Interconnection of Anthropology And Ethnography
This is a summary of the article “An Anthropology of Art: The Reflection on its History and Contemporary Practice” by Howard Morphy and Morgan Perkins”. In the article, writers begins by addressing the definition of art, Anthropology of art is a subfield of social anthropology dedicated to the study of art in different cultures and contexts. It is mostly focuses on historical economic and aesthetic dimensions in art forums. There are two types of art anthropologists: First, they look closely into the structural attributes of the items such as designing, composition, classic references. They usually on material objects which are relatively independent such as symbolic activities, analogy of painting and sculpture. The other one focuses on their use which was regarded as the product of a specific stage in Euro- American history. Art objects has grown into tokens as an abstract capital symbols. They use tokens for exchange of goods and services within and between economies. Western themes has become the international art world, which influences other cultures to create their own art forms. For instance, Chinese avant- garde art movement creates drawing on the traditions of certain literati artists.
In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, “Art and material culture has become an essential part of the society”. Anthropology was closely linked with the museums and anthropologists have formed ethnographic museums in this century. The big misconception is that anthropologists has not able to relate art objects to the creators. The word “art” was seen as an object of European heritage. A significant impact on museum anthropology was the opposition of art and ethnography. In 1960, the general interpretation of art was artificial which was carried as ritual objects.
Anthropologists think that art is universally non-trivial and the main motive is to eliminate cultural bias. It is not only the study of objects that are classified in Western art and international art market. But art is the creative human activity and value of the art come from creators imagination. It is a creative way of communicating feelings to other people, and sometimes, those feelings that can not be expressed in words. Art objects is a physical object that signifies the system of ideas of particular culture and a way to purge overpowering emotions. Mostly, it is related to their beliefs, traditions, values of that culture that have been passed down for generations. Background culture is very different from one another and sometimes it is influenced by many different cultures. Art convey the essence of a courtly over time and space, and art images or objects often include stereotypes related to the consuming culture and not the constructive society.
Art can be replaced by some good definitions such as Aesthetic. Aesthetic is the philosophical study of fundamental nature and value of art although it may appear that art implies the idea of beauty a little introspection reveals that they are in fact very different things. Aesthetic is also considered in the literature. The aesthetic experience is centre around the sensory experience that something given to our senses which is also about our emotional experience. Ethnography is a qualitative research design that studies a distinct culture within society specifically in ethnography studies the characteristics typically associated with a culture such as values, behaviours and the way that distinct group uses their language.
Art urges anthropologists to engage with different cultures as to know about their rituals and cultural processes. Cultural events such as wearing masks or traditional dresses for a particular event on a particular time. But some events remain permanent for whole life, such as- body modification in different ways. The common understanding of its function is authenticate a cultural identity of a particular place, a particular nation, a society and ethnic society. That holds a community value and the aesthetic which is reflective of the comprehensive expression of the world’s culture.
The universality of art is considered as an analytical category by most of the art historians. The art theory of “black box” considered as a common solution to the art object but they ended up preferring “form and the relative autonomy of form”. This form analysing the psychological effects of objects on a broader viewpoint which includes the nature of mental values and artistic mechanisms. Diversity of different cultures presents the major obstacle for the art institutions. However, in order to understand the function of art within various cultures, the study of art education is a great way.
