Indiens des plaines — Musée du quai Branly — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: April 9 → July 20, 2014

The exhibition consists of 140 objects and artworks which present a continuous view of the aesthetic traditions of the Plains Indians, from the 16th to the 20th century, offering an unprecedented vision of these traditions.

Lakota, Souliers de femmes Dakota du Nord ou du Sud © The Warnock Splendid Heritage Collection

The power of their culture is demonstrated in particular in the continuity of visual styles, even though during these three centuries of contact with Europeans and Americans the territory of the plains was subject to fundamental cultural and political changes. This continuity in forms and designs is revealed in the exhibition by means of a great variety of objects and media: paintings and drawings, sculptures in stone, wood, antler and shell, embroideries using porcupine quills and glass beads, personal ornaments made from feathers etc.

Cheyenne, Chemise de guerre, 1960 Techniques mixtes (Photographs, film strips, and eagle finialwith mount and finial) — 81.92 × 150.5 × 23.5 cm © Service Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art/Joshua Ferdinand — Collection Sandra Spang

Composite objects, assemblages created from a variety of materials and techniques characteristic of different types of art in the plains are also presented. Costumes painted in figurative and geometrical patterns, richly decorated garments with high symbolic value, ceremonial and sculptural objects constitute a significant percentage of the works exhibited.