Sensory Overload

How does this artist use materials to appeal to the senses?

Enlargeable photo of a large, intricate art installation

Ernesto Neto (b. 1964), anthropodino, 2009. Lycra fabric, plywood, and spices. Paul Goguen/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

How does Neto’s choice of materials give the sculpture meaning?

Ernesto Neto makes large-scale installations. The Brazilian artist invites viewers to explore these works using all of their senses. He installed his massive anthropodino inside the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. Built in the 1870s, the Armory originally housed a local branch of the National Guard. Neto created anthropodino in the drill hall, which is in the center of the Armory and has 55,000 square feet of floor space and a ceiling height of 80 feet.

The title anthropodino is a play on the words anthropology and dinosaur. Anthropology is the study of cultures across time. Neto travels frequently and sees himself as an amateur anthropologist. “The anthropologist tries to find a structure for society,” he says. And as a sculptor, he thinks about how to build or find structure for a sculpture and “how to put humanity in it.” With anthropodino, Neto says, he is exploring “the animal that exists in us—the monster, the dinosaur, the imaginary.”

On May 14, 2009, anthropodino opened to the public and ran for one month. In that brief time, more than 30,000 people experienced the interactive sculpture through sight, sound, touch, and smell.

Notes on anthropodino

1. Neto wanted to “touch his audience with smell,” so he poured different spices into the fabric sacks suspended from the canopy. The yellow stains are from turmeric. The brown stains are from cloves and cumin. Some art critics have described the sacks as “limbs,” while others have likened them to stalactites that form from dripping water in caves.

2. Neto liked the raw emptiness of the drill hall. He described it as a “shell, physically and metaphorically” protecting his sculpture.

3. The tunnel-like arms extending out of the main dome invited visitors into the belly of the sculpture for a fully immersive experience.

4. Neto used pale, sheer fabric for both the canopy that hung from the ceiling and the “skin” that stretched over the bone-like structural joints of the dome and its arms.

5. The multisensory experience Neto created for visitors included a calming hug from a giant, dark-purple pillow in one chamber and, in another area, the delightful squeal of children diving into a pit filled with bright-aqua plastic balls.

6. Light easily passed through the sheer fabric, creating depth and shadows as well as a sense that the sculpture’s organic shapes created a living being.

Teaching Resources

SKILLS SHEETS

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All Skill Builders: Grades 7-12

Download all skill builders for grades 7-12 from the December 2021 issue.

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Graphic Organizer: Materials With Meaning

Grades 7-12: Analyze how artists worked with techniques in the December 2021 issue.

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Sketchbook Starters: Materials With Meaning

Grades 7-12: Create a sketch based on prompts from the December 2021 issue.

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Vocabulary: Materials With Meaning

Grades 7-12: View definitions for the elements and principles of art featured in the December 2021 issue.

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Reading Review: Materials With Meaning

Grades 7-12: Answer reading comprehension questions about the December 2021 issue.

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Comprehension Quiz: Materials With Meaning

Grades 7-12: Take a multiple-choice quiz about the December 2021 issue.

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Art installation
Tree

Show your class a projectable poster of Ernesto Neto's work.

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All Posters

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LESSON PLANS

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All Lesson Plans: Grades 7-12

Download all lesson plans for grades 7-12 from the December 2021 issue.

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Answer Key: Grades 7-12

Find answers to the skill builders and activities for grades 7-12 from the December 2021 issue.

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Lesson: Sensory Overload

View a lesson plan for grades 7-12 about how Ernesto Neto uses materials to engage the senses from the December 2021 issue.

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Learning Journey: Sensory Overload

Share an interactive slide deck with your students.

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SKILLS SHEETS

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Visual Vocabulary: Materials With Meaning

Grades 4-6: Create sketches based on art vocabulary words featured in the December 2021 issue.

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What I Learned: Materials With Meaning

Grades 4-6: Use a graphic organizer to closely read the December 2021 issue.

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Summarize: Materials With Meaning

Grades 4-6: Answer reading comprehension questions about the December 2021 issue.

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All Skill Builders: Grades 4-6

Download all skill builders and hands-on projects for grades 4-6 from the December 2021 issue.

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LESSON PLANS

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Answer Key: Grades 4-6

Find answers to the skill builders and activities for grades 4-6 from the December 2021 issue.

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All Lesson Plans: Grades 4-6

Download all lesson plans for grades 4-6 from the December 2021 issue.

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Text-to-Speech