Magazines - Tribal Art Summer 2008

(Introduction to the article by Philippe Bourgoin)

In May 2006, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich produced a superb exhibition (see Tribal #13, Autumn 2006, pp. 104–117) on the exploration of Polynesia in the eighteenth century. The exhibition was shown again for some time in a reduced form at the British Museum, it now has a third life, as Parisians get the opportunity to see this exceptional group of objects through September 14 at the Musée du Quai Branly. It includes over 250 historic pieces, most of which will, at the end of the exhibition, be returned to the museum storage areas they were borrowed from. Astonishing and imposing images of deities with powerful and irresistible auras, these wood and stone sculptures, ivory ornaments, feather creations, and fiber objects illustrate the diversity of Polynesian creations and the important role they once played in religious and cultural life.
This exceptional exhibition includes many rare artworks from major European museums, which were collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It focuses on the particularly crucial period of 1760–1860, when European explorers, missionaries, colonials, and merchants were first making contact with the indigenous populations of the Pacific Islands. Before 1760, Polynesians had regular inter-island contact among themselves, but had not yet been exposed to Europeans or their metal, firearms, and religion. In the course of a century, Polynesia became a radically different place, although strong cultural identities survived and continued to develop there.
Tribal Art met with Steven Hooper, who co-curated the exhibition with Karen Jacobs and whose family name evokes a different and fascinating period in tribal art, without which this exhibition could not have been presented.