Magic November 18, 2007

With the new glass canopy in place, the courtyard itself becomes a place of changing light, in a sense, alive. Now, late in the day, the bright light of high noon has been replaced with mid- to late-afternoon light—a pale blue darkening gradually like ink. The light makes the feeling in the room change too, so that even when the jugglers leave, the hat makers go home, the plate spinners stop spinning, the courtyard will still be a place where magic happens. 

• Kogod Courtyard, Smithsonian American Art Museum