press release - Ville de Genève

PRESS RELEASE
Exhibition
Medusa
The African sculpture of enchantment
Musée d’ethnographie de Genève
From 14 November 2008 to 30 December 2009
The MEG displays 120 exceptional items from its collection that initiate the visitor to
the “technology of enchantment” of African sculpture and masks.
These items were created to act upon the world and on the people taking part in initiation, religious, therapeutic and anti-witchcraft rituals. Often surrounded by secrecy
and displaying extraordinary mastery of the materials used, the masks and sculptures
appeared, to both the layman and the initiates, in complex and impressive mise en
scènes. The exhibition is designed to provide an introduction to African art against an
allegorical backdrop, that of the myth of Perseus and Medusa. The masks brought
back to the Museum have retained the disquieting power to mesmerise those who
look at them, just like the severed head of the Gorgon Medusa petrified those who
caught its gaze.
This exhibition is an invitation to look at a selection of masks and sculptures from a
multiplicity of points of view, in detail and as a whole, in terms of the materials they
are made of and of their social function. It also invites us to reflect on the place that
these works occupy in our collections and the use we make of them in our museums.
How a mask representing radical otherness often remains an individual or collective
shield, a means of warding off evil, and how the “technology of enchantment” is precisely what enables societies to live “under the aegis of art” are questions that are addressed. Sculpture was chosen because it is no doubt more compelling for the public
than other aspects of material culture. Therein lays the overarching goal of this exhibition: to have the public discover the fascination exerted by these works both in their
original context and in their present setting, confronted by visitors in a museum.
INTRODUCTION
The main goal of this exhibition is to give an introduction to African sculpture mainly
from the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, while addressing the question of the gaze and perspectives. A theoretical thinking has guided
this work, or more exactly the way in which the sculptures exhibited are approached.
The primary function of these objects, whether they are called cult objects or works of
art, is not to represent. It is not to communicate either (the works are not meaningful
in the way language, spoken or written, is meaningful). It is even less to embellish the
world! Cult objects were “tools” that enabled their users to act on the world and on the
people within their sphere of influence. These particular objects are for those who
made them and those who used them as mediators of social relations, a means of
“distributing” their personality and their agency in various places at various times. So
we can refer to the anthropological theory proposed by Alfred Gell (1998), for whom
art objects are above all the kingpins of certain types of social relationships.
In Gell’s view, the “technology of enchantment” is the best definition of art. It is a form
of technology among others, necessary for the functioning of all societies. It always
aims to captivate spectators’ minds, often through its gaze, but not necessarily so, in
order to influence their behaviour. Gell strived to show how artists, the “technicians of
enchantment” closely related to magicians, through their use of objects, play an essential role in the reproduction and transformation of social relationships. He also
demonstrated the affinities between hunting and fishing traps and works of art, the
latter being constructed with the same intention to “capture”, in particular catching the
eye and attention of the spectators. The fascination that we all experience to some
extent for this “technology of enchantment” also allows us to develop “an enchanted
view of the world”. At the same time, Gell emphasised that all socialised beings have
the ability, on the one hand, to imagine the intentions of individuals with whom they
are involved in social interaction and, on the other hand, to attribute agency to objects
and then to speak, behave and act accordingly. Artists have the extra ability to master
specific techniques to influence this social interaction through the mediation of art
objects, which concentrate in themselves or relay the combined effect of diverse intentions. In our own society, the fact of surrounding ourselves with works of art may
be regarded as reminiscent of the apotropaic use of some artefacts, that is, their ability to ward off or deflect evil influences, and at the same time, as a way to keep rethinking the world. It is also a way of positioning ourselves socially, of standing out as
social actors in our own society, but also of asserting our distinction. Returning to the
allegory of the myth of Perseus and the Gorgon Medusa, the exhibition suggests how
the mask representing radical otherness often remains a means of individual or collective defence, an apotrope, and how the “technology of enchantment” is precisely
what enables societies to live “under the aegis of art”.
