MUSEUM news PIERRE LOTI, THE AMBIGUOUS EXOTIC Paris—The new Atelier Martine Aublet, a modular exhibition 44 space situated on the mezzanine in the middle of the Musée du Quai Branly’s permanent collection area, opened on June 4, 2012, with an installation titled La Dame du Fleuve (The Lady of the River). The venue will host three different installations annually, including photo shows, displays of recent acquisitions, and contemporary artworks that complement other museum events or relate to important national or international exhibitions or happenings elsewhere. It has since shown Plâtre ou Pas? (Plaster or Not?), an exhibition devoted to the examination of plaster casts of artworks, and Le Rire, l’Horreur et la Mort (Laughter, Horror, and Death), an exhibition of Ghanaian movie posters that the museum acquired in 2003. Now, from June 25–September 29, 2013, the venue will host a show devoted to the unique and fascinating Pierre Loti (born Julien Viaud). J’arrive, J’aime, Je m’en Vais – Pierre Loti l’Ambigu Exotique (I Arrive, I Love, I Leave – Pierre Loti, the Ambiguous Exotic) is an homage to this late-nineteethcentury literary ambassador of exoticism. He was a cosmopolitan dandy who cultivated extravagance and was fascinated by the foreign cultures he encountered in the course of his travels as a naval officer. The exhibition was conceived of by Claude Stéfani, curator at the Municipal Museums of Rochefort. It includes archival documents, photographs, clothing, and all manner of personal effects. The installation reflects a vision of the world that is rooted in the authenticity of the civilizations of other places. Loti’s conclusion, arrived at through his voyage around the Pacific on board the Flore in 1871 and 1872, was that the cultural losses of those peoples, which he saw as synonymous with death, were often accelerated by the intrusion of Western culture. THE RETURN OF BLACKFOOT SHIRTS Oxford—The Blackfoot Shirts Project, on view at the Pitt Rivers Museum from March 7–September 1, 2013, is more than just an exhibition. A project that grew out of it has given it a greater dimension. In 2010, several Blackfoot shirts, acquired by Edward Hopkins during his visit to the fur trading post of Fort Edmonton and later obtained by the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1893, were taken back to Canada for a stay in Blackfoot territory. The purpose of the trip was to offer the members of the Blackfoot community an opportunity to examine these traditional objects, whose beauty is a testimony to the identity and beliefs of their makers, from whom historical circumstances caused them to be separated a very long time ago. More than 500 artists, ritual experts, students, and LEFT: Pierre Loti, Portrait d’Ariinoore Moetia, for an illustrated edition. teachers, among others, participated in activities relating to these shirts, traditionally worn in war and on important occasions. They were able to study the techniques used to create them and to debate their significance and meaning. The project was the fruit of a collaborative effort between peoples and a laudable demonstration of the responsibility on the part of Western museums to preserve not just the art but the memory of other peoples’ cultures. RIGHT: Ramses II (Sesostris), by Pierre Loti. Postcard. BELOW: Jules Gervais Courtellemont, Pierre Loti en costume d’Osiris. 1887. © Maison Pierre Loti, Rochefort. BELOW: Painted and quilled man’s shirt. Blackfoot, Canada. Pitt Rivers Museum, inv. 1893.67.1. © Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford University.
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