Magazines - Tribal Art Autumn 2010

By Elena Martinez-Jacquet, curator of the exhibition

Introduction
Following Fragments du Vivant, sculptures africaines dans la collection Liliane et Michel Durand-Dessert (Fragments of the Living, African Sculptures in the Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert Collection) (2008) and Regards de marchands, La passion des arts premiers (Through Dealers’ Eyes, A Passion for Tribal Art) (2009), the third exhibition produced in conjunction with the annual Parcours des Mondes in Paris continues to pursue the theme of the reception of tribal art by the West. This time, it uses another artistic medium, film, as a starting point. Les statues meurent aussi is organized around the eponymous film dedicated to African art. It was commissioned by Senegalese intellectual and politician Alioune Diop, who also founded the Présence Africaine publishing house, and made by Alain Resnais and Chris Marker between 1951 and 1953. It will be presented at the Hotel de la Monnaie between September 9 and October 2, providing a rare chance to view this unique film and learn about its history. The opportunity to reflect on the film’s vision of African art will be augmented by a display of a selection of the actual sculptural works that appear in its frames. These are now in the collections of the Musée du Quai Branly and the Musée Dapper in Paris; the Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale in Tervuren; and the Musée Barbier-Mueller in Geneva, as well as several major European private collections.