Vue de l'exposition "Exhibitions, l'invention du sauvage"
29 Nov 2011 03 Jun 2012

Human Zoos

The invention of the savage

The exhibition unveils the history of women, men and children brought from Africa, Asia, Oceania and America to be exhibited in the Western world during circus shows, theatre or cabaret performances, fairs, zoos, parades, reconstructed villages or international and colonial fairs. The practice started in the 16th Century royal courts and continued to develop until the mid-20th Century in Europe, America and Japan.

À propos de l'exposition

[Translate to Anglais:] Peintures, sculptures, affiches, cartes postales, films, photographies, moulages, dioramas, maquettes et costumes donnent un aperçu de l’étendue de ce phénomène et du succès de cette industrie du spectacle exotique qui a fasciné plus d’un milliard de visiteurs de 1800 à 1958 et a concerné près de 35 000 figurants dans le monde. À travers un vaste panorama composé de près de 600 oeuvres et de nombreuses projections de films d’archives, l’exposition montre comment ces spectacles, à la fois outil de propagande, objet scientifique et source de divertissement, ont formé le regard de l’Occident et profondément influencé la manière dont est appréhendé l’Autre depuis près de cinq siècles.

L’exposition explore les frontières parfois ténues entre exotiques et monstres, science et voyeurisme, exhibition et spectacle, et questionne le visiteur sur ses propres préjugés dans le monde d’aujourd’hui. Si ces exhibitions disparaissent progressivement dans les années 30, elles auront alors accompli leur oeuvre : créer une frontière entre les exhibés et les visiteurs. Une frontière dont on peut se demander si elle existe toujours ?

L’exposition a été réalisée avec la participation des équipes et le concours des collections iconographiques du Groupe de recherche Achac.

  • Place:  Mezzanine ouest
  • TimeSlots:
    From Tuesday 29 November 2011 to Sunday 03 June 2012
  • Public: All publics
  • Categorie : Exhibitions
Vue de l'exposition "Exhibitions, l'invention du sauvage"
Exhibitions, l'invention du sauvage -...

Bande-annonce de l'exposition...

3:14

Exhibition Overview

The exhibition seeks to lift the veil of anonymity of the women, men and children used as extras, circus freaks, actors and dancers, by telling their many stories that have long since been forgotten.

Act 1 - The discovery of the Other: reporting, collecting, displaying

The first Act features the arrival of exotic peoples in Europe from the 15th to the 18th centuries, and the fact they were considered as ‘strange foreigners’, categorized in four archetypes throughout the exhibition: the savage, the artist, the freak and the exotic ambassador.

Act 2 – Freaks and exotic beings: to observe, classify and categorize

The early 19th century witnesses the development of a new genre: the ethnic show. They first developed in theater cafés before spreading to increasingly larger venues and ultimately featured in exhibitions and circuses.

Act 3 – The spectacle of difference: to recruit, exhibit and diffuse

Between 1870 and WWII, many venues start specializing in ethnic performance such as the Crystal Palace, Barnum and Bailey in Madison Square, the Folies Bergères in Paris and the famous Panoptikum in Berlin. The phenomenon takes on a professional aspct and exotic performance metamorphose into mass entertainment.

Act 4 – Staging: to exhibit, measure and produce

Reconstructed ethnic villages, zoos, colonial and international fairs, science and spectacle merge in multiple places. Exotic peoples and physical strangeness are brought together on stage as if they both equally represented the realm of abnormality.

The conclusion deals with the end of the exhibitions. The reasons are multiple but the same worldwide and include a fall in public interest, the development of the movie industry and of new forms of imperial propaganda.

Around the event

Guided tours, workshops, concerts, etc.
all activities organized as part of the event

Around the event