Contemporary Art and Anthropology

as Ethnographer? 1 , American critic and art historian Hal Foster, identified an "ethnographic turn" in art. Drawing on the work of anthropologist James Clifford, particularly his concept of "ethnographic surrealism" 2 , the author confirmed and even amplified what would become a commonplace theme in the art world. Anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles, along with the critical works initiated in the field of social science and humanities in the 1980s (cultural and postcolonial studies) and their circulation widely contributed to this phenomenon. It gradually became the modus operandi of numerous artists, as shown by the different art forms stemming from a taste for archives, reflections on problems of the subject, a distrust for ethnocentrism and its consequences, and a strong interest in the identity complex in these times of subaltern studies. Documenta 14, curated by Adam Szymczyk in Athens and Kassel during the summer of 2017 confirms their permanence through the reuse of museographical devices including showcases, the massive use of documents, documentary films, etc. Simultaneously, for the past few years, anthropology exhibitions curated by anthropologists pay considerable attention to contemporary art

Sociology · Anthropology · Art Education and Development · Art, Politics, and Modernism · Visual Culture and Art Theory