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The New Ring Shout by Houston Conwill
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
The New Ring Shout
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography

The New Ring Shout

Artist
Year1995
Classification architectural arts
Medium terrazzo and polished brass
Dimensionsdiameter: 40 ft. (1219.1 cm)
Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • "The New Ring Shout," a 40' diameter floor area-design rendered in terrazzo, is named after the historical ring shout dance of the celebration performed throughout North America and the Carribean.  The dance floor is marked with a circular, multi-layered and multi-cultural cosmogram transposed onto a map of New York City centered on New York Bay.  Its outer blue ring, signifies water and is marked with fourteen quotations by heroic men and women, written in the speaker's native language and accompanied by an English translation.  Fourteen international languages are represented.  The horizontal axis of the cosmogram is aligned with the northernmost boundary of the six-acre Burial Ground.  The inner white ring holds the names of twenty-four African nations victimized by the slavery trade.