At the Brooklyn Museum

 Death Cart 1890-1910

The work is a small, carved wooden skeleton of the angel of death, Dona Sebastiana, that is covered with gesso. She holds a bow and arrow and sits upon a two wheeled cart. The artist was an unknown member of the Los Hermanos Penitentes Society in what is now New Mexico. The sculpture is a smaller version of the death carts pulled by penitent brothers during Holy Week. During this time, public processions reenacted the sorrow and suffering of Christ’s last days with the brothers practicing self-flagellation with whips and dragging large, heavy crosses and death carts. The depiction of the angel of death, Dona Sebastiana in this piece reminds the viewer of human morality and the importance of praying for a “good” death through prayer and virtuous deeds. Though it is not large, the work is striking. The fine details of the hair and skeleton make the sculpture seem almost real.

Gli (Wall), 2010

This sculpture is incredibly large, made of aluminum and copper wire constructed by the by the Ghanian sculptor El Anatsui. El Anatsui became interested in the notions of walls after visiting cities (Jerusalem, Berlin, and Notsie) that have been by walls as religious, political, and social constructs. The word, gli, can mean “wall,” “disrupt,” or “story” in the Ewe language, El Anatsui’s native tongue. Anatsui believes that walls are meant to block views, but instead they only block the view of the eye, not the imagination; and walls reveal more than they hide. Gli allows its viewers to take a close look at the process of creativity and the hard work of the imagination. The sculpture is impressive with its wire workings and beautiful weaving. The incorporation of usually material taken for granted, such as aluminum, and a material seen as valuable, copper, deepens the meaning of the imaginative walls for me.