Arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas - recent exhibitions

African Arts, Autumn, 2001 by Constantine Petridis

ARTS OF AFRICA, ASIA, OCEANIA, AND THE AMERICAS

Musee du Louvre, Pavillon des Sessions Paris, France Opened April 2000

Almost twenty years after the inauguration of the Rockefeller Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Europe's most important art museum finally cleared a space for the arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The opening of the Pavilion des Sessions by the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac, is the result of a long ideological and intellectual debate over the introduction of "arts premiers" ("first arts"), as they have been referred to in France, into the sanctum sanctorum of Western art. In his foreword to the exhibition catalogue, the President expresses the hope that the masterpieces shown in this new wing of the Musee du Louvre "will attest that no hierarchy exists among the arts." The admission of non-European arts to the country's most prestigious museum institution thus constitutes both a symbolically laden event and an important political act. (1)

In this text I will not discuss the museum for non-European arts scheduled to open in 2004, which will be built by Jean Nouvel on the Quai Branly along the Seine, opposite the Eiffel Tower, although in conception it is closely related to the present exhibition at the Louvre. Those concerned, however, have pointed out that the Pavilion des Sessions, named after the parliamentary sessions for which the building was originally constructed, cannot be seen as a prefiguration or synthesis of the Musee du Quai Branly (Viatte 2000:41; Pomian 2000:80). Rather, the selection on view, which is the work of the art expert, collector, and former art dealer Jacques Kerchache, the French president's main counselor, should be considered as a complement to the future Branly museum. The Pavillon des Sessions will be permanently reserved for the arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, even after the opening of the Branly museum in 2004, but the many loans will necessitate a rotation system.

In many respects a division remains between the newly established non-European arts wing and the other collections at the Louvre. The Pavilion des Sessions occupies only a small corner of the museum and is quite remote from the main entrance under Pei's glass pyramid. Moreover, the exhibition of these non-European arts has not been accompanied by the establishment of a curatorial department within the Louvre's walls: the administrative offices and scientific staff responsible for the new wing will actually be housed in the Musee du Quai Branly.

Although the other sections of the Pavillon des Sessions also contain stunning artworks, I will here limit myself to its African section. Of the 117 pieces on exhibit, 46 are from Africa. As was the case at the celebrated exhibition "Africa: The Art of a Continent" at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 1995 (Phillips 1995), visitors are welcomed by a predynastic Amratian statuette in schist, which according to the exhibition curators should link the new wing to the other departments of the Louvre. Along with some recently acquired archaeological finds from Nigeria, this Egyptian statuette testifies to the antiquity of Africa's civilizations. (2)

Since Kerchache's selection is meant first and foremost for the layperson barely familiar with non-European arts, his choice holds few surprises for the average African-art amateur. Given the limited number of objects included, Kerchache did not attempt to present an encyclopedic survey. He emphasized that his selection was driven by subjective and even "autobiographical" motives (Geoffroy-Schneiter 2000b:6). As can be inferred from the title of the associated catalogue, Sculptures: Afrique, Asie, Oceanie, Ameriques, only sculptural works are shown. In order to avoid the anecdotal and to negate stereotypical ideas about African art, Kerchache deliberately limited the number of materials other than wood, and included surprisingly few masks and just one "power figure" (Varenne 2000:27). As a result of these limitations, the layperson is likely to leave the Louvre with a simplified and distorted view of the arts of the African continent.

The objects on view have mainly been lent by national museums and a few other French and overseas institutions. Taking the colonial history of the national collections into account, it should not come as a surprise that the former French African regions are well represented. The strong presence of Nigeria is mainly the result of the French state's acquisition in 1997 of 276 Nigerian art objects from the Musee Barbier-Mueller, Geneva (Willett & Eyo 1997). The installation also includes some new acquisitions for the future Musee du Quai Branly, the result of donations as well as purchases.

The gifts raise important ethical questions, since some of the donors have also sold objects to the Musee du Quai Branly. The Musee Barbier-Mueller is a case in point: France paid about FF 40 million to acquire the 276 Nigerian pieces mentioned above. As suggested by the code of ethics of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the risk of a conflict of interest arising from the simultaneous donation and sale of artworks is real. The gifts Anne and Jacques Kerchache made to the Quai Branly have also aroused suspicion, because it is thought that they will increase the value of what remains in their private possession (Noce 2000a:3). In order to prevent any misunderstanding on these sensitive points, it is imperative that the government issue a clearly articulated and well-considered policy.