Visual Poetry/Performing Script: The Art of Wosene Worke Kosrof

Abstract

Drawing on numerous interviews with the artist, the authors use a loosely biographical approach to explore the conditions and inspirations of Wosene Worke Kosrof’s artistic production over his career of nearly forty years. Emphasis is placed on Wosene’s ability to layer multiple “stories” by evincing a temporal, spatial, and kinetic aesthetic in his visual work; on his choice of and approach to his materials; and on the changes in his oeuvre over the years: from painting and mixed media to monumental steel sculptures of Amharic letters, constructed in collaboration with local Ethiopian welders. The authors also bring Wosene’s work into conversation with some of the broader artistic movements that have used script “against itself.”