![Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi), Vili, Republic of the Congo or Democratic Republic of the Congo, Art Institute of Chicago, 1998.502](http://www.ancientartpodcast.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ep78-nkisi-nkondi-1998.502-300x300.jpg)
How do artists’ choices of materials assign identity and meaning to works of art? How does meaning assign material? In this excerpt from one of my museum tours, I explore the meaningful materials in a Nkisi Nkondi Power Figure of the Vili people in central Africa. This recording comes complete with all the juicy, unscripted, live-action museum gallery accents including background chatter and beeping proximity alarms.