Latest news with #MuséeduQuaiBranly
Asharq Al-Awsat
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Artist Kehinde Wiley Puts Power in a New Frame with Paintings of African Leaders
American artist Kehinde Wiley unveiled a series of large-format portraits of African leaders in Morocco on Tuesday, building on his now famous 2018 portrait of former US President Barack Obama sitting casually amid a wild cascade of leaves and flowers. His exhibition, entitled "A Maze of Power," opened at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, Morocco's capital, after previously showing in Paris and Dakar, Senegal. The artwork borrows from classical easel painting techniques, posing African leaders in a style mainly associated with European royalty and aristocracy. "What I wanted to do was to draw ideas in, to be able to look at the depiction of power, both beautifully and problematically," Wiley said. In one portrait, Ethiopia's former president, Sahle-Work Zewde, stands before a window, her nation's bustling capital stretching behind her as her hand clasps a dangling flower. In another, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, former president of Madagascar, is depicted sitting confidently astride a horse. And Alassane Ouattara, president of Ivory Coast, is seen clenching his brow as he grips a sword in his right hand. "I was thinking about the presidency at large as a symbol, as a seat of power," Wiley told The Associated Press at the opening of his exhibition. "A Maze of Power" arrived in Morocco seven months after first showing at Paris' Musée du Quai Branly — Jacques Chirac. It's part of the Moroccan museum's efforts to become a hub for African art ahead of the next year's opening of the Museum of the African Continent, across the street in Rabat. Wiley said that after his Obama portrait, he was able to leverage his connections to gain audiences with leaders from across Africa and persuade them to sit for him. In addition to Obama's, the portraits also echo Wiley's earlier works, in which young Black men appear in poses most associated with paintings of kings and generals. Showing his would-be subjects a book full of classical paintings to draw inspiration from, Wiley said he prepares for painting by taking hundreds of photographs of each leader and then placing them in settings both real and abstract. Although he wanted to show political power, the leaders' individual political choices were not relevant to the series, Wiley said. Though Wiley said the role of some art can be to shed light on those affected by political decision-making, his goals were different. "This project is more about pulling way back and having a sort of bird's-eye view at the phenomena of the political portrait itself," he said.
The Independent
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Artist Kehinde Wiley puts power in a new frame with paintings of African leaders
American artist Kehinde Wiley unveiled a series of large-format portraits of African leaders in Morocco on Tuesday, building on his now famous 2018 portrait of former U.S. President Barack Obama sitting casually amid a wild cascade of leaves and flowers. His exhibition, entitled 'A Maze of Power,' opened at the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat, Morocco's capital, after previously showing in Paris and Dakar, Senegal. The artwork borrows from classical easel painting techniques, posing African leaders in a style mainly associated with European royalty and aristocracy. 'What I wanted to do was to draw ideas in, to be able to look at the depiction of power, both beautifully and problematically,' Wiley said. In one portrait, Ethiopia's former president, Sahle-Work Zewde, stands before a window, her nation's bustling capital stretching behind her as her hand clasps a dangling flower. In another, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, former president of Madagascar, is depicted sitting confidently astride a horse. And Alassane Ouattara, president of Ivory Coast, is seen clenching his brow as he grips a sword in his right hand. 'I was thinking about the presidency at large as a symbol, as a seat of power,' Wiley told The Associated Press at the opening of his exhibition. 'A Maze of Power' arrived in Morocco seven months after first showing at Paris' Musée du Quai Branly — Jacques Chirac. It's part of the Moroccan museum's efforts to become a hub for African art ahead of the next year's opening of the Museum of the African Continent, across the street in Rabat. Wiley said that after his Obama portrait, he was able to leverage his connections to gain audiences with leaders from across Africa and persuade them to sit for him. In addition to Obama's, the portraits also echo Wiley's earlier works, in which young Black men appear in poses most associated with paintings of kings and generals. Showing his would-be subjects a book full of classical paintings to draw inspiration from, Wiley said he prepares for painting by taking hundreds of photographs of each leader and then placing them in settings both real and abstract. Although he wanted to show political power, the leaders' individual political choices were not relevant to the series, Wiley said. The leaders depicted include some marred by corruption scandals and others who ignored presidential term limits and repressed protestors. There are also two whose militaries are fighting each other in eastern Congo: Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi. Though Wiley said the role of some art can be to shed light on those affected by political decision-making, his goals were different. 'This project is more about pulling way back and having a sort of bird's-eye view at the phenomena of the political portrait itself,' he said.
Miami Herald
12-02-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Rare 1,600-year-old purple fabric — woven with gold threads — found in France. See it
Archaeologists in central France looked inside the ancient sarcophagus they'd recently unearthed. Something across the top of the burial seemed to glint in the sun. It turned out to be a 1,600-year-old fabric fragment woven with gold threads. A team of archaeologists spent several months of 2020 excavating a massive ancient burial ground in Autun. The site included about 230 tombs dating back roughly 1,500 to 1,700 years, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research said in a Feb. 11 news release. The burials, some of which were rare lead coffins, included a wide array of exceptional artifacts such as a glass vase, gold jewelry and pins carved of amber. When archaeologists excavated the unimpressively named Burial 47, they found another rare surprise: a roughly 5-foot-long piece of gold fabric, according to a YouTube video from the institute translated using Google Translate. The ancient material was extremely delicate, archaeologists said. They removed the fabric and surrounding dirt, then placed it in a refrigerated environment to prevent it from molding or deteriorating. After detailed scans of the find and a yearslong preservation process, experts identified the material as a 1,600-year-old purple fabric woven with gold threads. Its purple dye, now faded to a red tint, was associated with elite aristocracy in ancient times, the institute said. Originally, the ancient cloth may have had a plant or floral-themed design, the institute said. Photos show the vague outline of a leaf-shaped patch of threads and what the fabric may have looked like when buried. Archaeologists also found five more fragments of gold fabric. Most of these, including Burial 47, were found in lead coffins, but one was found in a wooden coffin. The rare fabrics from Autun are on temporary display at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris until July, the institute said. Autun is a city in central France and a roughly 180-mile drive southeast from Paris. Google Translate was used to translate the news releases and YouTube video from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap).
