Exhibition of WILDER MANN at Pôle international de la Préhistoire
(see: Centre d’accueil du Pôle International de la Préhistoire , in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil , in Dordogne. The Perigord Noir is the place to visit for the Grotte de Lascaux , and all the museums connected to the research about prehistoric age, Homme de Néandertal, and Cro-Magnon.
This new international center of prehistory (See www.pole-prehistoire.com) invited me to show WILDER MANN, questionning the invention of composite creature in paleolithic age. It would be of course a too easy shortcut to imagine that our masquerade traditions in Europe may have started at that time. I’m very interested by the populare and educative imagery produced in the 19th and 20th century about the prehistoric time and its uncomplete and indadequate Evolutionary chain (where the Homme de Néandertal was described as a hairy savage and idiot creature). We now know that our homo sapiens NDA contains as well 5% of Neanderthal genes… Once again, the old cliché of the prehistoric man being savage is still contained in our post-colonial popular imagery (Ask to your children how they imagine the “caveman”).
Our WILDER MANN, still, could anyway be an evolution of this representation, thru our European masquerades and traditions of our “supposed to be savage” prehistoric ancestors.
While looking at the beauty and delicate Rock painting of Les Grottes De Lascaux Prehistoric Cave and the Grotte Chauvet (discovered only a few years ago. 30000 years old!), there’s a big doubt about which one between our civilized and modern man and the Cro-magnon man is finally the real “savage”. Let’s stay dry and objective and leave these discussions to scientists.
This summer, come to visit the Périgord and say hello to the WILDER MANN at the Pôle international de la Préhistoire. Come to read the text of Jean Clottes and the introduction of Catherine Clément. This transversality at least open some reflexions and I’m glad that WILDER MANN takes part of this and avoid certain mystifications.
