Explore Black History

2019

An Adobe Illustrator file of the “main view render” from a project titled “Black Effect” by Tobi Ashiru. The project is an artistic reimagining of the National Museum of African American History and Culture with this view depicting the approach to the building from a footpath leading from the northeast street corner to the east entrance of the building.
At the center of the image is a rendering of the museum in white, shaded with black diagonal lines. All five above ground floors are visible in this rendering including: Heritage Hall, the top floor, and all three tiers of the museum. The street is rendered in dark, asphalt textured gray and the footpath is rendered in a lighter gray. The footpath extends from the street corner towards the northeast corner of the building where it splits into a footpath that lines the north side of the building and a footbridge with handrails that leads to the east entrance of the building.
Extending horizontally on either side of the footpath is a narrow water feature outlined in white and rendered in water textured blue, segmenting the museum grounds from the pedestrian sidewalk along the street. Between the horizontal water feature and the footbridge on the left is a larger, round water feature featuring a black sculpture of a nude woman representing the Yoruba orisha Yemaya, lying in repose atop black rocks. To the right of the water feature are three gold plinths with statues and figures on them. The figure on the far left is a bronze head of a Benin oba (king). The middle statue is of a female figure, representing the Yoruba orisha Osun, posed with her proper left knee raised and her hands cupped to form a circle at her waist. The statue on the far right is of a pair of royal male and female figures by Kwaku Benpoh. On the north side of the building is a raised walkway lined with three bronze sculptures of Shirley Chisholm, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. The raised walkway appears to extend from the grass in front of the museum to the top corner of the first tier.
The lawn of the museum is rendered with a grassy textured green. It is landscaped with trees lining some of the walkways, including one cherry tree near the entrance. There are small, yellow rose bushes at the bases of the trees and lining one side of the horizontal water feature. There are stylized renderings of men, women, and children wandering around the museum grounds. The sky is rendered in yellow and shaded at the top with small black circles.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Rendering Visible

Black Effect

Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift designed by Tobi Ashiru

National Museum of African American History and Culture

2021.114.4

architectural drawings
digital media - born digital

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

digital

H x W: 9000 pixels × 9000 pixels
File size: 333.16 MB

Title • Black Effect: Main View Render

nmaahc_2021.114.4

NMAAHC

BLACK EFFECT: MAIN VIEW RENDER

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

2010s

Ashiru, Tobi • King, Martin Luther • X, Malcolm • National Museum of African American History and Culture • Carlos, John • Chisholm, Shirley Anita • Smith, Tommie

District of Columbia • United States • North and Central America • Washington

Design • Architecture • Black geographies • Museums

City • Washington • State • District of Columbia • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America

digital media - born digital • Architectural drawings

Images

Limited Use