I can%26#39;t agree with Irish more, this museum is a study in poor planning. The collection itself is superb in some areas (the pre-Colombian feather capes) and pathetic in others (too much crap you can get at any market today). But the great stuff is genuinely STUPENDOUS.
However, none of that matters, because the museum is so horrid that you can%26#39;t stick around long to see it all. My Pet Peeves:
The lighting: It is dark. Black walls, black ceilings. I felt like I was in an underground tunnel, not two storeis above ground with what could have been incredible light comig off the Seine. The spot lights all around do add some light, but also serve to throw glare on to the displays, making it very difficult to see much of the smaller pieces.
The multimedia : There were screens eveywhere, meaning kids were more likely to be looking at the idiot box than the actual artifacts. Sometimes the shows were illsutrating aspects of the articles. Why look at the real thing when it is so much easier to find out from a screen?
The Information : Really tiny info diplays with only the sketchiest of details. O, and some of the display cases had titles on them that included a design that obstructed your view of the art from an angle.
The layout : They chose to present the works geographically, and it felt like we were in Africa one minute, Asia the next, with it all kind of flying by with no boundary or definition in between.
The collection : cheesy clothing from around the world, too much of it was modern stuff that you can find at many markets and not the original traditional garb.
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I was very negative before going there. But I have to say that I find the art to be very beautifully displayed (more beutifully than in the louvre) when its comes to lightning etc. And I did not feel like was going to be attacked any minute, a critic that came up in NY times.
I guess the point is that you should not know, a drastic way to make it art and nothing else. (you can discuss that, but if thats their point)
My only critic is that I find that even if they try they dont really get away from the feeling of imperialism and colonialism.
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phread -
I%26#39;m glad you posted this. As you know I agree 100% with everything you say. Actually I was a bit concerned at my negative reaction to the Branly in part because you had posted some positive comments prior to our visit. I really respect your views on such things and almost always find myself in complete agreement with you. But I realize now you were commenting on the building, which is spectacular from the outside, and had not yet visted the museum itself.
Perhaps with enough comments of this kind the powers-that-be wil get the message and close the place down for six months and re-think the whole thing. As you say there is some spectacular stuff in the collection and it isn%26#39;t too late to save the museum IMO. But in the meantime what a monumental waste of some €270 million!
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Irish, Yup! I was only talking about the exterior space and not at all the way the art was presented until now. (oh, and thanks for valuing my opinion, that means something from one like yourself).
The labrinthyne structure did not throw me off at all, I actually liked that I didn%26#39;t have to pay attention to where I had been and needed to continue.
That over-dominating black ceiling was simply oppressive, though. My visitor thought that we had gone two floors underground, and not two stories above ground, which is almost tragic, really, considering all the open views that the design could have taken advantage of.
I am not holding my breath for them to make any changes in the near future, but I have to say that the word may have gotten out, because the place was impressively empty.
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