Ethnographic turn reading

Revisiting the ethnographic turn in contemporary art

Art has come to occupy a space long associated with anthropology, becoming one of the main sites for tracking, representing, and performing the effects of difference in contemporary life. People have been growing interest in anthropology for contemporary art that started from a problematisation of the different possible ways to communicate ethnographic findings and insights. This interest has been referred to as the ‘sensory turn’ in anthropology and ethnographic research.

Ethnography is approached from a thematic and methodological perspective, rather than by looking for fixed categories to define ‘ethnographic art’. Ethnographers look at cultural practices in which attention is paid to inter-subjectivity, where one relates engagement with a particular situation(experience) and the assessment of its meaning and significance to a broader context. The aim is to further the critical work on ethnography in relation to contemporary art by specifically looking at art practices and processes, thereby offering a bottom-up perspective from artists, critics and theorists addressing the questions if, why and how an ethnographic perspective is indeed at work.

Practice-based art projects Questioning and assessing the ethnographic turn in the contemporary art scene is generally discussed through the analysis of finished art objects and their relation to the contexts in which they are created. Most authors discussing the ethnographic turn in contemporary art focus on the artistic product to criticise the ethnographic relevance, rather than the artistic process. By contrast, the aim in the article is to further this theoretical and critical discourse by looking ethnographically at art practices.

Reference: Rutten, Kris, van. Dienderen, An & Soetaert, Ronald, 2013. Revisiting the ethnographic turn in contemporary art. Critical arts, 27(5), pp.459–473.