On View

First Floor, 1 050

Museum Maps

Objects in this Location

Created by

Hunt, Richard, American, 1935 - 2023

Commissioned by

National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003

Date

2016

Medium

bronze

Dimensions

Overall with Weight: 1500 lb. (680.4 kg)

Caption

Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt is an acclaimed artist with major commissions on view across the United States. He sees the arc segments in this hanging piece as a reference to the “swinging motion and wing-like forms” of the “band of angels,” made famous in the beloved Negro spiritual, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. According to the artist, the piece pays homage to Negro spirituals, and “their defining place in early colored religious, social and cultural self-consciousness.”

Description

Sculpture of welded bronze suspended from the ceiling of Heritage Hall in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The sculpture is suspended from cables at four separate points, with swooping arc segments intended to evoke the swinging motion and wings of angels.

Classification

Visual Arts

Type

installations (sculpture)

Topic

Architecture

Art

Museums

Spirituals (Music)

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Richard Hunt

Object number

2017.63

Restrictions & Rights

© Richard Hunt

Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd597c0cbc4-07f2-4c96-948c-fce8bccf83af