Paper short abstract:

This paper reviews recent artistic projects using ethnographic practice in their appropriation of other cultures, and compares them with anthropologists adopting artists' methodologies. What are the implications and are there now possibilities of developing dialogue across disciplinary boundaries?

Paper long abstract:

This paper critically reviews recent artistic projects using ethnographic practice in their appropriation of other cultures, and compares them with anthropologists adopting artists' methodologies. Are these just cases of neo-primitivism, or indeed 'envy' directed at each other's disciplinary paradigms (cf. Hal Foster, 'The Artist as Ethnographer', 1995)? What are the ethical implications implied in these appropriations? And is there now a genuine possibility to develop a dialogue across disciplinary boundaries in art and anthropology for common projects?

The paper will extend on some of the arguments of Fieldworks: Dialogues Between Art and Anthropology (a conference I co-organised at Tate Modern, 2003), as well as my recent books 'Appropriation as Practice: Art and Identity in Argentina' (Palgrave, 2006), and 'Contemporary Art and Anthropology' (co-edited with Chris Wright, 2006).