Ethnoscenology: Incarnations of the Imaginary. Unity of Species. Diversity of Views

Abstract

The late emergence of ethnoscenology in the field of anthropology of aesthetics is significant. The obstacles which have been overcome so as to insure acceptance of the idea of the ethnic (or relative) character of Western theories of spectacle arts have been numerous. They still are, with differences which vary according to national academic, philosophical and artistic traditions, and the history of political relations (colonization). The difficulties arise from questions pertaining to the perception of living bodies, and have to do with phenomena of projection, interpretation and normative (more than descriptive) discourse. The cases of two women who became objects of public exhibit – Magdeleine G. and Saartije Baartman – illustrate the importance of theoretical a priori and personal experience of the observer in orienting the ways in which others are viewed and become subjects of description and commentary. These examples provide a critical standpoint from which to consider scientific perspectives and tacit knowledge of practitioners, according to lessons to be learned from ethnosciences.