Smithsonian African Art Museum

Located in the southeast corner of the Enid Haupt garden, the Smithsonian’s African Art Museum occupies two large floors and a set of underground connections to the Sackler Gallery and Dillon Ripley center.  With rotating exhibits and a permanent collection showcasing works both ancient and new, the museum provides an entertaining perspective on African art.    

Running through February 2014 is an exhibit by the photographer Roger Ballen, a New York to South African transplant whose black and white works are both disturbing and entrancing.  Having photographed South Africa from its apartheid 1980’s through the present, Ballen focuses his work on the edges: between photography and drawing, line and chaos, violence and amusement.  Also displayed is the music video Ballen directed for the South African rap group Die Antwood.

In the museum’s lower level is the exhibit Earth Matters, a large, multi-artist rumination on the natural world displayed until January 2014.  With paintings, photographs, and sculptures, the exhibit should provide something to interest anybody.  A small ceramics collections is also on display in the museums lowest level, which connects to the Dillon Ripley Center.  The museum’s gift shop contains a good selection of African style clothing, artwork, and a large display of African themed books—fiction, non fiction, and childrens.

Overall, the African Art museum is worth a visit and can be seen in under an hour.  For lovers of the avant-garde, the Roger Ballen is an exhibit that may otherwise go unseen if you just visit the Hirshhorn.

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