Alteridades (Apr 2009)
La etnografía desde el arte. Definiciones, bases teóricas y nuevos escenarios
Abstract
In this century, art may be redefinedin political terms and as a social instrument that goesbeyond bourgeois, romantic or expressionist concep-tions. In this article I seek to shed light on this “new”way of understanding art through the case study ofBarcelona Museum of Contemporary Art’s (Macba) – oneof the fundamental, official institutions of art – policiesand activities. I shall also demonstrate how, throughthis redefinition, art may become an ethnographic in-strument that allows for the broadening, illustrationand contrasting of informant narratives while simulta-neously granting them an active and creative role in field-work. A methodology for a visually active ethnography is developed in which the essence of information istransmitted through images.