For the scenography, the architects Croubalian, Delacoste and Neerman (Geneva)
were selected to put the collection in space and in light. Because it is a shield polished to a mirror that enabled Perseus to approach the Gorgon Medusa without looking
directly at its face, then to behead it, these two elements –the mirror and the shield—
are found at key spots in the exhibition walkthrough. As in the African ritual, the scenography plays on the different lighting conditions that enhance this or that characteristic of the pieces, their volume, their colour, the texture of their materials. Particular
attention was paid to the question of perspectives and distance in relation to the objects, the angles under which they are displayed conditioning their perception.
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In the course of his visit, the spectator literally walks from the outside to the inside of
the mask. On a quasi-ritual and initiatic mode, he discovers, step by step, an important part of the collection presented in such a way as to make evident the way in
which the objects are composed, are “charged” with magical or medicinal materials
that empower them, and are then “activated” in ritual. Specific sections tackle the
question of the representation of the human body, that of the Janus beings, that of the
metamorphosis of species that lead to the creation of zoo-anthropomorphic chimaeras. Other sections are devoted to objects specifically linked to the arts of court, the
cult of the ancestors, or again to the fight against witchcraft.
This exercise is partly a reflection of the singular gaze of the curator upon the collection under his responsibility, but it also evokes different approaches to African arts in
anthropology and the history of art. A particular attention was paid to the lighting of
the pieces, each being the object of an interpretation that illuminates one or another
of its qualities or details of its composition. The exhibition can only inadequately suggest the manner in which the object is looked at in its cultural context of origin, or
rather the manner in which it may be looked at, by whom and at what conditions.
More ethnographic data is provided in the exhibition catalogue. If the exhibition and
the catalogue compel a reflection on the nature and the use of sculptures, on the
different ways to look at them and use them in our museums, they constitute in the
end only one particular approach, and only a visit of the exhibition will enable everyone to develop his or her own perspective!
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TEXTS OF THE EXHIBITION HALLS
SALLE 1
Medusa in Africa
The sculpture of enchatment
The MEG has designed a display of one hundred and twenty exceptional pieces from
its collection with the aim of initiating visitors into the “techniques of enchantment”
used in African sculpture and masks.
The purpose of these objects, when they were created, was to act on the world and
people in the course of initiatory, religious, therapeutic or antiwitchcraft rituals. Often
shrouded in secrecy and demanding an extraordinary mastery of materials, the
masks and sculptures appeared before initiates and profane alike in complex, impressive dramas. This exhibition is designed as an initiation into African art against
the allegorical background of the myth of Perseus and Medusa. The masks collected
in Africa and brought back to the museum have kept a strange power to spellbind
visitors, just as the head of the Gorgon Medusa decapitated by Perseus still had the
power to turn to stone anyone who met her gaze.
The exhibition invites visitors to look at a selection of masks and sculptures from many different angles, ranging from details to an overall view, from materials to social
functions. But it also seeks to provoke thought about the place we give these works in
our collections and the way we use them in our museums. How a mask representing
radical otherness often remains an apotrope, an individual or collective shield, and
the way in which the “technology of enchantment” enables societies to live “under the
aegis of art” are just two of the questions addressed. Sculpture has been chosen
because it clearly fascinates the public more than other aspects of material culture.
The primary aspiration of this exhibition is precisely to let the public discover the fascination exerted by these works, both in their original context and over museum visitors today.
SALLE 2
The decollation of the masks
“Masks” is the term we customarily use for sculptures resembling faces. Strictly speaking, they are usually “heads” and that is how the artists who produce and use them
in Africa generally refer to them.
