Challenging the Dead Hand of the Museum Display

The Case of ContemporaryGuro (Côte d'Ivoire) Masquerades

Bibliographic Data

ID2278005
AuthorsAnne‐marie Bouttiaux (Royal Museum for Central Africa)
Year2012
Volume35
Issue1
Pages35-48
Publication date2012-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMuseum Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0892-8339 • E-ISSN: 1548-1379
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1548-1379.2012.01120.x
OpenAlexW2014706689
LanguageEN
References cited33

This paper explores some of the methodological and theoretical challenges raised by the presentation of masks from theGuro region of theCôte d'Ivoire (IvoryCoast) inPersona, a 2009 exhibition at theRoyalMuseum forCentralAfrica inTervuren,Belgium. Along theIvoryCoast, masquerades are popular, but they also take place during important rituals such as campaigns against witchcraft, funeral ceremonies, and propitiatory cult events. Masks are used in dance performances, and these can only be related in a museum context through texts, photographs, music, and videos. Yet in spite of such efforts to communicate the dynamism of living cultures, exhibitions often become a kind of cenotaph, as if these cultures were dead. Museums thus tend to have a "deadening effect" on living cultures, placing them in a timeless and false past. How can we deal with this aspect of the displays, especially when we know that today's masquerades are profoundly influenced by modernity and urban culture

Anthropological Studies and Insights · Cultural Identity and Heritage · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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