On April 23 I had the great pleasure of attending a special
program at Princeton University where the great contemporary artist El Anatsui
(born in Ghana, based since 1975 in Nigeria) was interviewed by Chika
Okeke-Agulu, professor of art and archaeology in the African American Studies
program at Princeton. The university’s art museum had just acquired one of his
stunningly beautiful wall sculptures—one that is particularly mosaic-like—and
the artist was in town for the installation and for a brief artist-in-residence
visit to engage with students and faculty.
The April 23rd program was open
to the public. What a thrill for me to
ask him a couple of questions from the audience!
The 2014 piece is titled Another
Place, and like all his recent work, is made of found aluminum from bottle
caps and collars repurposed from used alcoholic beverage containers, the
cut/folded/crushed/crumpled pieces joined by copper wire to create a
shimmering, softly draped metallic tapestry. The curator describes this
particular work as reminiscent of an aerial map of Africa. It hangs in a place
of honor as you enter the museum.
After the public program I had an opportunity to meet the
artist in person and convey my admiration for his work and the deep resonance
I—a mosaic artist—felt with his process. I even mentioned that I had presented
a talk and documentary film on his work three years ago at the annual
conference of the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA).
How fortunate I feel that from this day
forward we in Princeton have an El Anatsui right here in our hometown.
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| Speaking to El Anatsui at the Princeton University Art Museum. You can see Another Place (2014) hanging behind him in the top photo. |