There, as elsewhere, the head is the vital part of the body, the seat of thought and
intentionality. Like the Gorgoneion, the head of the Gorgon Medusa, it is the head of
the masker, literally the chef-d’oeuvre, which most interested ethnographers and
other collectors. Probably rightly so, because, just as the Gorgoneion kept the power
to petrify despite the death of Medusa, so a mask detached from its masker continues
to transfix those who stare at it in a collection or museum. Its decollation, or decapitation, does not put an end to its power to fascinate. On the contrary, it enables its custodian to use it for other purposes, to exhibit it like a trophy, a work of art or a remarkable scientific specimen to captivate and enchant his own public.
Likewise, in African societies, the head of the masker remains a powerful and potentially dangerous object, not to be stared at, even when it is not worn by a dancer.
Besides it is above all the presence, not the sight, of a sacred object which is important, because looking at, seeing or even just glimpsing it may be hazardous and even
fatal in some circumstances.
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SALLE 3
The sculpture of enchantment
Art produced in Africa is not essentially different from ours: it is produced by talented
artists, who master specific technologies used in particular social contexts. Precise
aesthetic principles are applied to produce objects which seem to act on their own
authority on the development of certain social relations.
As a technology of enchantment, art is above all based on the power that technical
processes have to spellbind us in such a way that we see the real world in an enchanted light. We realise that the works are produced by a person, but we consider
them to be inaccessible, and awareness of our own powers prevents us from understanding the transubstantiation of the materials, which take shape and acquire power
over people.
Using natural resources and manufactured products, the artists produce works which
accumulate the physical, symbolic and aesthetic qualities of all the component materials. The three dominant colours – black, red and white – do not have a universal
symbolism, but they structure a worldview and an aesthetics in several regions of
Africa.
The sculpture must next be “activated” by sacrifices or ritual, or “charged” with magic
substances to be able to fulfil its function. The “charge” is a substance which triggers
the “discharge”, the fatal attack on the victim of an act of witchcraft or antiwitchcraft; it
is also the magic charge which will cure illness or ensure fertility and plenty.
SALLE 4
The ritual spheres of creation
Sculpture and masks appear as individual agents in the rituals needed to maintain or
change social relations within a group.
They take anthropomorphic or zoomorphic form and their agency is recognised as
being that of the spirit with which they are associated. They often have a personal
name and intervene in a certain number of ritual spheres, which in practice overlap.
This shows that the ancestors and other spiritual entities take part in the same system
of social interaction as the living. Masks and sculptures are thus produced and used
at specific times to act on the set of social relationships which link individuals to one
another and to the invisible world.
During the ritual, the initiates touch the objects, speak to them, make offerings to
them, wash, tend and repaint them and carry them about with great care. Handling
them in this way often gives the objects not only the visible patina that comes from
use, but more importantly their spiritual value, power and efficacy.
The "sculpture of enchantment" produced by ritualists is often related to transitions,
which may be cyclic – as in the agricultural seasons – linear, as in a life span from
birth to death, or circumstantial, related to illnesses or historical events.
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Case 1
Projecting oneself
The spirits that act in a ritual are often anthropomorphised. The sculptures that they
dwell in represent the ideal body, culturally constructed, which usually functions as a
metaphor for the lineage, the clan, royalty or even power. The body is, above all, visible and its outward appearance, casing or skin can be conceptualised. It involves a
series of dialectics such as inside/outside, surface/orifice, whole/fragment and public/private, which lend themselves to multiple representations. The postures, and the
activities to which they correspond, are infinite.
Case 2
Double sight
Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, Janus sculptures have symmetrical bodies joined
together or two faces, back-to-back. Sometimes the faces are superimposed. The
force of these images lies in the apparent stability of the mirror construction in a vertical plane, which is also found in representations of twins and couples. This janiform
feature is characteristic of certain anti-witchcraft masks, which have two faces, giving
the wearer panoptic vision useful in hunting out offenders and guarding against attack.
