African

Ancient Mediterranean

Asian

European and American

Art since 1900

Art since 1900

Influenced by community, ancestry, African art and aesthetics, Renée Stout uses the technique of assemblage to transform everyday objects into extraordinary sculptures that often function as healing agents. The term "assemblage," a method of turning found objects into three-dimensional structures, was first coined by French artist Jean Dubuffet in 1953 and was later given currency by the Museum of Modern Art's 1961 exhibition, "The Art of Assemblage." While its western antecedents can be traced back to early twentieth-century European collage, its methods have also been frequently employed in West African art. Stout's sculptures draw on both of these traditions. Stout portrays Ogun, the Yoruba (Nigerian) deity of iron and war, as an nkisi, a traditional Kongo "power object" that represents spiritual forces or personalities. Ogun symbolizes strength and protection, and his energy affects machines. For Stout, Ogun functions on many personal levels. She believes her family possesses strong Ogun energy: both of her grandfathers worked in Pittsburgh steel mills, her father is a mechanic, and she, as a sculptor, uses many power tools. She hopes that viewers may understand Ogun as both a therapeutic means of handling pain, and as an homage to "our male ancestors so that they will give guidance to future generations of young black men."