Welcome to CultureMade: Heritage Enterprise in a World on the Move, an audio collaboration series from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the American Anthropological Association and This Anthro Life Podcast.

Join hosts Adam Gamwell, Leslie Walker and Ryan Collins as they explore what it means to craft, form, and make culture in a world defined by movement, migration, and changing borders. Step into behind the scenes conversations and candid interviews from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Hear from artists, fashion designers, dancers, weavers, and craftsmen who give life to heritage and shape the many worlds of traditional culture in a planet on the move.

"Art is a Movement" How does art help contribute to political protest? Should art never be sold for money? How can dance unify a community? How are traditions like calligraphy and traditional dances passed on between generations?

In this episode, we overview the subject of art as informed by representatives from The Armenian program and the Catalonia program of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The above ideas on art put forth by Ruben Malayan encompasses the complex feelings, ideas, and understandings that art not only evokes within society but also those of who seek to understand art from a more holistic perspective.

Art is complex. Though what counts as art within a society is often recognizable to insiders, the rationale as to why is often much more difficult to discern. Anthropology, at its best, can help us explore the complexities of art. Through critical dialogue, anthropologists can ask what it means to experience art from the vantage point of different cultures and explore the messages that the artist intended to convey.

The purpose of this series is to create narratives linking the diverse peoples, perspectives, and activities across the Festival from a series of micro ethnographies like those above. The open format interview style allowed participants to define in their own words the relationships between their artisanship, musical ability, or experiences and the ways in which migration and movement shape their lives. Conversations with curators and other researchers supplemented the interviews with Festival participants and helped us to identify the research involved in selecting participants and the presentation of cultural heritage for the Festival. This approach allows us to foreground a central or thematic conversation and to narrate events and activities at the Festival that listeners can paint in their minds as if they had been there to experience it.

Read more and see photos here: https://www.thisanthrolife.com/art-is-a-movement/

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“Money

cannot be the reason why you make art. Artwork can be sold and should be sold

because artists need to make a living. But they should not, and should never,

make art to make money. That kind of

defies the entire purpose of making art. I said, I always say this and probably

it’s important to take note of, it is that art is a mirror of the society [that

produced it]. You want to understand the society, look at the art its

producing. If it’s confused, if it is disoriented, if it is an art that is not representative

of all ideas or of how people feel that it lacks substance. Then it is nothing.

It’s wallpaper. We need to know that skill plays a crucial place in an

inability to produce art which is what should be collectible which should be

sold for money and on the wall. So not everything is worthy to be to be called art. And we need to understand that.”

Welcome to CultureMade: Heritage Enterprise in a World on the Move , an audio collaboration from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the American Anthropological Association and This Anthro Life Podcast

The above quote comes from Ruben Malayan, who shared with us his sincere and thought-provoking ideas of art, resistance, and remembrance. In this episode, we overview the subject of art as informed by representatives from The Armenian program and the Catalonia program of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The above ideas on art put forth by Ruben Malayan encompasses the complex feelings, ideas, and understandings that art not only evokes within society but also those of who seek to understand art from a more holistic perspective. Yet, defining art is a complex task that anthropologists continue to debate and bring nuance to.

Calligrapher and Artist Ruben Malayan

Anthropology

and Art: A Brief Introduction

According to Stuart Plattner,

anthropologists were initially interested in studying art to produce taxonomies

of artifacts, that is systems of classification, usually for museums and

university collections. However, this view of art as object wasn’t without its critics. The decontextualization of art

and artifacts tended to remove objects from the societies that produced,

eschewing social relations that were otherwise entangled in the final

product. 

Another issue with understanding at comes in the form of fundamentally different perspectives on its purpose. For example, while Western perspectives on art tend to emphasize the achievements of a producer, non-Western perspectives tend to emphasize community. The weight of this difference is most visible in the exchange of art. In this way, the commoditization of art is not universally desirable, at least not in achieving similar monetary ends or individual prestige.

