Ethnographic Drawing: Small notes on a neglected topic in visual anthropology

(Marion Wettstein, version 01, march 2011)

“Scientific illustrations are not frills or summaries; they are foci for modes of thought” (Stephen Jay Gould 1987)

The visual representation of ethnographic data has been discussed in visual anthropology mainly focussing on the media of photography and film (see for example Heider 1976, Edwards 1992, Taylor 1994, Banks 2001, Grimshaw 2001, El Guindi 2004). One of the oldest medium however, the ethnographic drawing, has largely gone forgotten – notwithstanding the importance it once had in the 19^th century and before. Even recent approaches to visual science or the ‘Bildwissenschaften’ do not pay much attention to it (see for example Postma & Crawford 2006, Pink, 2006, 2007, Belting 2001, Majetschak 2005, Schulz 2005). In his essay ‘Drawing or Photograph: Questions on ethnographic illustration’ Oppitz asks (2001:118): “Is the ethnographic drawing an outdated mode? If so, which constitute adequate contemporary forms of documentary expression? This trenchant question has (to my knowledge) never been posed directly, but it has been answered silently again and again in the course of the last century – by publishing practice.” There are only very few approaches having reflected about the qualities, the advantages – and disadvantages – of drawing as a medium of ethnographic visualisation vis-à-vis other visual media. Reflections about the medium of drawing and its kindred manual picturing techniques in the context of a larger approach to ‘visual science’ have only started to come up in the last few years. An exemplary history of the transformation from research drawing to ethnographic photography for instance has recently been published by Kümin on the example of Brazil (Oppitz 2001, Afonso 2004, Nippa 2001, Kümin 2007).

While working on my dissertation about Naga textiles, I experienced that drawing ethnographic objects helps to get a deep understanding of the matter one is studying. During my research, drawing textiles became one of the most important methodical approaches to the topic. To reflect about this medium of representation in theory and in praxis is therefore currently of major concern to me. I found that drawing has the advantage that you can formulate an image much more precise than when doing a photograph. When consciously composing a drawing you have to be clear about what you want to show, and the visual representation becomes a statement in your line of argumentation; just like a sentence is a statement in you textual argumentation. This is the way in which I understand the motto of this page: To use scientific illustrations as modes of thoughts means to choose – or produce – those techniques of visual representation in a given context, that fulfil the purpose of the argumentation most accurately. And in anthropology it has gone forgotten that the technique of drawing is often very helpful in this respect.

I made these miniature drawings of Naga material culture in watercolour in 2007. Some of the drawings measure not more than 2-3 cm. The purpose of these drawings was to have small representations of Naga objects which are all in the same scale. I used these miniatures as models to arrange the show cases for an exhibition in Zürich (Naga – Schmuck und Asche, 2008). With the help of these drawings it was possible to precisely plan the layout of the exhibition on paper.

(Click on image to enlarge)

These are four examples of colour pencils drawings of textiles of one specific Naga group, the Ao Naga. The top two are women’s skirts, the bottom two are men’s shawls, drawn on A4 paper. They are chosen from the roughly 40 drawings of Ao textiles that are part of my dissertation thesis. The purpose of these drawings is to have a visual representation of Ao textiles that are all made in the same style and thus all speak the same visual language. For the observer there is no need to translate the visual media when comparing the pictures. In a drawing it is possible to simultaneously depict the total model of the cloth and the many small details of the design. With photography this is much more difficult, if not impossible, without having to make several pictures of the same object.

(Click on image to enlarge)

These drawings of Naga textiles are done with watercolour on A5 paper or smaller. Like with the colour pencil drawings above their purpose as well is to create visual representations of textiles that all have the same drawing style – so that in a comparison the visual medium does not distract from the actual topic: the design of the textiles. They are details of a ‘design chart’ of my dissertation – a large poster with roughly 180 textile drawings – that shows the morphological groups of textile designs among the Nagas.

(Click on image to enlarge)

These are a collection of watercolours and drawings that I made at the very beginning of my experiences in ethnographic drawing. They show a beater of a shaman’s drum, a Naga head-hunters necklace and a study for carnelian stone beads.

The initial impulsion to start drawing ethnographic objects came through the Australian architect and artist Robert Powell. He was invited by Michael Oppitz to give practical teachings for interested students of anthropology at the Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich in 2002 and 2007, and the three examples were made in one of his courses. His style of drawing, especially of decontextualising the object, has strongly influenced my own approach. When thinking about Powell’s drawings, Oppitz found them highly suitable as ‘emblematic markers’. They became “vessels of symbolic signification. (…) The material presence of the objects is intensified by their decontextualisation. (...) Bob’s [Robert Powell’s] drawings are extremely selective, radically omitting anything secondary. They stand alone on the sheet, undisturbed, undistracted, demanding an exclusive and solitary dialogue with the observer, on the isolated ethnographic subject they capture” (Oppitz 2001:99). For an impression of his work see Oppitz 2001 or visit Bob’s webpage: www.robertpowell-paintings.com.

Afonso, Ana Isabel (Illustrations Manuel João Ramos). 2004. „New Graphics for Old Stories: Representation of Local Memories through Drawings.” In: Sarah Pink, László Kürti &Ana Isabel Afonso (eds), Working Images: Visual Research and Representation in Ethnography. New York: Routledge. Pp. 72-89.

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Nippa, Annegret. 2001. „Die Schwäche der Zeichnung ist ihre Stärke: Zeichnen mit Stift, Farbe oder Licht“. In: Verwandlungen durch Licht. Fotografieren in Museen & Archiven & Bibliotheken, Esslingen 2001 (Rundbrief Fotografie, Sonderheft 6), S. 41-52.

Oppitz, Michael (ed.). 2001. Robert Powell. Himalayan Drawings. Zürich: Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich.

Pink, Sarah. 2006. The Future of Visual Anthropology: Engaging the Senses. Oxon, New York: Taylor & Francis.

Pink, Sarah. 2007. Doing Visual Ethnography: Images, Media and Representation in Research. London (etc.): SAGE.

Postma, Metje & Peter Ian Crawford. 2006. Reflecting Visual Ethnography: Using the Camera in Anthropological Research. Leiden: CNWS Publications.

Schulz, Martin. 2005. Ordnungen der Bilder: eine Einführung in die Bildwissenschaft. Wilhelm Fink Verlag.

Taylor, Lucien. 1994. Visualizing Theory: Selected Essays from V.A.R., 1990-1994. New York: Routledge.