Musée du quai Branly

I was really excited to visit Musée du quai Branly.  I did some research on the site and it’s influences prior to leaving the US.  I heard the architecture and the curation style described, but the Quai Branly is one of those places you have to see to believe. Our museums have a certain formula: rectangular rooms, level floors, quite atmosphere, bright, complimenting lighting.  The Quai Branly had none of that.  The architect, Jean Nouvel, didn’t want to create a traditional western museum that houses indigenous art, but also didn’t want to stereotype or parody these cultures by making the architecture primitive. It was a difficult task.

The inside of the museum is unlike any other museum I’ve ever been in.  The museum is dark, certain areas have sound, you can walk in between glass display cases seeing not only the artifacts right in front of you, but those in the rows behind, and the reflections of the artifacts you’ve already viewed.  You might come across little areas and hallways of isolation, displaying masks or full figures.  Strangely lit and creating odd reflections, the display gives off an eerie, spiritual feeling.  This was an interesting way of viewing museum objects.  Because you can physically walk around the mask and statues, you can confront them or you can become them.  Standing in front of the masks gives a strong, eerie, potentially violent feeling.  While you are observing the masks, you can watch people walk behind them, observe the masks, put it on so to speak, and become primitive.  

The museum forced the observer to engage and interact in a way the traditional museums do not.  While I found this interaction exhilarating, it is easy to understand how some are uncomfortable because the museum does provide a lot of sensory stimulation.