MAAM Stories

Engineering the Pulse of Nicholas Galanin’s “Aáni yéi xat duwasáakw (I am called Land)”

Written by William Lenard, MAAM Exhibition Manager 
Read Time: 3 Minutes   
 

From Sitka to Boston 

From the shores of Sitka, Alaska to tech-centric Boston, Nicholas Galanin’s Aáni yéi xat duwasáakw (I am called Land) traveled a long distance to make a booming debut at MassArt Art Museum (MAAM). Upon entering the museum, you are drawn up the stairs by a faint heartbeat. You see a massive handcrafted Tlingít box drum (kóok gaaw) suspended from the ceiling. A depiction of a living being painted in vermillion and black covers the outer surfaces of the drum. The gallery is filled with the sound of a beating heart accompanied by projections of an underwater scene. There is no visible performer, but the sound feels alive and pulls you in. The drum is not played by a person, but by a robotic arm—a meeting of tradition and technology.

First, Galanin constructed the oversized kóok gaaw, drawing inspiration from the traditional instrument of his Tlingít heritage. Sourcing red cedar, the wood used for a kóok gaaw, the artist cut cross sections of lumber and milled it down to a smooth finish. Galanin created a stencil for the hand-painted design that adorns the front and back of the drum. Then he crafted a natural fiber harness from manila rope, strong enough to suspend the instrument. The drum was now ready to make its journey to MAAM—first by barge, then by freight truck on a cross-country road trip. Once the box drum was on site, it was ready for installation.
 

A red cedar log is processed in Alaska in preparation for drum fabrication.
 

A Drum, Suspended 

MAAM provides a range of professional opportunities for artists and MassArt students. As MAAM’s Exhibitions Manager, I employ MassArt students to work on the gallery crew, the team that transforms our exhibition spaces. Luckily for us, crew member Shan Ross (MFA ‘25) is an experienced rock climber and knot expert. Ross, along with other members of the MAAM team, formulated a strategy to hoist the 400-pound drum. Using a winch, we raised the drum and secured its manila ropes to the gallery’s 36-foot high I-beams. With the drum in place, Ross tied security knots to ensure that nothing would fall. Now was the time for the drum to meet its unlikely performer.
 

Gallery Crew member Shan Ross (left) and Exhibition Manager William Lendard (right) prepare Galanin’s drum for installation at MAAM. 

A Heartbeat Emerges 

To achieve the ideal heartbeat, we worked with Galanin and local robotics engineer Ani Prasad. Prasad, also having a background in music, was eager to take part in the project. As with many exhibition installations, creative problem-solving was a key factor for the overall success. Working closely with the MAAM team, Prasad tested various intensities of force behind the robotic arm. Too much force could send the drum flying. To avoid this, Prasad experimented by striking the drum with his own hand while timing the rhythm with a metronome app. He then programmed the automated arm to replicate a similar force and movement as his own, merging engineering with a human touch. With the addition of steel cables and turnbuckles, the drum was properly anchored and the arm was ready to play. 
 

Exhibition Manager William Lenard (left) and robotics engineer Ani Prasad (right) fine-tune the placement of the robotic arm.
 

Beat by beat, MAAM is filled with a pulse performed by a mechanical musician. Through the combination of an artist’s creativity, an engineer’s ingenuity, and the problem-solving skills of the MAAM team, Aáni yéi xat duwasáakw (I am called Land) invites reflection. It shows us the connection between art, land, and systems—both human and robotic. Galanin reminds us that at the heart of creation, there’s always a pulse.   
 
 

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