El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). <em>Black Block</em>, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2013_Anatsui_Gravity_and_Grace_032_PS4_2013.7a-b.jpg)

El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). Black Block, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2013_Anatsui_Gravity_and_Grace_032_PS4_2013.7a-b.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Does the work always look like this?

One of the many interesting things about El Anatsui's work is that he doesn't dictate how any of his works should be displayed. He allows the curators and art handlers to make choices about where the work should be folded, tucked and laid flat. The artist has said "The whole idea is that I want to involve whoever is dealing with the artwork to also bring in a bit of him- or herself, to incorporate the way he or she is feeling."

How long did this take to make?

While we don't know the exact number of man-hours put into this amazing El Anatsui work, I can tell you he hires and trains local craftsmen to assist with his projects. The work is made of aluminum and copper wire on which discarded bottle caps are then strung. I imagine it would take many people and many hours to create a finished project.

Why bottle caps?

Anatsui has written that he feels bottle caps have “more versatility than canvas and oil.” He links the material to the legacy of colonialism and the triangular trade that brought alcohol like rum---which was produced by enslaved people from Africa---from the Caribbean to England and Africa. Having sourced his first bottle caps from a bag he found discarded on the side of the road, Anatsui also understands the material in relation to consumption, waste, and the environment.

Black Block

El Anatsui

Contemporary Art

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“I look for things that are immediately available . . . I transform the media; I give them a new lease on life.” When you examine Ghanaian artist El Anatsui’s awe-inspiring sculpture Black Block, remember that the artist made it with humble materials: aluminum from discarded bottle caps and wire. Anatsui has become internationally recognized for his ability to take discarded materials and manipulate them into breathtaking artworks. They have no specific orientation—the artist adheres to the notion of “non-fixed form”—meaning that each work is dynamic and ever-evolving.

Anatsui’s sculptures are traditionally oversize, sometimes large enough to cover buildings. Hung like a wall tapestry, this smaller example nonetheless shows the undulating qualities of flattened, twisted metal. True to its title, Black Block is primarily black with flashes of red and yellow. It explores the monumentality and meditativeness of a single color while introducing subtle variations, activating the otherwise uniform surface with small surprises.

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Gallery Label

Materials that some would discard or recycle can also be considered valuable resources and reimagined as art and fashion. After uncurling, flattening, trimming, and piercing thousands of metal pieces, Nigeria-based Ghanaian artist El Anatsui connects them into expansive panels of color. This “fabric” is then draped across a wall, becoming a large operatic surface. In Black Block, Anatsui utilized black whiskey caps with brand names printed in gold, such as Liquor Headmaster, Romatex, and Black Gold Whiskey, creating a subtle sparkle as the light catches the gold ink.

ARTIST El Anatsui, Ghanaian, born 1944

MEDIUM Aluminum and copper wire

DATES 2010

DIMENSIONS two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2013.7a-b

CREDIT LINE Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange

PROVENANCE April 18, 2013, purchased from Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY by the Brooklyn Museum.

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EXHIBITIONS

Solid Gold

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). Black Block, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2013_Anatsui_Gravity_and_Grace_032_PS4_2013.7a-b.jpg)

IMAGE installation, DIG_E_2013_Anatsui_Gravity_and_Grace_032_PS4_2013.7a-b.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2013

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Does the work always look like this?

How long did this take to make?

Why bottle caps?