The Zhau - Zhou installation conceived by artist Lee Mingwei, inaugurated the museum's reopening in its new building in Madison, Wisconson.
In the traditional ceremony, gifts are placed in front of a baby at its first birthday celebration. The object the baby favors is to foretell what occupation the baby will pursue as an adult.
In this installation, museum patrons were invited to bring gifts to the new museum that would become part of the museum's collection.
The design of the installation recalls the ideal primative hut (as depicted by Laugier) but in this case rather than created from tree trunks and branches it is created from pipe rail with a muslin fabric roof. Shelves are provided on which patrons deposit their gifts, which are taken to the museums collection as they accumulate.
Wood shelves are supported by the pipe rail structure.
