Dogon Art

catalogue:

Dogon Hélène Leloup, Col...

Ancient Dogon African Art Exhibition in Paris

2011-04-06 found at english.ntdtv.com

In the heart of Paris, a rare glimpse at an ancient collection.

These pieces made by indigenous people of the African Dogon region date back to the 10th Century.

Knight, N'duleri The sculptures and totem-like characters had symbolic importance to the tribes and were often used during ancient rituals to encourage fertility, or to pray to the water gods in a dry and barren landscape.

Dogo Knight, N'duleri
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael C. Rockefeller
Memorial Collection, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller XVIth-XVIIth century hard patined wood, 1979 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dist. RMN. Photo Justin Kerr

Helene Joubert from the Musee de Branly.

Helene Joubert, Musee de Branly, African Collections:

"There is so much quality in those pieces. People tend to realise that it's not a question of naturalism, there is representation of human body for example. And the way African art reconstruct the reality, the mask for example, also using very limited colours like black, white and red which are mineral or natural colours or something. People are receptive now, they can feel the quality of this."

Originating near the Bandiagara cliffs in what is now Mali, there was a time when Dogon art was rarely seen in public and was shielded from outsiders.

Today it's finally on display, but remains preserved as an important pillar of African culture and design.

Helene Joubert, Musee de Branly, African Collections:

"It took some time for us to understand also the way things were conceptualised through African aesthetics but I think yes, artists are still very much seduced by African art."

The collection of more than three hundred items will be on display until July 2011.

Catalogue:

2011
DOGON - PARIS, MUSÉE DU QUAI BRANLY - Catalogue sous la direct. d'Hélène Leloup. Paris/Bonn 2011. 4to. 400 S. mit farb. Abb., Ppbd. - FRENCH TEXT

The art of the Dogon from Mali is one of the best known among the works of art from African cultures. This exhibition aims to present in greater depth the history of Dogon culture from the 10th century until today, through over 330 exceptional works from collections from around the world brought together for the first time. The exhibition creates a chronological panorama of Dogon art from the 8th century until today, testifying to the wealth of its stylistic diversity from the first contacts with the Tellem until the development of European taste for the masks and statuary in the 20th century. Aside from the masks and statues that have made Dogon art famous, the exhibition present other cult and daily use pieces that evoke the metaphysical and aesthetic concerns of the populations that created them. Ten centuries of history are presented, with the artistic and cultural influences, thus providing evidence for the progressive population of Dogon country and the definition of different styles of identified sculpture. The exhibition grants an original position to the technical expertise applied to the patinas of the statures and defines the typologies of common, daily use objects with varied master techniques, rarely presented for large statuary.
5.4.2011 - 24.7.2011