The divide between Western and non-Western art is problematized further, notably by Alfred Gell who recognized “art” as an inherently Western category holding a position of privilege. That is, not every object gets to be considered “art” and, critically, what gets to be “art” is typically decided upon by Western society. In this way, terms like “primitive art” represent diminutive categories that infantilize non-Western cultures past and present. This perspective results from an inherent misunderstanding where the Western viewer of art fails to recognize, and often appreciate, the work, skill, and context of the cultures which generated it.

Art

as a Movement

Art, as many have been made aware by the

recent intended destruction of an original Banksy  (by way of the artist) at auction, is intimately

connected to performance. The performativity of art is not something which is

intrinsically meant to shock or dismay an audience, but it is meant to move

them in some way. Recognizing this,

This Anthro Life is opening the conversation with EPIC (the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Community) on the theme of Evidence. Taking center stage at this year's Annual EPIC Conference. “Evidence” is a subject of increasing social importance in today’s political climate. What constitutes evidence and when it is found to be credible all have far-reaching consequences. Because of this, practicing anthropologists are exploring concerns of and around evidence through experimentation, new methodologies, and research innovations that speak to contemporary ethnographic practice.

Joining TAL to open the conversation on evidence is Dawn Nafus and Tye Rattenbury, two of the EPIC 2018 Conference organizers. Our discussion with Dawn and Tye focused on the relationship of evidence in their work as ethnographic and data research scientists. Dawn and Tye work at the intersection of computational and ethnographic approaches.

Dig in Deeper Here: https://www.thisanthrolife.com/epic-evidence/

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Exploring Evidence

This Anthro Life is opening the conversation with EPIC (the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Community) on the theme of Evidence. Taking center stage at this year’s Annual EPIC  Conference (in Honolulu, Hawaii from October 9th through the 12th) “Evidence” is a subject of increasing social importance in today’s political climate. What constitutes evidence and when it is found to be credible all have far-reaching consequences. Because of this, practicing anthropologists are exploring concerns of and around evidence through experimentation, new methodologies, and research innovations that speak to contemporary ethnographic practice.

EPIC Goes to Hawaii

As EPIC puts it, their goal in Hawaii is to explore “What kinds of evidence scratch a research itch? Create value for stakeholders? Make a connection with others? We will discuss ways of mobilizing evidence in humanistic exploration, in decision-making, and in everyday life. We’ll also share our strategies for creating value through evidence in an increasingly tricky social environment.” In other words, evidence is central to how we find meaning and make major decisions. When evidence based foundations are questioned, we need to make space to discuss why and for what reasons.

Learn more about EPIC and Evidence

Joining TAL to open the conversation on evidence is Dawn Nafus and Tye Rattenbury, two of the EPIC 2018 Conference organizers. Our discussion with Dawn and Tye focused on the relationship of evidence in their work as ethnographic and data research scientists. Dawn and Tye work at the intersection of computational and ethnographic approaches. Their goals are in part to find more sophisticated ways of asking what data is and what gets to count. In turn, this methodological questioning is directed towards evidence: how is it gathered? Is it diagnostic? And how is ethnographic evidence helpful for interpreting big data?

Finding

where “the traces of human life are.” (9:40)

It’s no surprise that Big Data’s vastness makes it difficult to access. But, with time, as Dawn recognizes, one can find the trace elements of the human experience. These traces of human experience which find their way into big data can reveal a lot about social life. For Dawn, finding these traces in big data is no different than an archaeologist searching for the residues of ancient life in a current rain forest. In both cases the traces are there. And following them can lead to big revelations. For Dawn, the revelations come in the form of “alternative stories.’ For Tye, the revelations are most intriguing when the social narrative conflicts with that of the data.

Learn

more about the Common Ground

between Data Science and Ethnography

According to Tye, “We regularly see data science and ethnography conceptualized as polar ends of a research spectrum. One as a crunching of colossal data sets, the other as a slow simmer of experiential immersion” While both data science and ethnographic practice have a core set of expectations, they have to extend beyond their principal expectations to address data about social life. Data science and ethnography work together to help the researchers understand data, where outliers arise, how to establish provenance, and recognize limitations and biases. This is incredibly important because big data is used to interpret and forecast sociological trends.

