96 relationships that will potentially endure past the present exhibitions and lead to future projects and collecting in these areas. Contemporary Perspectives on African Art Given the fact that African art is new or unexpected subject matter for many visitors to PMA, Creative Africa provides various points of entry ranging from fi ve diverse exhibitions to a robust lineup of programming geared toward families and students. In that spirit, Look Again: Contemporary Perspectives on African Art aspires to develop new audiences for African art and to convince them that, even lacking deep historical or cultural understanding at the outset, they can engage in meaningful ways with the works on view through close and comparative looking. To encourage the act of looking and visitors’ “contemporary perspectives,” the exhibition design privileges visual clarity, spaciousness, and limited use of text. The installation, developed by PMA designer Jillian Matthews, was inspired by the syncopated rhythms of Kuba textiles. It begins with a series of pedestals positioned at ninety degrees and placed at regular intervals, then shifts the orientation of the pedestals by thirty degrees to mark a new section with more asymmetrical spacing (fi g. 1). Objects are arranged in a series of distinct groups, some organized according to theme, some by material, and others by culture. In each group, an object is singled out and framed with a short series of questions and answers that can be applied to the rest of the group independently by the visitor. The installation begins with small and intimate works of art, including a group of abstract and representational Akan goldweights FIG. 5 (above): Cut pile velour. Kuba, DR Congo. Late 19th or early 20th century. Purchased from J. F. G. Umlauff. Fiber, plant fi ber. W: 61.6 cm. Penn Museum, Philadelphia. Photo courtesy of the Penn Museum. FIG. 6 (below): Installation view of Look Again showing Congo wood carvings and textiles with complementary patterns. Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photograph by Timothy Tiebout, 2016. FIG. 7 (left): Ovoid goblet with three faces. Recorded as Luba, Kasai region, DR Congo. Before 1924. Purchased from W. O. Oldman, 1924. Wood. H: 20.5 cm. Penn Museum, Philadelphia, inv. AF5204. Photo courtesy of the Penn Museum. ART ON VIEW
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