“In the footsteps of Claude Levi-Strauss"
18h / Free Entrance
Documentary : “Claude Levi Strauss in his own words”
Opening with his early denunciation of consumer society, this film traces the intellectual path of renowned anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss (b. 1908), author of Tristes tropiques (A World on the Wane) and La pensée sauvage (The Savage Mind). It features interview excerpts dating back to the 1960s, as well as personal archival material (family photographs, manuscripts, snapshots and ethnographic films). Lévi-Strauss, the founder of French structural anthropology, is an eloquent, precise speaker, by turns amiable and mischievous. He is the main narrator of this chronological and thematic account, which fluidly transitions from his childhood days to his life as a researcher ; from the summits of the Cévennes to the banks of the Amazon ; from an orchestral score to the structure of myths ; from Ancient Greece to the home of the Bororo. A fascinating introduction to the thinking of a man fascinated by humanity, and ever confident (despite his pessimism about our contemporary predicament) in the creative potential of the human spirit.
Exhibition : THE PATAXÓ INDIANS. A photography exhibition on Brazil’s “oldest” Indian ethnic group.
The history of the Pataxó Indians is closely related to the age of European discoveries and specifically to the emergence of Brazil. In the year 1500 when the Portuguese disembarked on the vast expanses of this Southern country, they also met the Pataxó who eyed them curiously. Forgotten for centuries and only re-encountered 50 years ago, this unusual ethnic group is composed of no more than 10 000 individuals who proudly claim their own place in contemporary Brazilian society.
Anthropologist Bernd Bierbaum lived with the Pataxó for eight months in 1988/89 and revisited them last year. The portraits that he has brought back from this reunion show an intimacy which is often lost in many journalistic documentaries. He uses the camera behind the scenes, depicting their lives in a subtle but striking manner and avoiding the stereotyped exotic façades : he takes up the timeless challenge to see one’s world by looking into the eyes of the other. Playing with Levi-Strauss’ famous dictum of the Regard eloigné - The view from afar - Bernd’s exhibition is entitled Olháres Próximos - Close up view. On Thursday 5 November, Bernd will introduce the exhibition and the Pataxó Indians.
Exhibition from 4 to 16 November
Opening with his early denunciation of consumer society, this film traces the intellectual path of renowned anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss (b. 1908), author of Tristes tropiques (A World on the Wane) and La pensée sauvage (The Savage Mind). It features interview excerpts dating back to the 1960s, as well as personal archival material (family photographs, manuscripts, snapshots and ethnographic films). Lévi-Strauss, the founder of French structural anthropology, is an eloquent, precise speaker, by turns amiable and mischievous. He is the main narrator of this chronological and thematic account, which fluidly transitions from his childhood days to his life as a researcher ; from the summits of the Cévennes to the banks of the Amazon ; from an orchestral score to the structure of myths ; from Ancient Greece to the home of the Bororo. A fascinating introduction to the thinking of a man fascinated by humanity, and ever confident (despite his pessimism about our contemporary predicament) in the creative potential of the human spirit.
Exhibition : THE PATAXÓ INDIANS. A photography exhibition on Brazil’s “oldest” Indian ethnic group.
The history of the Pataxó Indians is closely related to the age of European discoveries and specifically to the emergence of Brazil. In the year 1500 when the Portuguese disembarked on the vast expanses of this Southern country, they also met the Pataxó who eyed them curiously. Forgotten for centuries and only re-encountered 50 years ago, this unusual ethnic group is composed of no more than 10 000 individuals who proudly claim their own place in contemporary Brazilian society.
Anthropologist Bernd Bierbaum lived with the Pataxó for eight months in 1988/89 and revisited them last year. The portraits that he has brought back from this reunion show an intimacy which is often lost in many journalistic documentaries. He uses the camera behind the scenes, depicting their lives in a subtle but striking manner and avoiding the stereotyped exotic façades : he takes up the timeless challenge to see one’s world by looking into the eyes of the other. Playing with Levi-Strauss’ famous dictum of the Regard eloigné - The view from afar - Bernd’s exhibition is entitled Olháres Próximos - Close up view. On Thursday 5 November, Bernd will introduce the exhibition and the Pataxó Indians.
Exhibition from 4 to 16 November
