I went to the Fowler Museum for a homeschooling field trip yesterday and happened upon two beautiful exhibits. The first was Butabu: Adobe Architecture of West Africa, Photographs by James Morris (through July 15). All you cobbers and natural building fans might really enjoy seeing these photographs. For centuries, earthen structures have been built in the Sahel region of western Africa—Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. Made of earth mixed with water, these buildings display a remarkable diversity of form and human ingenuity. Documented in beautiful, large-scale photographs by British photographer James Morris, the show offers a visual survey of these structures, from monumental mosques to modest family homes. See some of them here
The other exhibit at the Fowler also comes from Africa. El Anatsui: Gawu (though August 26) is a one man show by one of Africa's most influential artists, El Anatsui. He is originally from Ghana but has been living in Nigeria since 1975. His work dwells on the continent's history, drawing on traditional African idioms and contemporary western art. Art in America (May 2006) said "It's hard to think of many found-object artists who have achieved work as intricately made, culturally resonant and visually sumptuous as El Anatsui's."
This exhibition includes eight large-scale works that make use of large quantities of discarded everyday objects such as bottle tops, flattened food tins, and cassava graters woven together to create magnificent sculptural 'tapestries'. The title "Gawu" means "metal cloak". They look great in the photographs on the web, but seeing them fill the large gallery, reflecting light like a giant shimmering curtain, was amazing. One piece had a pattern recalling woven kente cloth. Another reminded me of a small forest of golden trees or figures emerging from the earth. There was one made from rusty handmade graters that were previously used for shredding cassava roots to make the Nigerian staple gari, a flour used in doughs and porridge. It has an ancient, worn out feeling, perhaps like the land it came from.
Museum admission is always free. Parking at UCLA is 8.00. Park in lot 4. I met friends there who took took the bus which stops at the UCLA Transit Center at Hilgard and Strathmore Avenues. They said it was only a few minutes walk. It is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., Thursday until 8 p.m.
