Alternative Art and Anthropology

While the importance of the relationship between anthropology and contemporary art has long been recognized, the discussion has tended to be among scholars from North America, Europe, and Australia; until now, scholarship and experiences from other regions have been largely absent from mainstream debate. Alternative Art and Anthropology: Global Encounters rectifies this by offering a ground-breaking new approach to the subject. Entirely dedicated to perspectives from Asia, Latin America, and Africa, the book advances our understanding of the connections between anthropology and contemporary art on a global scale. Across ten chapters, a range of anthropologists, artists, and curators from countries such as China, Japan, Indonesia, Bhutan, Nigeria, Chile, Ecuador, and the Philippines discuss encounters between anthropology and contemporary art from their points of view, presenting readers with new vantage points and perspectives. Arnd Schneider, a leading scholar in the field, draws together the various threads to provide readers with a clear conceptual and theoretical narrative. The first to map the relationship between anthropology and contemporary art from a global perspective, this is a key text for students and academics in areas such as anthropology, visual anthropology, anthropology of art, art history, and curatorial studies.

Arnd Schneider is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo, Norway. He is the editor of Contemporary Art and Anthropology, Between Art and Anthropology, Anthropology and Art Practice (all with Christopher Wright) and Experimental Film and Anthropology (with Caterina Pasqualino), all published by Bloomsbury.

List of FiguresAcknowledgmentsList of Contributors1. Alternatives: World Ontologies and Dialogues between Contemporary Arts and AnthropologiesArnd Schneider, University of Oslo, Norway2. Anthropology of Practice: Artists of Africa and the Ethnographic Field in Contemporary ArtUgochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, USA3. African Art in the Global Contemporay: Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi in conversation with Arnd SchneiderUgochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, USA and Arnd Schneider, University of Oslo, Norway4. What Is Art Anthropology? Shinichi Nakazawa, Meiji University, Japan 5. Art Anthropology: Shinichi Nakazawa in conversation with Arnd SchneiderShinichi Nakazawa, Meiji University, Japan and Arnd Schneider, University of Oslo, Norway 6. Flowers' Life: Notes and Reflections on an Art-Anthropology ExhibtionTomoko Niwa, National Institutes for the Humanities, Japan and Tadashi Yanai, University of Tokyo, Japan7. Theories in Images: Tadashi Yanai in Conversation with Arnd SchneiderTadashi Yanai, University of Tokyo, Japan and Arnd Schneider, University of Oslo, Norway 8. Anthropological Studies of Urban Art Districts: The Thinking behind the Exploration of Dashanzi Art DistrictFang Lili, Chinese National Academy of Arts, China9. Dobrak! Taking Matters into Their own HandsAdeline Ooi, Art Basel10. Turning Targets in Indonesia and Beyond: Mella Nindityo and Adeline Ooi in Conversation with Arnd SchneiderMella Jaarsma, Adeline Ooi, Art Basel and Arnd Schneider, University of Oslo, Norway11. Art and Anthropology: Portrait of the Object as FilipinoAlmira Astudillo Gilles, Field Museum of Natural History, USA and National Museum of the Philippines, Philippines12. In the Presence of Filipino Art and Objects: Almira Astudillo Gilles in Conversation with Arnd SchneiderAlmira Astudillo Gilles, Field Museum of Natural History, USA and National Museum of the Philippines, Philippines and Arnd Schneider, University of Oslo, Norway13. Tigers and Splashes: An Action-Oriented Art and Art Education Exchange between Bhutan and SwitzerlandAnnemarie Bucher, Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland, Sonam Choki, Choki Traditional Arts School, Bhutan and Dominique Lämmli, Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland14. Remains and Gains: A Conversation between Sonam Choki, Dominique Lämmli, and Annemarie Bucher onExpectations, Challenges, Benefits, and Learning ProcessesAnnemarie Bucher, Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland, Sonam Choki, Choki Traditional Arts School, Bhutan and Dominique Lämmli, Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland15. Ethnography, 'Pataphysics, CopyingX. Andrade, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia16. Inscription and Desinscripción: X. Andrade in Conversation with Arnd Schneider X. Andrade, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia and Arnd Schneider, University of Oslo, Norway17. Conversación de Campo (Field Conversation)Rosario Carmona, Bonn University, Switzerland, Catalina Matthey, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico, Maria Rosario Montero, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK and Paula Salas, independent artist