Ngbe Mask, Nigeria
As always,
twas good to be back in the city. Its aesthetic beauty sensorially overwhelming
(although “deixa te falar” that at
times too conservative for my taste – think some of the buildings need a touch
of Brazilian colour or even better “oncinha”! [the leopard / jaguar prints so
popular now everywhere that they are “the new black”]). Regardless, this post
is not about Paris, but about one building in particular, one museum in
particular: Quai Branly, the resulting merger between the Musee de l’Homme and
Musee de l’Oceanie and some others I believe. Opened in 6/06 and designed by
Jean Nouvel with its long beautiful “green” wall designed by Clement/Blanc, has
quickly become one of my favourite and obligatory stops when I am in the
city.
Even more so
than the MET halls on Papua New Guinea or Africa, the QB display theatrics: the
darkened mask halls, the spiral display of musical instruments, I find
wonderfully dramatic and beautiful. The whole atmosphere seems more primed for “theater”
than being explicatory – which may or may not influence more a child. For a
reason that may be explained by tis size, the mélange of various cultures
displayed in close proximity to each other – the museum feels like a private collection
– personal. A chimney amongst one of the halls choke full of books and a rug
would not feel out of place. If anything feels like the house of Dr Montgomery
Montgomery (Dr Monty for short) – the eccentric world travelled herpetologist
character in the Lemony Snicket film.
Bamileke, Cameroon
Bon, without further delay, here are some samples of the masks from Cameroon, Nigeria and
others found at the museum that completely indulge my fascination with the continent.
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