Andrea Eller is a biological anthropologist driven by a question of how do our bodies continue to react to things today? In other words, how does evolution continue to impact us and why is this important? To address this, Andrea Eller looks at how bodies respond and adapt to circumstances of chronic stresses. The stresses that Eller looks at, however, are both physiological and social. Not only does Andrea postulate explanations to account for change over time in relation to more visible circumstances like ecology, tool use, and disease. But, Andrea also considers less visible issues like, class, race, and gender as critical factors that also impact our physiology over time.

Evolution Responds, it does not React

One of the compelling predicaments that Eller discusses with Adam has  to do with current data on primates. For example, data from captive  primates are excluded from wider studies. In part, the problem is that  there is a growing population of captive primates. With more an more  primates being born into captivity, there is a concern that adaptation  is occurring in many primates. As Eller notes, the pressures to adapt in  one environmental setting or another (called selective pressures) will  be different. That means looking at the same species of primates  requires context. Whether coming from different settings, the wild,  scientific laboratories, or zoos, data on primate adaptations will  differ.
Similarly, humans use clothing as a tool for adapting to different  environments. Down or wool coats would seem out of place at Miami beach  just as scuba gear would not be an appropriate choice for reaching base  camp at Mount Everest even though each of these clothing options  reflects different human adaptations.
Mindfulness Training – Outreach and Engagement
One of the most captivating aspects of Eller’s conversation was her  genuine passion for public outreach. For Eller, it is an ongoing  struggle to help get the public to see evolution in a different light.  Too often she sees a perspective of humans being the masters of the  planet, rather than one group of participants within it. However,  combating this perspective (among others) requires outreach and  engagement. For Eller, this begins with engaging kids. “Kids haven’t had  all of the primate educated out of them,” she says. They are more open  to experience awe and be captivated out of curiosity when seeing  examples not only of our evolutionary past but the present as well.

Read more: https://www.thisanthrolife.com/andrea-eller/

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When TAL first interviewed Hamilton Morris, it was shortly after he and his production team had finished season 1 of Hamilton’s Pharmacopoeia. Now, Morris has completed two seasons of his critically acclaimed show on VICE. This time on TAL, Morris has a more reflective tone.
With Adam Gamwell and Ryan Collins, Morris shares his experiences as a filmmaker in traditional and counter-culture environments. These experiences have given Morris a unique window into psychedelics, underground pharmaceutical research, and the ethics of sharing information. The last point hits home for many anthropologists and social researchers, who also must be wary of the unintended consequences of sharing information. Depending on what is at stake, information can endanger informants and friends. Similarly, journalists and ethnographers are confronted

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When TAL first interviewed Hamilton Morris, it was shortly after he and his production team had finished season 1 of Hamilton’s Pharmacopoeia. Now, Morris has completed two seasons of his critically acclaimed show on VICE. This time on TAL, Morris has a more reflective tone.

With Adam Gamwell and Ryan Collins, Morris shares his experiences as a filmmaker in traditional and counter-culture environments. These experiences have given Morris a unique window into psychedelics, underground pharmaceutical research, and the ethics of sharing information. The last point hits home for many anthropologists and social researchers, who also must be wary of the unintended consequences of sharing information. Depending on what is at stake, information can endanger informants and friends. Similarly, journalists and ethnographers are confronted with the challenge of presenting multiple sides of a story while safeguarding underrepresented voices.

On this episode, Hamilton Morris opens with an anecdote on Douglass Sharon and San Pedro and Peruvian cactus shamanism. Sharon, an anthropologist, ethnobotanist, and shamanism scholar is a figurehead in Peruvian anthropology. However, Morris notes Sharon’s recent reluctance to talk about shamanism. In part, his reluctance results from ethical considerations for the communities Sharon had worked with during his extensive career. From that anecdote, Morris set the tone for the episode: shamanism, healing and ethics. We were in for a journey.

