Paper short abstract:

The filmmaker Maya Deren and the photographer Leonore Mau both worked on Vodou in Haiti. Some of the photographs they took are perceived as problematic today. What form of engagement and connection do justice to the work of Deren and Mau, the people they photographed and artistic freedom today?

Paper long abstract:

The research project “Camera and Cult” focuses on the films and photographs of Maya Deren, a pioneer in exploring a creative connection of art and anthropology, and the German photographer Leonore Mau. The project is a collaboration of an art historian and an artists’ collective.

Both Maya Deren and Leonore Mau researched and documented Vodou in Haiti at different times. Some of the photographs they took are perceived as problematic today: they show poverty, violence, distorted faces in trance etc. While an art historian can discuss these issues in a text, for European artists working today on the topic of Haitian Vodou and directly with Deren’s and Mau’s art works is more challenging; there are practical and ethical problems and power relations to consider, also traveling to Haiti like Deren and Mau did is now questionable for many reasons.

In a way, the situation is quite paradox: Deren and Mau lived in a time when demand of images of other cultures was high, they were free to travel and traveling gave them freedom. While both were sensitive in their approach, both ultimately did not question that they had the right to take pictures of rituals. But at the same time, we as part of an academic research team have privileges they didn’t have.

Which approaches make sense today? We could for instance resolve to fiction and explore virtuality. We could do homework instead of fieldwork, go to the archive and reflect on the European ritual of artist’s travel and the encounter with the “other” as a decisive factor for artists and anthropologists. We could refrain from travelling ourselves, and instead invite Haitian artists here. Still, problems remain. In archival work the question of problematic images is not solved (nor are copyrights!). And when inviting artists here, the terms of engagement are still mainly set by us. What form of engagement and connection do justice to the work of Deren and Mau, the people they photographed and artistic freedom today?