aixcentric

Most museums have massive amounts of ‘stuff’ filed, heaped, mounded away in archives, basements and

warehouses.  The question is: what do they do with it all?

It really is an issue: Marseille’s MuCEM inherited the contents of the Musée National des Arts et Traditions Populaires in Paris and now has around one million items.  Over in Avignon, the town’s museums can only show 10% of their treasures at any one time.

Both, right now, are exhibiting items from their reserves, but in very different ways.  MuCEM have introduced a programme based on the alphabet, choosing one item per letter, and based on a theme.  In the spring it was ‘Amour’ and from this week, ‘Animaux’.  Meanwhile, in Avignon, the very creative local designer Christian Lacroix has been given the run of the basements to choose whatever appealed to his discerning eye.

‘Les Animaux de A a Z’ is an intriguing display of items taken from different Mediterranean countries.  G for instance is for the first giraffe to be seen in France, which caused a sensation when it arrived in Marseille from Egypt in 1827. R is for rat, universally destructive, and we are shown traps from Morocco  and the Alps which differ in their methods of dispatching them.  Curator Frederic Mougenot admitted that some letters were pretty difficult to illustrate: Y had to be for ‘Yorkshire et autres petits chiens’ which moved from chasing rabbits to being popular pets and having mini-furnishings made for them.

It is very Q for quirky.  The objects are esoteric and explanation really is needed in each case.  The labels though are in French only which is a shame as a foreign visitor would miss the point of each choice.

‘Les Animaux de A a Z’ being held in a new space in the Fort St-Jean until 4th March. You have to buy one ticket (with lapel sticker) for entry into this, and all other expos currently showing.  Especially worth doing while the Ai Weiwei show is on. And it’s free this coming Sunday (October 7th).

Over in Avignon, the Grande Chapelle of the Palais des Papes is the setting for Mirabilis, 400 items taken from the town’s collections.  Three 18th-19th century locals amassed heritage items from pre-history to ethnic societies, natural history, paintings – their ‘cabinets de curiosités’ were over-flowing.

Beautiful still life by Osias Beert, 1608

Lacroix has chosen paintings, cases of butterflies, stuffed birds, pottery, mummies, statues, ex-votos, clothes, Neapolitan angels, toys and santons.

Plus there’s a hippo’s skull, a 19th century tricycle, Rodin’s bust of Victor Hugo, an eskimo’s coat made of seals’ intestines….even the vertebrae of Pope Innocent VI is exhibited.

All a bit of a muddle, but among this there are some interesting exhibits like the Dutch still-life photographed here.  What a shame not to have this on permanent view.  I guess everyone will discover their own ‘marvellous things’.

Mirabilis is on show until 13th January. 

If you are into Christian Lacroix, there is a show ‘Christian Lacroix Habile Carmen’, his costumes for the opera, at Chapelle du Grand Couvent in Cavaillon. Until 27th October.

If you are in Avignon, there is a ‘Parcours d’Art’, a trail to see 33 artists’ work in 44 locations running til 21st October.  The tourist office has maps or see http://www.parcoursdelart.com.