Lusaka: A Flavin Lover's Paradise (?)

Lusaka (population 2 million) is one large nexus of gated compounds. The city is known for its high crime, though its not quite as dangerous as Nairobi or Johannesburg. My first night there, I became embarrassingly aware that I was observing the city through a very colored pair of New York lenses. After all, a seedy neighborhood in Lusaka wouldn't have the same bells and whistles as, say, 23rd and 10th Avenue. Or would it? Fluorescent rods hung from trees in several front yards, forming various geometric patterns. 'How marvelously site-specific!' I thought. Perhaps an artist's heroic attempt at urban renewal?

"Installations!" I exclaimed to my friend Menal. "Look at all these Flavin-esque lawn sculptures! We must be near the National Museum, no?"

She looked at me quizzically. "Those are security lamps."

(Here is a link to Dan Flavin's work that might better explain my confusion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Flavin)