I will answer the first question from a personal perspective: Return to the pre-session work set for your group and write up your responses to the questions.
- In what ways could this artwork be seen to employ the method outlined in the related chapter of Key Concepts in Ethnography?
Participant Observation
- Does the artist’s approach differ from the ethnographic definition? If so, how?
Yes. The subjects of study are different. The artist not only observed but also participated. In this part of Art After Parenting, for example, Ukeles does not reject chores but focuses on them to expose the necessity and freedom of labor.
- Why do you think the artist has chosen to make this work in this way? What does this method allow them to do?
Touch Sanitation. In Touch Sanitation, Ukeles theorizes and implements a lot of projects, and interacts with a lot of people in her projects, like shaking hands with environmental workers. “For Ukeles, the process by which a valued thing becomes de-valued garbage is importantly a process of homogenization: To call something garbage means stripping the materials of their inherent characteristics.” (Jackson,2011) Therefore, the participation of artists may be Participant Observation. This approach allows Ukeles has developed several projects, events, performances, and installations around sanitation and distinguish between the inherent characteristics of waste rather than the identity of waste.
The above is my answer to the pre-class preview question, I am not sure whether it is the right answer.If possible, please give me some advice, thank you.
Thanks for reading，have a nice day.
Reference
Jackson, S 2011, Social Works : Performing Art, Supporting Publics, Taylor & Francis Group, London. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [2 February 2023].