Case 3
Were-beings
The symbolic power to pass from one species to another is at the source of the temporal power wielded by chiefs, ritualists or sorcerers. The mastery of the powers of
metamorphosis and the ability to change appearance or matter are also a source of
power over people, bodies, animals, illness, crops and spirits. Because animals are
“good for thinking”, masks often include “chimaeras”, beings which combine the features and strengths of several species.
Case 4
Connecting oneself
Ancestor worship is one of the main ritual spheres for which objects are produced and
used, because this practice has long been at the base of the social organisation of
families, lineages or extended social groups such as clans. Whereas, for a European,
the word ancestor conjures up distant forebears, the most venerated ancestors in
Africa are often the parents and grandparents of the living, who have shared part of
their lives, which explains why they remain involved in family life and other social
interactions.
Case 5
Compelling obedience
Rather than convey messages, ritual objects, through the agency attributed to them,
command a particular reaction or behaviour from people who approach them. By their
presence and the way they are exhibited or handled, they have an immediate effect
on the course of events. But ritual objects and the insignia of power are not the only
sculptures produced for chiefs. The most powerful sedentary chiefs are surrounded
by profane luxurious royal objects.
Case 6
Making law
Antisorcery rituals are legion and form a sphere in their own right. They are mostly a
form of divination or "detection". Masks, and statues to a lesser extent, playing the
double role of judge and policeman, are used to expose and transfix sorcerers. The
most significant aspect of the discourse on sorcery is that it presents a reverse image
of the social discourse, from which it is inseparable.
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Statues never die
After turning his enemies to stone with the Gorgoneion, Perseus gave it to Athena,
who put it in the centre of her mythical shield – the aegis – so that it would protect her
in turn. Just as this shield seems to protect itself, don’t masks and sculptures use
their power to command the museum to preserve them?
It can be said that the collection, as a reduced model of world cultures and the fruit of
a long chain of selection, is an artwork in itself. It is a complex, collective work, largely
hidden from the public eye, the product of a long string of social relations. As in their
original ritual context, the masks and sculptures are put on show in the museum as
centrepieces by the ritualists that museographers undoubtedly are. Through complex
displays, these “technicians of enchantment” condition the effect that objects will have
on the public. The exhibition aims to captivate the visitor and “momentarily suspend
his disbelief.” As in the African ritual, the fascination exerted by the display helps to
channel perception of these pieces as “agents”. But when the visitor contemplates the
masks, at once exotic and ancient, like Perseus looking at the head the Gorgon in the
mirror of his polished shield, is it not his own image that he projects on to the mask of
radical otherness?
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PUBLICATION
Medusa
The African Sculpture of Enchantment
Édition anglaise:
WASTIAU, Boris. 2008
Photography by Johnathan Watts
Exhibition catalogue
Milan: 5 Continents éditions / Genève: Musée
d’ethnographie, 240 pages, 160 photos.
ISBN 978-88-7439-469-2
CHF 75.- / € 49.-
Like the Gorgon Medusa, whose decapitated head could still petrify those who met its
gaze, African sculptures and masks fascinate us even out of their original context.
This catalogue of the exhibition Medusa. The African Sculpture of Enchantment, curated by Boris Wastiau of the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève, presents one hundred
and twenty pieces from the museum’s collection crafted with consummate skill. In an
essay illustrated by magnificent photographs, he takes us throughout sub-Saharan Africa and shows us how African art can be seen as a “technology of enchantment”.
