Acupuncture mannequin, China, Qing dynasty, 18th century, Paper and cardboard, lacquered and painted, H.: 46.5 cm; W.: 14 cm, Paris, Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet, gift Sir Humphrey Clarke (1967), MG 24068

Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (MNAAG, Paris) / Thierry Ollivier

Asian medecine, The Art of balance - Aurélie Samuel, co-curator of the exhibition, tells us all about it

From May 17, 2023 to September 18, 2023

On the occasion of the Asia Week Paris, a guided tour will take place under the expertise of Aurélie Samuel, co-curator of the exhibition, on Tuesday June 13, 2023 at 2:30 pm.

The first French exhibition devoted to the three Asian medicines, "Asian Medecine, The Art of Balance" is currently on display at the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts until 18 September 2023.

A dialogue between art and healthcare, the exhibition offers a fascinating immersive experience as you discover qi gong, yoga, herbal medicine, astrology, shamanism, exorcism and meditation in a specially designed room.

When it comes to well-being, Asian medicines are now widely acclaimed throughout the world. They are attracting growing interest and are increasingly being included in conventional hospital and therapeutic treatments. Although preventive, Asian medicines have developed diagnoses, treatments and a global approach - known as holistic - which takes into account the body and mind as part of a whole that links the patient to the surrounding universe.

The balance of vital energies - a fundamental principle of all Eastern medicines - has given rise to many works of great aesthetic power and spiritual significance.

The first French exhibition devoted to the three Asian medicines, "Asian Medecine, The Art of Balance" is currently on display at the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts until 18 September 2023.

The balance of vital energies - a fundamental principle of all Eastern medicines - has given rise to many works of great aesthetic power and spiritual significance.

"The exhibition Asian Medicine, the Art of Balance is an exceptional event in many ways! As well as being the first exhibition devoted to the three major forms of Asian medicine in France, it also represents a new field of exploration beyond the traditional boundaries of the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts. Talking about Oriental medicines seems to be a fairly commonplace thing these days, such is the extent to which these fields are rooted in Western ways of life. However, we felt it was important to present in this exhibition the main principles, and in particular the shared principles, that governed these medical traditions. The circulation of energy, the taking of the pulse, the holistic approach to the patient and the consideration of divine or demonic influences in the spread of disease are all themes that are specific to Asian medicine.

Many parallels can be drawn between these practices and the organisation that governs the life of our cultural institutions. Thinking about the subject of an exhibition, and how it will be received by the public, is like assessing the state of health of a project: its viability. Thinking about how it will be staged, how it will be visited and designing the space in which visitors will move is no more and no less than thinking about the circulation of flows so that movement, contemplation, discovery and visitor enjoyment form in a harmonious symbiosis. These events may also provide an opportunity for certain artworks to pass through the meticulous and expert hands of restorers. These art doctors give new life to works damaged by nature and time. Using processes that are sometimes secret, often complex and always miraculous, the pieces are reborn, given a "second youth" to the delight of our visitors and future generations.

Mahakola Sanni Yaka (or Rajamulla Sanni Yaka) mask, Sri Lanka, 19th century, Painted wood, hair

H. 99 cm; W. 69.5 cm; D. 25 cm, Oxford, Pitt Rivers Museum, 1899.88.1.1 to 1899.88.1.5, Photo (C) Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Finally, in today's troubled world, how can we fail to see that museums and the people who work in them can play a role in people's well-being? Isn't visiting an exhibition, devoting time to contemplating works of art, a form of therapy? Indulging in aesthetic emotions, taking a break from the frenetic pace of our busy daily lives, is an opportunity to do ourselves some good. In any case, these are our wishes for all those who visit this exhibition and the Musée Guimet.

Yannick Lintz

President, Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts

Aurélie Samuel,
co-curator of the exhibition

An art historian specializing in Asian culture, Aurélie Samuel is a heritage curator, now an independent curator. From 2001 to 2016, she worked at the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts, first in the Japanese department then as head of the Textiles department. The author of numerous books and scientific articles, she has curated a number of exhibitions, including "Costumes d'Enfants, Miroir des Grands" (2010), "Tsutsugaki, tissus japonais teints à l'indigo" (2013), "Clemenceau, le Tigre et l'Asie" (2014), "Du Nô à Mata Hari" (2015), "Intérieur coréen" (2015) and "Kimono, Au bonheur des Dames" (2017). For the Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent, Aurélie Samuel curated the exhibition "Kabuki, Costumes of Japanese Theatre" in 2012. In 2017, she worked with the Foundation on the opening of the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, for which she organised the permanent tour and the exhibitions "L'Asie rêvée d'Yves Saint Laurent" in 2018 and "Les coulisses de la haute couture" in Lyon in 2021.

