Room to Grow: Re-Installing the NCMA Permanent Collection

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Elizabeth A. Perrill, Associate Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: An ephemeral gesture: What better or more poetic way to open a permanent installation of African art? The conceptual complexity of African art cries out for subtle contradictions that engage the public in a dialogue, a reflection upon what has been erased and what remains. In June 2017, Washington, DC-based, Nigerian-born artist Victor Ekpuk will install a 30 x 18 foot site-specific wall drawing in the North Carolina Museum of Art's new African art gallery. The installation will be documented during its creation and a year later when it is wiped off with a sponge and water. No lasting physical object will remain; rather a series of relationships and connections will begin. Ekpuk's work, positioned at a right angle to the 18 x 25 foot El Anatsui work Lines that Link Humanity, will bring together two generations of contemporary African artists. This commission has also been a catalyst for significant outreach and internal education at the NCMA.

Additional Information

Publication
African Arts vol. 50, no. 4. pp. 46-61. https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_a_00374
Language: English
Date: 2017
Keywords
North Carolina Museum of Art, visual art, art collections, African art, curation

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