost like shattered glass.
Raise your hand when you see Triangles, Squares, rectangles and a rhombus?
Fahrelnissa was born in Turkey in 1901.
Fahrenlisa was a princess born into an aristocratic family, she studied painting in Paris and Istanbul.
She was among the first women to attend art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul.
Fahrenlisa has international success exhibiting her paintings in many major cities, including Paris, London, New York and Brussels.
What does it mean if you exhibit your work?
Abstract Parrot
Later in her life, she started an art school, The Royal National Jordanian Institute Fahrelnissa Zeid of Fine Arts. She died in 1991 in Amman. She lived to be 90 years old.
Her vibrant abstract paintings are combination of Islamic, Byzantine, Arab and Persian influences.
What is ABSTRACT ART?
Abstract art is art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, colors, forms and gestural marks to achieve its effect. It does not look true to life.
Which of these Fox are abstract and which are realistic?
So now when we look at Fahrenlisa's art it might be easier to see it is ABSTRACT
She said, "I did not ‘intend’ to become an abstract painter; ...But flying by plane transformed me … The world is upside down. A whole city could be held in your hand: the world seen from above."
She said, Often, I am aware of what I have painted only when the canvas is at last finished.
Fight Against Abstraction (Dispute contre l'Abstraction) 1947
Her art seemed to be an obsession with line and dazzling color.
Resolved Problems 1948
Her studio was crammed with art--even on her ceiling and she wasn't particularly careful with her paintings as you can see in this photo. When her friends would visit, she would roll out one of her canvas paintings like a red carpet making her known for walking on her art.
Artists find influences all around. Fahrenlisa's vibrant abstract paintings are inspired by the cultures
As she was born into a multicultural empire and traveled extensively, Zeid identified herself with many cultures.
"I am a descendent of four civilizations. In my self-portrait […] the hand is Persian, the dress Byzantine, the face is Cretan and the eyes Oriental, but I was not aware of this as I was painting it."
Someone from the Past, 1980
Later in her life, She moved away from her abstract style of art and created portraits of her friends and family.
Dance How exciting that as an artist, you can create in more than one particular style.
Lady in Blue. Divine Protection.
Will you create an ABSTRACT work of art made of lines, shapes, patterns and color? Will you use pattern in your work? Will you create portraits of friends and family?
Your Turn
The BLUE PAINTER'S TAPE is the right material for the job!
If you are using paint or markers you will use 80 lb paper.