At this year's Printemps Asiatique, Aurélie Samuel will be taking part in a round table discussion dedicated to the Asian influence on Western fashion. In particular, she'll be talking about the Asian inspiration behind the houses of Dior and Yves-Saint-Laurent.

Join us at 3.30pm on Sunday June 11 at the Musée Guimet for this special fashion event!

What are the aims of the exhibition you are co-curating?

This is the first French exhibition devoted to the three great Asian medical traditions: Indian medicine, Chinese medicine and Tibetan medicine. The exhibition attempts to explain the main principles behind them and highlights the shared features of these disciplines. The exhibition invites visitors to discover some 300 works in the medical field, from all the different art forms. We wanted to show that medical practices have been a source of inspiration for artists and we don't necessarily usually look at these works from this angle.

Which piece in the exhibition moved you the most?

There are several, but I think the painting from the late 19th century, representing the "map of the inner landscape" of a body according to Taoist alchemy, is a remarkable work both for its iconography and its aesthetic interest. In itself, it symbolises the whole exhibition: an understanding of the body in relation to nature, a holistic approach to medical practices and an artistic representation incorporating the codes of Far Eastern painting.

What subject would you like to tackle next?

Birth and rebirth. An epic of life across all cultures, an exhibition that would bring together all the beliefs surrounding birth and the passage into another life.

Your latest artistic crush?

I discovered Georgia O'keeffe - which I knew only superficially - at the Centre Pompidou exhibition in 2021 and I was absolutely blown away by her work. Her paintings have incredible power. I love Eva Jospin's creations which I find both spectacular and deeply intimate.

The work that inspires you ?

It's difficult to answer that question because there are so many !

Of course, I've always been fascinated by Indian art, which is my original speciality but I also have a passion for the Italian Renaissance and in particular for the painter Tintoretto.

I love Japanese literature, particularly Okakura Kazuko's The Book of Tea. This is without a doubt the book that has given me the most insight, not only into Asian art, but also into our relationship with nature and how to live in harmony with it. I also really enjoy reading The Investigations of Judge Ti by Robert van Gulik, which combines detective fiction and historical accounts set in Tang China.

Which place inspires you?

Among the places that fascinate me, I must admit that I feel particularly at home in the Louvre. Every time I visit this museum, I rediscover it and learn something new. I love historic homes that have been preserved in their original state or that evoke the soul of their owner. The Ennery Museum in Paris is a case in point.

Could you tell us more about your projects?

In July I'm opening an exhibition at the Mucem in Marseille with my colleague Marie-Charlotte Calafat, head of collections at the Mucem, on the dialogue between traditional costume and haute couture. At the heart of this project are the Mucem's textile collections as well as the many iconographic collections relating to costume and its representations. Placed alongside haute couture pieces, these collections bear witness to the continuities that permeate the history of fashion, as well as to the porous boundaries between artistic creation and popular culture. In a fruitful dialogue between heritage and the contemporary, contemporary creations offer a new perspective on costume, and the historical depth that costume offers to the work of fashion designers.

I'm also preparing an exhibition on the Tale of Genji in the arts, and in particular the woven scrolls of Master Yamaguchi, which will open in November at the Musée Guimet. The exhibition will show for the first time in their entirety the scrolls from the Tale of Genji, woven by master Itarô Yamaguchi. This master weaver, from the Nishijin district of Kyoto, gave France the four scrolls he made from painted scrolls from the Heian period. For him, this exceptional gift was a way of thanking the homeland of Jacquard, whose mechanised loom he felt had saved Kyoto's textile industry through its adoption at the end of the 19th century. The exhibition will also showcase the Heian period (794-1185) and its courtly art, during which the Tale of Genji, a major work of 11th-century Japanese literature, was written by the poet Murasaki Shikibu. This psychological novel has continued to inspire Japanese artists and craftsmen to this day.