... pavilion of granite" whose elements were "woefully simplistic", unsubtle, and awkward compared to the Smithsonian Castle in the distance. He mildly praised the complex's "clever" layout and its maximized underground utility with minimal above-ground changes. Goldberger admired the building's craftsmanship, interiors, and responsive gallery spaces. The other two Times reviewers, in turn, were unsettled to see works once associated with the outdoors instead displayed with no natural light, and feared the precedent for other museums, adding that the lack of light was unaccommodating to both viewers and the works. The museum's director, however, noted that natural light would cause conservation issues for their wood sculptures. The museum felt restrained as part of the larger complex, one critic wrote, and deficient in style. Of the opening exhibition, the New York Times critic described the exhibits as often austere and understated in irregularly sized rooms that sometimes overwhelmed its contents. She was fondest of the small exhibits and the works imported from other museums. The other Times reviewer found the museum's collection larger but "less spectacular" than that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, though the latter had more works available when it began its collection. The opening exhibits, overall, piqued viewer curiosity in the subject and underscored the importance of religious belief and craftsmanship in the displayed works. The opening's reviewer struggled to generalize the African works, which ranged from face- and figure-focused to the elegant, geometric abstraction of West African strip weaving. The other reviewer added that the museum's textiles exhibition overemphasized the connection between African art and everyday life, as the textiles had comparatively weaker "imaginative ... impact". "It's impossible", a reviewer wrote in The Washington Times, "not to be profoundly moved" by the museum's 2004 Apartheid exhibition. She praised the museum's contemporary collection but said that the works fought against their surroundingsthe dedicated contemporary gallery was a good space with a poor ambiance. References External links African art museums in the United States Art museums established in 1964 Art museums and galleries in Washington, D.C. Articles containing video clips National Mall Smithsonian Institution museums Southwest Federal Center