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I had the pleasure to visit the El Anatsui exhibition at The Blantom museum and it took me by surprise. The sculptures made by El Anatsui describe many meanings of African culture and the modern world; it describes the lives of Africans and the influence of the western world over Africa. El Anatsui spur from Ghana and his art have been displayed all around the world; he is a symbol of modern African Culture and a great artist. At the Blantom museum there is currently a exhibition called “When I Last Wrote To You About Africa.” I recommend that everyone should experience the extraudanary work of El Anatsui at the Blantom

El Anatsui art can vary from paintings to wood work and most impressively wire work. The wire work are sheet made of copper and aluminum which are extremely impressive to see as they look like blankets made of steel and knitted with copper wire. Theses blankets are the first work of art to see as entering the exhibit and will completely change your mind as to the amount of work it took to create such a sensational piece of art. I enjoyed the wood work and the painting from El Anatsui, but I was completely taken by the copper wire work and will focus on explaining three different aspects that I found very interesting from this work.

First, was the cultural meaning from this work, it encompasses African culture and it defines a new wave of African Art. The copper wire work seems to be blankets with much meaning toward African colors and style. I have lived my life in South America and seen the African culture that left many historic arts around South America from countries like Trinidad &amp; Tobago and Jamaica, the colors used in these sheets of metal reminded me to the colors I have seen in many South American and Caribbean African influence art. What is more impressive and culturally significant is the material used which brings me to my second aspect about the work of El Anatsui. It is not the copper wire or the aluminum that gives his work the cultural significance and modern view of African culture, but it is the source of the wire and aluminum. El Anatsui uses the wire and aluminum from the seals of wine bottles of all different brands and combines the colors of these brands to create the contours of his art and the significance of modern commerce and recycling in Africa. Both of my first to aspect go hand to hand as they are both a part of African culture, the colors which signify African influence and the symbolic use of recycled goods to signify the influence corporate influence of the western civilization over Africa. There was another work which was a sheet but was placed by order of El Anatsui as peaks that look like small mountains of about one to two foot long and was made with the lids of cans. The reason El Anatsui wanted these sheets placed as peaks, and was named “Peak Project,” was because the lids used to make these sheets were from a brand of canned milk called “peak milk.” El Anatsui captures the use of modern art with a cultural background and the use of significant materials to convey his message.

Last but not least is the personality of the work which can be seen in the display by orders of the position of the sheets that brings out the personality of the artist. The one thing that I enjoyed the most was the personality of El Anatsui as he has given the liberty, and encourage the museum to display his art as the curator envision it. All of the sheet were brought to the U.S. carefully folded and are displayed extended but curved as a blanket been swept by the wind. These curvatures that display the beauty of the art are done by the curator with the permission of El Anatsui, all except the Peak Project were envisioned by the curator of the Blantom Museum. The freedom that El Anatsui shows in his art gives a pleasant surprise of his personality as a person who wishes to share his art for people to play with it and interact in not only a visual way but also a physical way. At the Blantom there is a section of the display where a sheet of magnets is extended on a wall in order for the viewers to play with as if they were organizing the sheet to show the contours of El Anatsui’s work. It is a beautiful display with different ways that the public can interact with the art.

If you haven’t had the chance to visit the Blantom this would be an excellent time to visit, there is also an exhibition of renaissance art but I recommend the El Anatsui Exhibit. It took me by surprise and I hope that it will do the same to you. The sheet of steel and other works there will capture your attention as it has captured mine.