Table of Contents
Jacques Hainard
Foreword
Anne-Marie Bouttiaux
Preface
Boris Wastiau
Introduction
1. Medusa: the Myth and the Apotrope
2. Medusa in Africa: the Decollation of African Masks
3. Glimpsing, Seeing and Looking: Sculpture and the Light Spectrum
4. Material and Spiritual Things
5. Masterpieces: Heads, Faces and Eyes
6. Sculpted Bodies
7. Posture, Composition, Accessories
8. Chimaeras
9. Social Function
10. The Ritual Spheres of Art
11. Under the Aegis of Art: Museums and Society
Notes and references
Bibliography
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RENDEZ-VOUS AT THE MUSEUM
Exhibition
Medusa
The African sculpture of enchantment
From 14 November 2008 to 30 December 2009
Preview
13 November at 18:00
Guided Tours
First Sunday of every month at 11:00
Free
For groups
To register call +41 (0)22 418 45 90
For schools
Special guided tours for primary and secondary school pupils
Free for classes of the Canton of Geneva
To register call +41 (0)22 418 45 90 at least 15 days before the required date
All the information and the progamme are available on www.ville-ge.ch/meg
Accueil des publics
T +41 (0)22 418 45 90
[email protected]
www.ville-ge.ch/meg
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PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Musée d’ethnographie de Genève
Bd Carl-Vogt 65 – 1205 Geneva
T +41 (0)22 418 45 50, F +41 (0)22 418 45 51
[email protected]
www.ville-ge.ch/meg
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Mondays
Buses: 1, 32
Admission 5.- / 3.- Swiss francs
Contacts:
Jacques Hainard, director, T +41 (0)22 418 45 50,
[email protected]
Boris Wastiau, exhibition curator, T +41 (0)22 418 45 83,
[email protected]
Sylvie Clément Gonvers, communication officer, T +41 (0)22 418 45 73,
[email protected]
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REMERCIEMENTS
Directeur
Jacques Hainard
Commissaire
Boris Wastiau
Recherches scientifiques
Boris Wastiau et Wilfried Leroy
Scénographie et conception éclairage
Croubalian Delacoste Neerman Architectes (Genève)
Coordination de projet
Philippe Mathez
Chef d'équipe atelier
Jean-Pierre Wanner
Menuiserie
Marco Aresu, Jérôme Jousson et Frédéric Monbaron,
avec la contribution de Burkardt Agencement Sàrl (Genève) et de Giacomo Porta
(Genève)
Mise en place et décoration
Marco Aresu, Gregory Jordan, Jérôme Jousson, Gianni Leonelli, Frédéric Monbaron,
Jean-Pierre Peney, Christian Rochat et Jean-Pierre Wanner
Sérigraphie
Atelier Richard (Petit-Lancy)
Signalétique
Jeca (Genève)
Restauration
Caroline Böhm, Maya Froidevaux, Mijanou Gold et Christian Zahnd
Logistique et préparation des objets
Jean-Daniel Bohren et Christian Zahnd
Communication et promotion
Sylvie Clément Gonvers
Conception graphique affiche et dépliant
Meta GE Sàrl (Genève)
Photographie
Johnathan Watts
Internet
Grégoire de Ceuninck
Traduction
Isabel Ollivier (Paris) et Adapta Traductions (Genève)
Publication
Textes: Boris Wastiau
Responsable d'édition: Geneviève Perret
Préfaces: Jacques Hainard et Anne-Marie Bouttiaux
Photographies: Johnathan Watts
Relecture: Danielle Buyssens
Éditeurs
5 Continents (Milan) et MEG
Accueil des publics et carnet découverte
Christine Détraz
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Bibliothèque
Annabel Chanteraud, Anne Bertschy et Christophe Gros
Comptabilité et secrétariat
André Walther, Cendrine Hostettler, Philippe Neri et Monique Sunier
Accueil et surveillance
Jean-Daniel Bohren, Marco Caldi, Gianni Leonelli, Christian Rochat et Esperanza
Rossel
Remerciements particuliers
Isabel Garcia Gomez (Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale, Tervuren) et Gérald Minkoff
(Genève)
Avec le généreux soutien de
Fondation Hans Wilsdorf (Genève)
Société des amis du Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (SAMEG)
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CAPTIONS FOR THE FHOTOGRAPHS
01
