Quai Branly Museum in Paris
By Choe Chong-dae
I was delighted to learn that the Louvre, from early 2008, has been providing a multimedia system with Korean language service, sponsored by Korean Air.
This new service not only allows Korean visitors to appreciate commentary on the masterpieces in their mother tongue but also brings Korean culture to the attention of other visitors at this top- class museum.
The Louvre really is a landmark museum, with one of the richest and most important collections in the world. The evolution of the function of the Louvre since medieval times bears witness to every epoch of French history. This magnificent treasure house of culture deserves the tourists it attracts from all over the world.
Paris itself is of course a fascinating city presenting its visitors with an exceptional atmosphere through its blend of brilliant history, architecture, art, fashion and romance. There are more than 100 museums in and around Paris housing priceless artifacts from all over the world and provide a splendid gateway to knowledge and insight into the historical and global evolution of mankind and its diversity of artistic expression, all for a better understanding of humanity and a better life now and in the future.
Of the numerous museums that I have visited during my travels abroad, quite a few have inspired me. During a visit to Paris in January 2007, I had the pleasure of visiting the brand new Quai Branly Museum. This great public museum in Paris was established under the leadership of former French president Jacques Chirac and opened in June 2006. Currently, it houses collections from locations such as Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.
In addition, it is involved in many projects with other international museums. I went there at the invitation of Dr. Stephane Martin, its president, by way of Leiden, the Netherlands, to attend the launch of the Virtual Collection of Masterpieces https://masterpieces.asemus.museum.
As the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden and the Quai Branly Museum have been active supporters of this very important virtual exercise, one might as well call it the first cyber-museum. It was smoothly launched at the Quai Branly Museum in January 2007. The great launch of the VCM in Korea took place in September 2007 at the Gyeonggi Provincial Museum, the lead Asian partner of the VCM consortium. Sixty-two museums from Asia and Europe have combined efforts to provide some 1200 objects and exhibitions online on a shared platform.
The launch at the museum was attended by a number of ambassadors to UNESCO from Asian and European countries and curators from various Asian and European museums who were unanimous in their praise for the VCM. Many regard such international collaboration by museums, called ``sharing collections," as the most important development in the globalizing museum world. One of the great aspects of museums is they don't always buy their collections but can borrow them each another, becoming a grand, united museums.
Unlike the Louvre, the new Quai Branly Museum is not yet very well known to Koreans. Nestled on the banks of the Seine at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in the heart of Paris, the museum was founded to showcase the indigenous cultural art and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, illustrating the universality of mankind. The museum itself is a stunning piece of architecture from France's most ubiquitous and famous architect, Jean Nouvel (who incidentally created one of the wings of the Leeum in Seoul). Its huge collection comes from the former National Museum of African and Oceania Art and the ethnological collections formerly held by the Musee de l'Homme. The museum, thus, has become one of the most significant ethnological museums in the world.
The highlight of my visit there was the pavilion of African collections, with unique artifacts such as sculptures, furniture, fabrics, ceramics, ornaments, religious and ritual objects and more. These artifacts are the Quai Branly Museum's major component, mainly due to the French colonial presence in Africa. Accordingly, the museum has the world's largest collections of African art, with about 70,000 items from the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. The sub-Saharan African collections are largely made up of artifacts from such Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Gabon and Congo.
These displays of global art greatly inspired me, arousing my curiosity and appreciation for the genius of non-European civilizations. I am convinced that the Quai Branly will increase mutual understanding and eliminate ethnocentric prejudice. Furthermore, it illustrates the universality of the human family and the profound unity of mankind. Yes, belief in the equal dignity of the world's cultures is the basic vision upon which this important museum is built.
I encourage art devotees not only from Korea but from all over the world to not only visit the Louvre but this new museum as well and really appreciate the sublime aesthetics of non-European art.
The writer is president of Dae-Kwang International Co. and the Korean representative for Compagnie Cotonniere of Paris, France. A longtime director of the Korean-Swedish Association, he can be reached at dkic98@chol.com