245. Old Man’s Cloth. El Anatsui. 2003 CE. Aluminum and copper wire

• Technique and Materials
  • One thousand drink tops are joined by wire to form a cloth-like hanging
  • Bottlecaps are from a distillery in Nigeria
  • The artist uses power tools such as chainsaws and welding torches.
  • The artist converts found materials into a new type of media that lies somewhere between painting and sculpture
  • Recycling of found objects
• Form
  • The work is not flat, but hung as cloth
  • Curators are often left to hanging El Anatsuiś work to the best advantage; the work appears slightly different in each setting
• Context
  • El Anatsui was born in Ghana; spent much of his career in Nigeria
  • The artist produces colorful, textured wall hangings related to West African textiles
  • The gold color reflects traditional cloth colors of Ghana and references royalty
  • The gold also symbolizes Ashanti control over the hold trade in Africa
  • El Anatsui combines aesthetic traditions of his home country of Ghana, his adopted country of Nigeria, and the global art movement of abstract art