'...Still, I couldn’t see any evidence of the conquest, violence and humiliation that Chirac had mentioned. There was no effort to contextualise these works in a history of colonial plundering, no attempt to explain the trajectory of the objects from their sources to their current resting places...Almost all the guards are African, and almost all the visitors are white. I keep wondering what the guards really think of this situation, and about the designation of the art of their homelands as “the other.” Do they see themselves as “the other” or are they French or both? Do they feel connected to this art, or is it just a job? Are they bemused by the fascination these artefacts have for those who have little time or respect for real live Africans?' -Tessa Laird
'I experienced moments of elation and moments of a kind of dread and even nausea (perhaps it was the jetlag). I felt giddy at the enormity and weirdness of it all. Because, no matter the architecture, the multimedia, the MONEY, it was still white people looking at the sacred artefacts of non-white people for a frisson, a tingling of the nerves, a form of entertainment like any other. And while it’s an enormous privilege to be able to view such works, it’s one I’d gladly relinquish for the far greater privilege of witnessing the return of these objects, masterpieces, taonga, to their original people and contexts. In the end, I think that the only truly “modern” museum is one that repatriates its collections. Just imagine all the “going home” stories! If each one could be as detailed and magnificent as the one elucidated by Paul Tapsell in Pukaki: A Comet Returns, we would be culturally richer, not poorer, for the process. These are the stories I want to hear.' -Tessa Laird
I had read this article written by artist, curator, critic, writer, teacher Tessa Laird some time ago; I was reminded of its relevancy and importance in my cultural anthropology class recently while watching a documentary on Ishi the last Yahi.
During a time when 'indian hunting' was legal, Ishi's family (along with many other Yahi) was murdered. Their camps raided by these 'hunters' on more than one occasion the death toll rose until the remaining Yahi were forced into hiding.
During these raids much of the Yahi's belongings (bows, arrows, clothing, etc) were stolen by these murderers and sold off, along with the heads of the natives who they murdered, eventually ending up in the Natural History Museum in San Francisco's 'collection' where they were then displayed.
At one point in the documentary Ishi is asked to dress up in what is supposed to be traditional garb although it was difficult to surmise whether or not the traditional attire was Yahi. Ishi was taken out into the woods where he was asked to hunt with bow and arrow as some sort of performance. One onlooker, at the time a child, explained that looking back on that day he was sure that the bow and arrow were not Yahi (explaining why Ishi, who couldn't make a kill, seemed entirely frustrated with the situation) rather, the hunting apparatus seemed to be arbitrarily chosen from one of the museum exhibits.
Ishi also reminded me of a book that I read many years ago about the Egyptian Mummies and the abuses afflicted upon them by the Europeans and Americans. In the 1920's everything Egyptian came into fashion, the European elite threw Egyptian themed parties the highlight being the 'viewing' of the recently acquired Egyptian Mummy. In the US thousands of mummies were destroyed as they were used as fuel for train engines! Yanked from their resting places and used as either a source for cheap entertainment or fuel... It's difficult to remember that not all Egyptian mummies were of royal lineage.
'I experienced moments of elation and moments of a kind of dread and even nausea (perhaps it was the jetlag). I felt giddy at the enormity and weirdness of it all. Because, no matter the architecture, the multimedia, the MONEY, it was still white people looking at the sacred artefacts of non-white people for a frisson, a tingling of the nerves, a form of entertainment like any other. And while it’s an enormous privilege to be able to view such works, it’s one I’d gladly relinquish for the far greater privilege of witnessing the return of these objects, masterpieces, taonga, to their original people and contexts. In the end, I think that the only truly “modern” museum is one that repatriates its collections. Just imagine all the “going home” stories! If each one could be as detailed and magnificent as the one elucidated by Paul Tapsell in Pukaki: A Comet Returns, we would be culturally richer, not poorer, for the process. These are the stories I want to hear.' -Tessa Laird
I had read this article written by artist, curator, critic, writer, teacher Tessa Laird some time ago; I was reminded of its relevancy and importance in my cultural anthropology class recently while watching a documentary on Ishi the last Yahi.
During a time when 'indian hunting' was legal, Ishi's family (along with many other Yahi) was murdered. Their camps raided by these 'hunters' on more than one occasion the death toll rose until the remaining Yahi were forced into hiding.
During these raids much of the Yahi's belongings (bows, arrows, clothing, etc) were stolen by these murderers and sold off, along with the heads of the natives who they murdered, eventually ending up in the Natural History Museum in San Francisco's 'collection' where they were then displayed.
At one point in the documentary Ishi is asked to dress up in what is supposed to be traditional garb although it was difficult to surmise whether or not the traditional attire was Yahi. Ishi was taken out into the woods where he was asked to hunt with bow and arrow as some sort of performance. One onlooker, at the time a child, explained that looking back on that day he was sure that the bow and arrow were not Yahi (explaining why Ishi, who couldn't make a kill, seemed entirely frustrated with the situation) rather, the hunting apparatus seemed to be arbitrarily chosen from one of the museum exhibits.
Ishi also reminded me of a book that I read many years ago about the Egyptian Mummies and the abuses afflicted upon them by the Europeans and Americans. In the 1920's everything Egyptian came into fashion, the European elite threw Egyptian themed parties the highlight being the 'viewing' of the recently acquired Egyptian Mummy. In the US thousands of mummies were destroyed as they were used as fuel for train engines! Yanked from their resting places and used as either a source for cheap entertainment or fuel... It's difficult to remember that not all Egyptian mummies were of royal lineage.
'But Where is the White Monkey?' puts the acquisition of and repatriation of objects that are at once beautiful and distrubing, as the source may be questionable, into a greater context. Laird poses some ethically inspired questions while taking a stance that may not induce feelings of camaraderie among her fellow purveyors of art. In other words she is bold...
For the full article 'But Where is the White Monkey':
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