History in art

Don't Miss Your Chance--"El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa"

El Anatsui: Blanton Promo with Oasis

Image credit: The Blanton Musuem of Art

El Anatsui’s art is haunting. The shimmering bottle tops of his most recent pieces, meticulously netted and woven with the help of his young crew, speak of previous uses, prior intents, and pasts that pummel and prod. A retrospective exhibition of the Ghanaian artist’s 30-year career is currently on view at UT’s own Blanton Museum of Art. The exhibition, “El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa,” is a wonderful investigation of the tangible ways that the past weaves itself into our present.

Danie Mellor: Environmental and socio-historical ideas in fine art

Jo Jo the Joey, by Danie Mellor

Danie Mellor is an Australian fine artist whose themes integrate environmental and socio-historical concerns.  His message isn't quite as "left-brained" as the ideal I'm seeking (my goal is to find art whose ideas are clear through the art itself, without a separate artist's or museum statement).  But there's something to be learned from Mellor about ways to achieve that ideal.  Plus, his work is so beautiful that I'm utterly seduced into presenting it here.

Recent comments