Being Object, Being Art

Undermining the anthropological designations of “ethnic artifacts” and “ethnic art,” this survey of the massive collections of the Museum of World Cultures in Frankfurt approaches 130 of its works as both art and artifact simultaneously, raising aesthetic matters of form and color alongside contextual considerations. Masks, clubs, fans, spoons, tusks, dolls, necklaces, baskets, shields, cups, bags, headdresses and sculptures from countries in Africa, the Americas, Southeast Asia, Oceania and East Asia are all reproduced here, in full color and with contextualizing commentary. As debate on the status of ethnic artifacts continues to expand, with Being Object the Museum of World Cultures takes the lead among institutions in attempting to reorient the taxonomies of its collections.