Artwork or Artifact

Reframing Objects within Ethnographic Museums

Abstract

In this article, I reflect on the reframing of objects in museums. In a Western context, objects of African provenance seem to oscillate between being categorized as artworks and as artifacts. My main objective is to delineate how these categories were historically distinguished, and what contributed to that process. By examining current exhibitions, I demonstrate that this legacy adds a problematic dimension to contemporary museum displays. The problem is, firstly, that only these two categories exist; and secondly, that the distinction between these categories is still linked to distinct display practices that carry on a colonial legacy. This article thus contributes to the discussion of the current transformation of ethnographic museums into postcolonial museums of global art history.