Short Abstract:

Works from the fields of art, anthropology and at their intersections face sensibilities when speaking about forms of life (and beyond) which belong to other worlds and cultures. With their different ethical codices, how may anthropology and art best benefit from one another?

Long Abstract:

The painting ‘Open Casket’ by Hanna Schutz, which depicts Emmett Till’s disfigured face became the subject of a fierce controversy at the Whitney Biennale in 2017. Artists and activists called for a removal or even destruction of the work, using the protest slogan ‘Black Death Spectacle’. This panel invites contributions that address difficulties and sensibilities that works from the fields of art, anthropology and at their intersections face when speaking about forms of life (and the beyond) which belong to worlds and cultures other than of the person researching or creating. Death serves as an extreme case of being ‘other’ to life. Yet, there are many forms of life that will inevitably be different to the perspective from which the researcher or artist can speak. Awareness of intersectional perspectives is crucial to make informed decisions regarding ethics in research and art. Ethnographic and artistic works that speak about vulnerable subjects and bodies have to assess their ethical obligations in the making and display of these works. Papers may address concrete research processes, present films and artworks, speak about contextualization and display of museum objects, or address so-called ‘traditional’ artistic forms from Africa and Europe which are ontologically charged. The panel invites a discussion about how anthropology and art, with their different ethical codices, may collaborate and learn from one another in order to produce relevant and powerful, yet non-intrusive and non-harmful works that speak of things that seem to evade representation.