Rudzani Nemasetoni, born 1962, South Africa Search this
Medium:
Tin, wood, plaster, paper, ink
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 97.4 x 51.8 x 4.4 cm (38 3/8 x 20 3/8 x 1 3/4 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
South Africa
Date:
1995
Label Text:
Nemasetoni created the "Urban Testaments" series with found objects from demolished buildings in New York's Harlem. The materials reminded him of his life in Soweto. Into each panel he incorporated pages and elements from his father's passbook--an identification document black South Africans were required to carry under the laws of apartheid. While addressing the specificities of South African history, Nemasetoni's works also draw compelling parallels with conditions of urban life throughout the globe, in which creative individuals craft striking and meaningful artistic and cultural expressions from detritus and recycled materials.
Description:
Mixed media assemblage composed of tin, wood and an image of a passbook.
Exhibition History:
A Brave New World, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., August 10, 2010-November 27, 2011
African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Philadelphia Museum of Art, October 2, 2004-January 2, 2005
Claiming Art / Reclaiming Space: Post Apartheid Art from South Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 21-September 26, 1999
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