Tag: african art

Postcard from Guimaraes, Portugal: Bridging cultural divides through art

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A vintage postage stamp from the 1934 Colonial Exhibition in Portugal, depicting a portrait of a woman with a headscarf and traditional attire.

Above: Beaded Bamileke warrior, Cameroon, Central Africa, on exhibit in Jose de Guimaraes International Arts Center.

Linked by invisible threads, the objects seem to talk to each other independently of our presence. An African fetish points to a pre-Columbian vase; a skull imagined by Jose de Guimaraes contrast with a bronze object from ancient China; statuettes speak with paintings without time separating them. As the objects gaze at each other…, it becomes evident that the associated narratives are infinite. The objects ask: ‘How should we live together?'”

Curator notes, Jose de Guimaraes International Arts Center

A carefully curated combination of works by and collected from around the world by artist Jose de Guimaraes (1939-) – 1,128 objects by his count – occupy the sprawling galleries of the first floor of the Jose de Guimaraes International Arts Center.

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Postcard from Marseille, France: Unmasking cultural richness of overseas indigenous peoples

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Above: Display in Musee d’Arts Africains, Oceaniens, Amerindiens housed in a portion of La Vieille Charite

Stunningly exquisite, feathered pieces; masks meant to placate gods or frighten enemies; and skulls and shrunken heads all abide together in the city’s Musee d’Arts Africains, Oceaniens, Amerindiens. With dramatic lighting illuminating its exhibits, Marseille opened the museum in 1992 in the renovated Vielle Charite.

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