The unusual setting inside the Quai Branly
The Quai Branly is a museum in Paris that exhibits indigenous artefacts from civilizations all over Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Apart from the many intriguing objects found on display, one of the museums main features is its interior architecture which makes the way that the inside of the museum is arranged just as important as the objects d’art. The building was designed by Jean Nouvel and the garden surrounding the museum was laid out by Gilles Clément. The museum itself, which is more than two hundred meters long and set on stilts which gently curve to ratify the bend in the nearby river Seine, resembles a footbridge surrounded by long grass and trees which hides the building from view, allowing the visitors to discover it gradually and creates the feeling of exploring.
A museum can be set up in various different ways for the viewers to see and understand the articles on display. Most museums are designed so that the visitors see their collections in a certain way either thematically, geographically, historically etc… the Quai Branly abides by none of these ‘rules of display’ with the exception that the different areas the objects are from are delineated by four different colours on the floor marking each individual area; yellow marks Africa, orange for Asia, red for Oceania and light blue for the Americas. These colours are however, easily overlooked, as they are under the visitors feet, which can leave the impression that all the objects have been lumbered together, which makes the museum seem a little disrespectful of the cultural diversity of each area.
Totems from Oceania
However, it also does not limit the viewer’s first impression of each object, leaving the viewer’s imagination to roam free. In the Manual of Museum Planning: Sustainable Space, Facilities, and Operations the planning of a museum is defined as the following: “the study and practice of facilitating the preservation and interpretation of material culture by ordering all those components that compromise a museum into a constructed or renovated whole that can achieve its functions in a sustainable way with optimal efficiency” (Lord et al 2012:9). This definition states that the goal of a museum is to display its collections in a way that is both effective (regarding space and any future additions to the collection) and aesthetically pleasing to its visitors. The Quai Branly displays its objects in no particular order, the intention of the positioning of the collection is for the visitors to explore, mimicking the outside garden’s purpose, and discover the objects for themselves instead of being directed by signs or the rooms setting.
The aspect of the Quai Branly museum that sets it apart from other, perhaps more conventional, museums is the way in which it is designed inside. The museum does not have doors or stairs or corners, in the place of stairs, there is a winding, smooth walkway around a large glass case. Words are projected onto the walkway in a river-like fashion, flowing down to the lobby.
The flowing river of words
Everything is made to create the feeling of flowing and openness, even the little cards, which usually hold a few lines explaining an object to the observer, do not contain much information, if any, inviting people to visualise for themselves what each article could have been used for. All is designed to not influence or direct the thoughts or first impressions of the visitors. This can be seen as frustrating if one would want to know more details about a certain artefact, which is why the museum also offers audio guides, which allow you to learn more about the exhibition without interfering with anyone else’s visit.
The director of the museum, Stéphane Martin, stated in a video about the Quai Branly that “This museum has been made to resemble an internet page rather than a book” by this he meant that a book has a beginning and an end, however, one can always go back and discover more on an internet page, one does not seek to ‘finish reading’ a webpage. Mr. Martin continues by saying “Therefore, one visit to the Quai Branly museum is not enough, you have to come back regularly.” The atmosphere of the museum does have certain parallels to a webpage, there does not seem to be any limits to its content and when it is time to leave it feels like there is still so much to be seen of the exhibition. On the one hand this is quite an achievement, as it is hard to make visitors feel in owe, not only at the objects on display but also at the way in which they are displayed. On the other, the museum has been criticised for leaving visitors with the feeling of being unsatisfied with the exhibitions as most do not wish to listen to an audio guide, they are left with very little information about the objects they have been observing. The New York Times remarked that the combination of the gloom of the inside of the museum along with the lack of walls creates an impression of an ‘informal warehouse packed with unexpected treasures. Bathed in an inky light, the artworks are in towering glass cabinets whose edges seem to fade into the darkness. At times the transparency allows you to view rows of artworks all at once that virtually float in the vastness of the space’ (N.Y Times: 2006) The darkness referred to here is caused by a collage on the windows replicating a jungle to accentuate the tribal history of the artefacts but which also protects the objects from sunlight damage.
The museum’s main gallery has at its centre what they called “La Rivière”, which is a pathway running along the middle of the exposition and which ties up the four areas from where the artefacts are all from. The rounded walls on either side of this river, which are made out of leather, have small symbols and stories carved into them which can be interpreted through touch. La Rivière highlights the openness of the gallery and emphasizes the feeling of discovery and exploration. This part of the museum was mainly meant for blind visitors, as they can feel their way down La Rivière by touching the walls and discover the little statues and shapes incrusted in them. La Rivière is almost a world of its own inside the gallery as it is different from the rest of the exposition. This accentuates the diversity of the setting of the museum’s interior.
The whole experience of the Quai Branly’s display is very different from any other museum in that it endeavours to get the visitors to think and deliberate on what each object could have been used for and when it was made. The fact that there are no walls separating each segment of the museum enables the viewer to see the collection as a whole and reflect on how, even though the objects came from different parts of the world, they sometimes seem very similar. The museum’s inner architecture is not only visually pleasant but makes a visit fun and memorable.
The inside of the main gallery
The Quai Branly museum uses many unconventional ways of presenting their remarkable collection of tribal objects from parts of Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The main gallery is gloomy in an effort to make it seem more like being in the jungle, where most of the objects were made. It is an intriguing way to make the visitors see the relics in their original context. The open space of the museum allows the visitors to feel as though there is no rush to see the display, it creates a relaxed environment to learn and discover the fascinating collection of objects that the museum has to offer.
References:
Lord, Barry & Gail Dexter, Lindsay Martin eds.
2012 Manual of Museum Planning: Sustainable Space, Facilities, and Operations. Rowman Altamira
Martin, Stéphane
2012 Musée du Quai Branly le musée en video.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LnE3Tsogg4>
Ouroussoff, Nicolai
2006 For a New Paris Museum, Jean Nouvel Creates His Own Rules. The New York Times <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/arts/design/27bran.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 >
A visit to the Quai Branly 