Authenticity, Ethics and Psychedelic Experience

Morris’ work rests at the  intersection of cultural perceptions of psychedelic experience, healing, and tourism. As Morris notes, an American tourist going to Peru to experience a healing ceremony probably has an idea of what a psychedelic experience is like. They know how it feels, what to expect, and what they want. Yet, when that outsider experiences traditional healing by way of a shaman in a remote setting they might be surprised. Morris notes one example where a tourist he encountered was shocked by their experience in a Peruvian setting. They exclaimed, “That’s not a psychedelic experience.”

Authenticity is a term wrapped up in perception, expectation, and experience that anthropologists love to debate. How one experiences the authentic is through the lens of their own worldview. As a result, what is authentic to one group may not be authentic to another. Authenticity is therefore complicated by tourism. Where individuals venture out to experience the authentic, they are often greeted by an experience they did not anticipate.

Seeing Donkeys with the Evil Cactus

Cactuses are such a fun part of this episode. As Adam notes, Morris once said that if he had a religion it would be this [psychedelic San Pedro] cactus. Listeners, my words cannot do justice to the conversation on cacti in this episode. You’ll need to tune in to learn more. Also watch Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia. But, what we can take away from this is that how we treat (or consume) a plant carries an immense amount of cultural baggage. Whether snorting tobacco (no typos there), parsing out the benevolent from the evil cactus, or fervently debating the taste of cilantro,

Dr. Tricia Wang sees her work consulting as sitting at the crossroads of data and social justice. As a global tech ethnographer, Dr. Wang is obsessed with how technology and humans shape each other. In her own words, she wants to know, “How do the tools we use enable us to do more of what humans do, like socializing, emoting, and collaborating? And how do human perspectives shape the technology we build and how we use it?” 
Said differently, Dr. Tricia Wang’s expertise inhabits a gray space between industry and the academy. A space where many social scientists do not find easy comfort. Yet, Dr. Wang’s very candid enthusiasm is enough to draw in even the most ardent skeptics. In her own words, Dr. Wang has “always been between worlds” seeing the best in both. Though academics tend to value known discovery methods, and excel, they are less likely to engineer new prototypes. 

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Welcome back listeners! Adam and Ryan have taken some time away as of late to finish and defend their dissertations. Now that Ryan is done, and Adam defends in just one week (so close!), TAL is getting back into gear with new content in the development and production stages. Now, another key detail, several episodes recorded earlier this spring are also on their way. Some of these are guest interviews (including a second interview with Hamilton Morris of HBO’s VICE and Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia) as well as the remainder of our Story Slamming Ethnography episodes (we haven’t forgotten about those). All that is to say, there is an extensive repertoire of content coming your way, including an upcoming collaboration with EPIC. Speaking of…
With this episode of This Anthro Life, we are joined by Dr. Alexandra Mack and collaborative guest host Matt Artz. Together we interview Alex and explore her story. What makes our discussion with Alex so distinct is her breadth of research and applic

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Thanks to the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) for having Adam Gamwell and Matt Artz of This Anthro Life present at the annual meeting in Philadelphia. We presented as part of the New Methods, Interventions And Approaches session.

Our paper title was Consulting Podcasters: Prototyping a Democratic Tool for Multiple Voices, Storytelling and Solution Finding. You can read it here. 

The session was recorded for the SfAA Podcasting project.

The simple idea behind the notion of consulting podcasting is that we  are using the podcast format to intentionally bring together  professionals to co-create meaningful conversations that provides expert  advice through the anthropological paradigm of the emic and etic.  Consulting podcasting applies the flexible, digital recording techniques  of podcasting with a process of in-the-moment of real-time discovery.  To that end we askew rigid preconfigured narratives or storyboards in  favor of an open-format conversation that mimic the methods of  semi-structured interviews. We allow room for the conversation to  breathe.
With openness we let guest stories speak and allow them to unfold  along their own path, on their own terms, without imposing our own  worldviews or narratives. In the process, we learn of a speaker’s  insider perspective, their motivations, and methods. We then compliment  the insider perspective with our outsider perspectives – as voices that  encourage deeper reflection and context building around issues of key  importance to the guest, to co-create a larger meta-narrative that makes  up the consultative engagement.
Check out Adam's and Matt's Creative Consulting and Production work at Missing Link Studios

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