「當代藝術的民族誌轉向」？藝術介入社會的實踐及其理論

The Ethnographic Turn in Art? Practice and Theory in Socially Engaged Art

「當代藝術的民族誌轉向」（ethnographic turn in contemporary art）既發軔於當代藝術的藝術史脈絡，也回應全球社會文化情境的轉變，在當下集中表現於藝術介入社會的實踐；其中，民族誌既提供闡釋社會場景與異文化的方法，也帶來反身性的實踐邏輯。當代藝術跳出「白盒子」的地點實踐成為引入民族誌與田野工作的契機，但也容易將民族誌運作為策略，或將人類學的整體知識片面理解為技術方法，從而引發本真性（authenticity）危機。人類學對民族誌的當代反思，至少從本體論與倫理實踐方面作為突破民族誌轉向的困局提供線索，有助於激發認識整體人類學有多向度的轉向可能。在中國的藝術介入實踐中，民族誌轉向呈現出本土性與在地化的特點，成為中國當代藝術尋求自身話語權的賦權行動。本文梳理民族誌轉向的問題脈絡，探討如何揚棄對民族誌轉向的經典批評、延續民族誌轉向與當代人類學相互批評與合作及在不同情境中定位藝術的民族誌實踐中，認為民族誌轉向並非單方面的借鑒，而應為人類學與當代藝術之間的互動，並基於雙方的合作實踐，當代藝術也能夠為人類學帶來超越文本知識的感知想像。

The ethnographic turn in contemporary art that has been popular in the European-American art scene since the 1990s should be better understood against the backgrounds of global art history and changing global conditions. In recent years, however, the turn that has gained wide currency in Asian regions such as Mainland China is displayed in one form of artistic practices, namely socially engaged art. Ethnographic methods are helpful for artists to make a close analysis of socio-cultural and political-economic phenomena, and to reflect on their art practices. Thus, in the turn that currently occurs in Mainland China, Chinese artists situate their artwork in specific sites beyond the museum’s white cube. Furthermore, they have tried to localize ethnographic practices in the context of Chinese contemporary art in order to carve out their own special niche in the European-American art scene. When eagerly engaging with ethnographic methods, however, they may court the risk of treating ethnography as a strategic method, thereby precipitating a“crisis of authenticity”in which they may not do justice to ethnographic practices. Drawing on the recent development of socially engaged art in Mainland China as a case in point, the purpose of this article is to lay out the context in which the ethnographic unfolds. In addition to this, in this article, we take stock of problems which Chinese artists, who have engaged in ethnographic methods or anthropological fieldwork, are facing. For instance, how relevant to anthropology are the“ethnographic methods”they have used? Can they grapple with the daunting problem of“pseudo-ethnography”that Hal Foster raised in his classic article in the 1990s? In this article, we argue/urge that when Chinese art practitioners engage in ethnographic practices, they should understand anthropology beyond the scope of ethnographic methods to include ethnographic theories. We believe that the recent reconsideration of the relationship between anthropology and ethnography, particularly the“anthropology-is-not-ethnography”debate, can help art practitioners to comprehend“ethnography”more diversely, for example, in the light of ontology and ethical practices, both of which we elaborate on in this article. Anthropology provides inspiration for artists; it is worth adding that this inspiration is not a one-way process. Rather we suggest that it is a mutually beneficial process in which collaborations between anthropologists and artists can inspire both. Artistic practices including a variety of multimodal knowledges (visual, digital, performative, material, sensory, etc.) could rescue anthropology from its over-emphasis on text-based knowledge and therefore broaden anthropologists’sensory imagination. In other words, these practices can help anthropologists move beyond the text and address Foster’s analysis of ethnographic arts. Although artist practitioners are inspired by anthropology, they need updates on anthropological theories, thereby renewing Foster’s reading of anthropology with a focus on postmodern anthropology (the politics of representation, discursive analysis, otherness, etc.). Accordingly, current art practitioners not only need to avoid falling into the trap of“pseudo-ethnography”(of which Foster warned the reader) but also should incorporate updated ethnographic/anthropological theories that have a wider significance for art practitioners, who should grasp a diverse understanding of the ethnographic beyond the scope of the European-American art scene.