| by Desiree Pangerc
Body-art and society: an anthropological introduction
Three years passed from the beginning of my research in the field of anthropology of art. It all started with a Conference for the Italian tattoo-artists and piercers and later developed into the discovery of a new world.
Why do I say a new world? Because you enter a new world every time you know a different language and art is a different language: the only one which can express perceptions and situations we are not able to describe through a verbal form.
Body decorations are strictly connected with culture and social relations and they are a constant of the human being, a need always seen as primary, and as such they characterize the history of man, despite the variability of different historical, social and cultural contexts .
In some societies, art is important because of the intrinsic meaning it holds ; in the case of bodypainting this meaning is connected to the function of enhancing the body’s natural beauty, as it happens for the Nuba of Sudan , and to the concept of seduction.
Seduction not only directed to other people, but also to god/deity, nature and the outside world . To perform this behavior implies a crystallization , permanent or not, of the gestures through which we compel the body to communicate its various meanings .
For instance, among the Canela of Brazil or some tribal groups of Australian aborigines , adorning the body is meant to enhance its appearance, signals changes in social identity and expresses the culturally prescribed values .
This happens in both, the so-called primitive societies and the modern ones. In fact, we can recognize this also in our contemporary world: an adorned body is a body which brings a message to Otherness. The anthropological research is thus a research on the content of this message and its modes of transmission to the Self and to the other social actors.
Hence we notice the importance of continuous interaction with the involved social groups and individuals. It appears essential to establish a continuous comparison, so that these living pieces of art may reveal to the majority the message they carry on their skin.
“Art is a form of discovery” , says Karala in her great book. And I totally agree with her. So, let’s continue this amazing adventure together!
For any further comment or suggestion, please feel free to contact me on this email address: desiree.pangerc@gmail.com.
Bibliography:
Barendregt K., Bringing Bodypainting to Life. A guide to the World of Bodypainting, Austria, Keiner Druck, 2008.
Dissanayake E., What is art for?, Washington, University of Washington Press, 1990.
Faris J.C., Nuba Personal Art, London, Duckworth, 1972.
Lévi-Strauss C, La Voie des Masques, Genève, Skira, 1975.
Marenko B., Ibridazioni. Corpi in transito e alchimie della nuova carne, Roma, Castelvecchi, 1997.
Thevoz M., The painted body, Genève, Skira-Rizzoli, 1984.
Virel A., Decorated man. The human body as art, Paris, Draeger, 1979.
See B. Marenko, op.cit.,1997, page 43.
See E. Dissanayake, op.cit., 1990, page 49.
See J.C. Faris, op.cit., 1972.
See again B: Marenko, op.cit., pages 26-27.
See again B. Marenko, op.cit, page 27.
See http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/art/body.php.
See: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/canela/canela1.htm
See K. Barendregt, op.cit., 2008, page 11.
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