26 Jan 2016 13 Nov 2016

Persona

Strangely Human

How does the inanimate become animate? How do people establish an unusual or intimate relationship with objects? A group of anthropologists addressed these issues, at a time when our ideas of the human being are vacillating and the borders are continually being pushed back.

About the exhibition

Many objects have a status more similar to that of a person or a creature than that of a simple object. Works of art – Western or non-Western, popular or contemporary –, or high-tech products – robots, machines, etc. – are regularly endowed, in their use, with unexpected capacities for action, which render them almost people. Like a child devoted to its cuddly toy or someone who curses their computer or mobile accusing it of being incompetent or stubborn. Like the shaman who calls on the spirits through a statuette resembling the gods.

This transfer or confusion that exists between human and non-human, and the specific and personalised relationship that connects them, in a wide variety of cultures, is the vast subject of this anthropological exhibition. A foray into robotics, through the pioneering work of Masahiro Mori, will provide an insight into the role of anthropomorphism in diverse artefacts, and what unfolds when a robot with an all too human appearance - or any work of intimidating realism - comes under our gaze, unsettling the beholder.

Some of the works in this exhibition may be inappropriate for younger visitors.

  • General curators

    • Emmanuel Grimaud, Anthropologist Research Associate at the CNRS
    • Anne-Christine Taylor-Descola, Emeritus Research Director, CNRS

    Associated curators

    • Denis Vidal, Anthropologist, IRD Research Director  (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement)
    • Thierry Dufrêne, Professor of Art History, University Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense
  • Place:   Mezzanine ouest
  • TimeSlots:  
    From Tuesday 26 January 2016 at Sunday 13 November 2016
  • Closed on monday
    Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday:  10:30 am-07:00 pm
    Thursday:  10:30 am-10:00 pm
  • Public:   All publics
  • Categorie : Exhibitions
00:00 / 00:00
Persona, Étrangement humain | Bande-annonce de l'exposition
Bande annonce de l'exposition "Persona, Étrangement humain" au musée du quai Branly, du mardi 26 janvier au dimanche 13 novembre 2016. Plus d'informations sur http://www.quaibranly.fr/fr/expositions-evenements/au-musee/expositions/details-de-levenement/e/persona-36255/
2:33 min

The exhibition in pictures

  • Vue de l'exposition "Persona, Étrangement humain"
  • Vue de l'exposition "Persona, Étrangement humain"
  • Vue de l'exposition "Persona, Étrangement humain"
  • Vue de l'exposition "Persona, Étrangement humain"

© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Gautier Deblonde
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