Cimier de masque janus / Janus mask finial
Boki. Cameroun, Mamfé
Circa 1900
Bois, cuir / wood, leather
Acquisition: Arthur Speyer, 1923
Inv. ETHAF 009502
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
02
Bouclier apotropaique / apotropaic shield - nguba
Kerebe ou Kara. Tanzanie, île de Bukerebe ou île de Bukara, lac Victoria
Circa 1900
Bois, pigments / wood, pigments
Acquisition: Arthur Speyer, 1923
Inv. ETHAF 009735
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
03
Objet-force, chien à deux têtes / double-headed dog power figure - kozo
Yombe. R.D. Congo / Angola
Circa 1900
Bois, fer, matières composites / wood, iron, composite materials
Acquisition: 1930
Inv. ETHAF 012780
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
04
Masque initiatique / initiation mask - sachihongo
Mbunda. Zambia, Western Province
Avant / before 1930
Bois / wood
Acquisition: vente des Missions (Suisse), 1942
Inv. ETHAF 018740
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
05
Masque janus antisorcier / antiwitchcraft Janus mask - ngontang
Fang. Gabon
Avant / before 1930
Bois, kaolin / wood, kaolin
Acquisition: Fernand Grébert, 1944
Inv. ETHAF 019642
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
06
Masque rituel / ritual mask - lukwakongo
Lega. R.D. Congo, région du Maniema
Avant / before 1930
Bois, kaolin, fibres végétales / wood, kaolin, fibres
Acquisition: Edgar Beer, 1964
Inv. ETHAF 032498
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
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07
Masque avec Mami Wata / Mami Wata mask - gyéla lu zahouli, flali / ndoma
Baoulé / Gouro, Côte d'Ivoire
Avant / before1960
Bois / wood
Acquisition: Hans Himmelheber, 1967
Inv. ETHAF 033697
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
08
Personnage masculin / male figure
Zande / Mangbetu. R.D. Congo, nord Ituri
Circa 1900
Bois / wood (Uncaria sp.)
Acquisition: Pierre et Suzanne Vérité, Paris, 1968
Inv. ETHAF 033987
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
09
Masque féminin / female mask - mukuyi ou mukudji
Punu. Gabon, Ngounié
Avant / before 1900
Bois, pigments / wood, pigments
Donation: Émile Chambon, 1981
Inv. ETHAF 044277
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
10
Masque buffle / buffalo mask - simbo lã
Nuna. Burkina Faso
Avant / before 1960
Bois, pigments / wood, pigments
Donation: Émile Chambon, 1981
Inv. ETHAF 044359
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
11
Porteuse de coupe / cup bearer
Luba. R. D. Congo, Katanga
Avant / before 1930
Bois / wood
Donation: Émile Chambon, 1981
Inv. ETHAF 049914
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
12 et 12a
Reliquaire avec ossements d’ancêtres / reliquary with ancestors’ bones –
nsekh-o-byeri
Fang-Betsi. Gabon, région de Ndjolé
Avant / before 1900
Bois, ossements humains / wood, human bones
Acquisition: Fernand Grébert, 1936
Inv. ETHAF 015232
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
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13
Masque antisorcier / mask against witchcraft - ge zakpe, zakpäi
Dan. Côte d’Ivoire, Man
Avant / before 1960
Bois, plumes de pintade / wood, guinea fowl feathers
Donation: Émile Chambon, 1981
Inv. ETHAF 044318
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
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Sculpture rituelle d’un jumeau / ritual carving of a twin - vénavi
Adja / Éwé. Togo, village de Tokpli, frontière du Bénin
Avant / before 1960
Bois / wood
Donation: Daniel Angst, 1962
Inv. ETHAF 031564
Photo: MEG, J. Watts
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Affiche de l’exposition «Medusa en Afrique»
MEG
Photo: MEG, J. Watts; conception graphique: Meta GE Sarl
Tous droits réservés en dehors de la promotion de l’exposition «Medusa en Afrique»
au MEG Carl-Vogt jusqu’au 30 décembre 2009
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