Quai Branly
Friday before last in Paris (how time flies!) we visited the Musée du quai Branly to take in the architecture*, but I found the collection of art from non-western backgrounds much more interesting.
The exhibits were vital and exciting. Unsettling too. There were short films by anthropologists as recent as the seventies, capturing some of the costume and objects in use. I had forgotten the French’s fascination for ‘primitive’. Walking around I saw Picasso here, Gaugin and Rousseau there, JP Goude and Gaultier too. Indigenous life in their colonies seemed to infiltrate art and visual culture from the very beginning. Seeing the ‘bambara’ collection at the YSL exhibition in the afternoon just cemented the connections…
*Jean Nouvel’s architecture wasn’t as great. I loved the colours, I loved Patrick Blanc’s plant wall and the landscaping and planting. The museum itself seemed to have so much circulation space - the walk from entry to the exhibits was about ten minutes! My architect buddies felt it was badly detailed, but fortunately I don’t notice - I’m a broad brush stroke girl.
Tags: Jean Nouvel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jean Paul Goude, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, Picasso, Rousseau
