El anatsui: bonds and bottle caps
El Anatsui’s Gravity and Grace Monumental Works (2009), Brooklyn Museum | © Eva Blue-Flickr.jpg As you descend the steps into the British Museum’s ‘Africa’ wing, you are immediately confronted by a sculpture, large in scale, that resembles a swathe of draped cloth—except the piece is made from bottle tops and discarded wrappers. It is ‘Man’s […]
How to talk about Modern & Contemporary African Art: A beginner’s guide
Veronica Alves dos Santos’s Confidence – Ethiopia (2018), print on cotton paper, 30 x 50 cm Start with the basics It’s difficult to know where to start with African Modern and Contemporary Art, especially as it is a topic that is rarely taught in schools and universities. Where to find books? Where to start learning? […]
Inspired by Africa: Henri Matisse
Left: Kuba Cloth from Matisse’s Collection, artist unknown. Right: Matisse’s Red Interior still life on a blue table (1942) The influences of African art on various artists and movements throughout history recount fascinating stories of cultural exchange, theft, homage and colonialism. In this series of articles, Inspired by Africa, we assess the ways that some […]
Inspired by Africa: Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), oil on canvas, 243.9 cm × 233.7 cm The influences of African art on various artists and movements throughout history recount fascinating stories of cultural exchange, theft, homage and colonialism. In this series of articles, Inspired by Africa, we assess the ways that some of the most famous artists […]
Inspired by Africa: Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982), work in oil stick, acrylic and spray paint The influences of African art on various artists and movements throughout history recount fascinating stories of cultural exchange, theft, homage and colonialism. In this series of articles, Inspired by Africa, we assess the ways that some of the most famous artists in the […]