ART on view 80 themselves. The Minneapolis-based firm Vincent James Associates Architects (VJAA), which designed the new spaces and oversaw the display, aptly translated this theme into a visual vocabulary based on the concept of temporal field, inspired by the awareness of how people, objects, and building forms act within a dynamic and changing arena. The gallery reorganization, with its hierarchy of display elements, from ceiling-high cases to open platforms, is conceived as such a field, and the visitor’s movement through the exhibit sets the objects in motion relative both to each other and to other visitors.8 The installation is organized into six loosely delineated thematic groupings. A small gallery (745 square feet, or 70 square meters), formerly housing art from ancient Egypt, the Cyclades, and Assyria, now shows “Designing Form and Function,” an ensemble of objects that, through their striking shapes, colors, and textures, embodies the playful ingenuity of African artists. The display includes textiles, ceramics, gourds, and metal blades that will regularly rotate (fig. 9). “Commanding Authority,” a more classic theme, illustrates how leaders in Africa, beginning thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, have commissioned art as a way of displaying FIG. 10: Installation view of the new African galleries at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The open platform holds musical instruments, including an Akan drum, a Lobala slit gong, a Leele drum, and a Senufo rhythm pounder. Image courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. FIG. 11 (left): Mami Wata figure. Igbo, Nigeria. 1950s. Wood, pigments. H: 86.5 cm. The Norman Gabrick Endowment for African Art, MIA 2011.29.
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