Review Trading Zones: Camera Work in Artistic and Ethnographic Research

Abstract

This review of Trading Zones: Camera Work in Artistic and Ethnographic Research edited by a number of researchers who also contribute presents the book in its methodological and artistic variety and in relation to other fields. While firmly situating itself in human-centered anthropological practice, at the edges it brushes against media theoretical frameworks it hardly engages. Contributions explore the possibilities, limitations and challenges the presence of the camera offers for research and creation, all the while focusing on topics such as ethics and human action. The book is an important contribution to visual ethnography and points toward ways anthropology can be used creatively in the arts. It also offers an impressive intersection of possibilities through the many examples described, illustrated and hyperlinked. It will be especially useful for those that seek immediate applicability.

Keywords

• visual ethnography; multimodal anthropology; art; practice; education