Paris’ Musée des Arts Forains—in English, the Fairground Art Museum—is a tribute to the fairs and carnivals of the 1800s and early 1900s.
I didn’t come to Paris to die, but the City of Love seemed to have other ideas. At least it wasn’t going to be some mundane, everyday death; when the 19th century fair ride I was barely clinging to inevitably flung me headfirst into the walls of the Musée des Arts Forains, it would guarantee me an unforgettable obituary. Who dies by velocipede carousel these days? I was almost looking forward to it.
What seems charmingly archaic to us today must have been magical, otherworldly even, to fairgoers 130 years ago, at a time when electricity was still new and the household technology boom of the 20th century was decades away. The museum’s ornately carved woodwork, detailed sculptures, and costumed mannequins don’t seem primitive today, but spotlight a level of artistry and handmade uniqueness that’s largely been lost since the rise of mechanization and assembly line precision.
Given its focus and the trajectory of pop culture, the museum can’t help but track the rise of what would eventually be classified with the stultifying corporate buzzword “IP.” As you walk past the 19th century carousels and midway games and come across pieces from the 1930s and ‘40s, you’ll notice mutant bootleg representations of characters like Popeye, Donald Duck, and Pluto.
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