Masken indigener Völker – Wie begegnen sie uns heute?

The masks of indigenous peoples are not only fascinating – Theodor W. Adorno even called them ugly. But where does the sense of otherness that characterizes the Western approach to masks come from? Are the classics of ethnology, anthropology, and philosophy suitable for approaching masks, or might they reinforce colonial thinking? Using the Dzonokwa mask of the Kwaikutl as an example, Leah Neumann analyzes the influence that the positions of Girard, Lévi-Strauss and Gehlen can have even on cosmopolitan readers, while examining the impact of masks in museum context. Inspired by Anselm Franke’s animism, Neumann proposes the ‘power seesaw’ in order to finally discard the Western dualistic worldview, aiming to eradicate all forms of oppression.