Must-See Museums
A U.S. News tour of the new and noteworthy with local experts in tow |c Washington, D.C.; Houston; Santa Ana, California; Portland, Oregon; New York; Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; Jersey City, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles
The other must-see special exhibit is "African Icons of Power." Of the 100 ritualistic masks, architectural pieces and ceremonial objects, Curran suggests paying special attention to the fearsome antelope-skin-and-wood ceremonial headdress from the Calabar area of Nigeria (it depicts a face with protruding horns) and the 60-pound Ododua brass helmet mask from the 18th-century court of Benin. Tues.-Sun. 10-5 (Thurs. until 9). Admission: $4.50 adults, $3 seniors and students, $1.50 children under 12.
FREER GALLERY OF ART Washington, D.C., (202) 357-4880 This newly renovated Smithsonian museum of Asian art extends a welcoming hand to visitors. Breezy corridors, plenty of natural light, considerately low display cases for the wheelchair-bound and the sheer beauty of the objects themselves should dispel any notion that Asian art is inaccessible or overly exotic, says Gail Capitol Weigl, assistant professor of art history at the Corcoran School of Art. Clear, informative labels reinforce the attention to detail. Since all 19 galleries surrounding the courtyard contain masterpieces, visitors should walk quickly through and then return, as time permits, to linger over favorites. Absolute musts: the early Chinese bronzes, such as the intricately detailed ritual food container from 1050-1000 B.C.; the Buddhist art from India, China, Tibet and elsewhere and a room of Chinese landscape paintings and calligraphy spanning the 10th to the 18th centuries. Other highlights include the boldly colored Japanese screens, such as "Waves at Matsushima" (best viewed while seated, to get the proper composition), and the Peacock Room, a dining room from a London shipowner's home, decorated by James McNeill Whistler to be the setting for his painting, "The Princess from the Land of Porcelain." Daily 10-5:30 except Christmas. Admission: free.
THE MUSEUM FOR AFRICAN ART New York City, (212) 966-1313 One of only two institutions in the country devoted exclusively to African culture (the other is at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.), this small, serene museum in the heart of the Soho art district strives to present African art on its own terms. In the museum's softly lit spaces, visitors are encouraged by the wall texts to imagine the figures and masks on display here in the ritual performances for which they were intended--seen in semidarkness or only for an instant as they are swung about a dancer's head as part of a funeral procession, for instance, or impaled with nails to seal a contract.
The building is intended to be just as evocative. Designed with a sculptor's free hand by Vietnam Veterans Memorial creator Maya Lin, its malachite-green floors and indigo-blue walls suggest the sky and mineral-rich earth of Africa. After exploring the second-floor galleries, visitors descend to the first floor on a gray staircase, which New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp has likened to entering the Earth. A butter-yellow staircase brings them back up to the light.
As yet without its own permanent collection, the museum organizes shows of borrowed objects. This summer's exhibition, "Secrecy," deals with the way art is used to transmit, or restrict, knowledge. A beaded memory board looking remarkably like computer circuitry recounts the history of the Luba royalty of Zaire--but only to the initiated. Carved heads with mirrored eyes warn away trespassers from the relics of the dead. Of particular beauty and mystery, says art historian Mary Nooter, is a wooden figure from the Bebe people of Congo, said to contain the living breath of an ancestor. Family programs on Saturday afternoons include dance, mask making and storytelling. Wed., Thurs., Sun. 11-6, Fri.-Sat. 11-8. Admission: $3 adults; $1.50 seniors and children.
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