Post-colonial ethnography - The Curtis Syndrome

Exercise 44 - browse the catalogue “Tribal Portraits: Vintage and Contemporary” from the African Continent, Bernard J Shapero, Rare Books.

Write a brief reflective commentary in your learning log.

Let’s start with a couple of definitions:

Anthropology is the science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind. Basically its the study of human beings similarity to and divergence from other animals.

Ethnography, originating in anthropology, its a term traditionally referring to a practise in which researchers spend long periods living within a culture in order to study it; the aim of this type of study being ‘cultural interpretation’.

The ethnographer must play a duel role:

1.    They must become embedded in the environment and culture they wish to study, otherwise their knowledge remains, at best, superficial and they are unable to effectively interpret the cultural activity.

2.    They must maintain the stance of a detached observer, thus ensuring they remain alert to all the cultural nuances of the particular culture they are observing, thus ensuring an accurate and unbiased cultural interpretation through their observations.

The Curtis Syndrome

Curtis concurred with the observation made by anthropologist Malinowski who believed that the ethnographic subject disappears at the very moment of its recognition. Fundamentally, as soon as somebody studies anything (regardless of whether it is human behaviour or a manufacturing process) the act of the study changes the nature of the person(s)/item(s) being observed. In other words, it is impossible for the ethnographer to carry out their role without influencing their subject; a person from one culture cannot become embedded in a difference culture without bringing something new to the culture they are observing, thereby altering that culture. Since the culture being observed, tends on the whole to be [considered] more ‘primitive’ by the observer (hence the need to observe) the subjects studied are influenced and ‘educated’ by the observer.

Re: Tribal Portraits: Vintage and Contemporary

I am slightly confused by this document, it was allegedly published in 2000 (but I see no date on the pdf) by Bernard J Shapero, Rare Books, however, the extract we have in our notes contains photographs that are dated any time up to and including 2006.

As a collection of images, I find them interesting and I appreciate that they were taken over the period of circa 150 years; thus they include a number of differing view-points across (perhaps) five generations of anthropological study. I find it difficult to take a view on the images either individually or as a whole, in terms of their efficacy of developing ‘cultural interpretation’. However, I firmly believe the more knowledge we have about our planet and its inhabitants the better – especially if it enables us to foster diversity whilst protecting environments whose inhabitants are more vulnerable to exploitation. With regards to this type of ethnographic study, I believe it undoubtedly enabled us to make judgements about ‘foreign’ civilisations; I’m just very dubious as to whether those judgements were to the advantage of the indigenous people or whether the information provided gave the ruling classes of the time the justification they needed to ride roughshod over the ‘savages’.

I do not mark this as a failing on the part of the photographers, whom I believe were genuinely interesting in developing an understanding of new people, new cultures and new experiences. Nor, do I actually blame the bureaucrats who sat hundreds or even thousands of miles away making decisions based on images as to how land, minerals, etc were to be used to fund the further development of the developed world. When all said and done, what say should be given to people who don’t even wear shoes? How can they possibly understand the bigger picture and thus be capable of making appropriate decisions? In all truth, they weren’t. Unfortunately, nor did they have anybody with any clout who could stand up and speak for them until it was fundamentally too late.

Whilst I believe that some of these portraits are exceptionally good and are fitting in terms of ethnographic study, for example, the works of George Roger (pages 18 – 21); there are, however, other images that add no value what so ever. For example, the image by Stephane Graff, Harakat nude, Marocco, 2006 (page 45) with the exception that it was taken in and amongst other genuinely ethnographic images, there is absolutely nothing ethnographical about this image. That said, it is a good example of fine art imagery with a very sculptural feel.

There are numerous other images in this collection that I believe are totally inappropriate, for example, the work of Lehnert and Landrock; plus many works by ‘photographer[s] unknown’ see examples on page 98. These works do nothing to develop knowledge or to better inform understanding of ‘tribal culture’; they have nothing to do with ethnography and have had only the most fleeting of relationships with anthropology (biological characteristics – perhaps?). These portraits, were taken in the early 1900’s for the “discerning European gentleman, to peruse at his leisure”, in short, they were the pornography of the day.