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The Artist Project

The Artist Project: Pat Steir

Artist Pat Steir reflects on the Kongo Power Figure in this episode of The Artist Project.
From March 2015 to June 2016, we invited 120 artists—local, national, and global—to choose individual works of art or galleries that sparked their imaginations. In this online series, artists reflect on what art is, what inspires them from across 5,000 years of art, and in so doing, they reveal the power of a museum and The Met.

"He seems human, to me, a friend . . . me."

Artist Pat Steir reflects on the Kongo Power Figure in this episode of The Artist Project—an online series in which artists respond to works of art in The Met collection.

About the Artist
Pat Steir, born in 1940, is an American painter and printmaker.

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Art Mentioned

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Mangaaka Power Figure (Nkisi N’Kondi), Kongo artist and nganga, Yombe group, Wood, iron, resin, ceramic, plant fiber, textile, pigment, Kongo
Mangaaka Power Figure (Nkisi N’Kondi)
Kongo artist and nganga, Yombe group
Second half of the 19th century