I can’t make up my mind about this place, which describes itself as “an artistic and cultural space for Africa, the Caribbean and their diaspora.” Or, I should say, I’m conflicted about their exhibition, since, once again, the scene in the café and the gift shop/ book store was completely separate and much more populated. Both the café and the store seem excellent, by the way, especially if you’re looking for an educational yet fun illustrated novel about sub-Saharan Africa for the French-reading young adult in your life (really).
As for what you get when you pay the admission price: there’s only enough space for a single exhibition. They seem to have about two exhibitions a year; currently, it’s “The Art of Being a Man in Africa and Oceania,” a collection of various ornaments worn by men and a description of the cultural situations and rituals in which these ornaments signify.
I can’t decide whether to describe it as:
- Pretty fantastic. Unlike most displays of African or Oceanic art, this exhibition treats the cultures as still very much alive. E.g., the exhibition begins with video and photographs of members of the SAPE, the “Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes,” a group of men in the Congo who parade around in elegant European suits in Palm Beach color combos (see photos here). The video is the best, with lots of shots of dudes hopping around pulling up their pant legs to show off their socks. So then, when you walk into the next rooms, stocked with the masks, bracelets, etc. of traditional “African art,” you can appreciate how there is a cultural continuum. Also, the choice of objects was superb, e.g. a Hawaiian feather cloak, or a hat made out of gazelle horns (which looked like the most awesome sea urchin EVER).
- Weakly popularized. Other details of the exhibition felt patronizingly un-scholarly. E.g., no dates on any of the labels – and I know that it’s sometimes hard to date African artworks, but at least give me a line on whether this mask was made and used yesterday or belongs to a now-disappeared cultural tradition. Also, the subject of the exhibition was very broad – there’s not a whole lot of detailed analysis you can do on “stuff worn by dudes.” And that it combined Africa and Oceania was additionally weird – one could describe the exhibition as 150 randomly-selected objects worn by dudes from several centuries ago to the present over a large portion of the globe’s landmass.
Also – one of the world’s greatest museums of ethnology (or, at least, the world’s newish and shiny-brightest museums of ethnology) is right across the river, so you’re probably better of there.
