THE MASK STRIPPED BARE BY
ITS CURATORS: THE WORK OF
HYBRIDITY IN THE 21 ST
CENTURY
Ruth B. Phillips
Article #19

AHMED MASOUD
1

Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Art in early years of the 21st Century .............................................................................................. 4
Actor Network Theory .................................................................................................................... 6
Networking art connections in museums ....................................................................................... 8
Dhari a Krar ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Strategy for translation ................................................................................................................. 11
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 13

2

Abstract
This paper will attempt to highlight in what manner western museums curate contemporary indigenous art in this modern setting. The main focus of this paper is how current means of understanding of non-western indigenous art does not completely allow to translate the culture successfully in order for museums to represent other cultures not just to appreciate art but also translate it accurately. Ruth B. Phillips took a personal interest into this matter after travelling to
West Africa and documenting the practices and the culture of the Sande society. After her journey Phillips felt that non-western indigenous art such as the Sowei mask which was not represented precisely when displayed in North American and European museums. Thus Phillips suggests that establishments of modern art should consider to improve current methods of categorizing art which will help get more context on the subject matter. Through Bruno Latour’s
Actor Network Theory (ANT) it will allow us to treat objects as connections as part of a greater network which will provide a better understanding of other cultures that art historians and anthropologists were unable to adapt to over the recent years.

Keywords: Museum installation, African masks, Bruno Latour, Actor Network Theory
3

Art in early years of the 21st Century
Ruth B. Phillips has devoted significant number of years to research the relationships between anthropology and art history and how it greatly influences museology especially in regarding indigenous art. As Phillips recalls her fieldwork in Sierra Leone during the 1970’s observing and recording the Mende’s women rituals which included documenting the masks and its purpose.
After three decades she revisits her work to measure the changes of how indigenous art is represented and translated especially in museums.
The inspiration behind Phillips article was invoked by Marcel Duchamp’s artwork “THE LARGE GLASS” which gave Phillips some insight into the notion of the industrialization of art which reached a point in its development and how it fails display artwork and define the features that differentiates other artwork. Duchamp’s

main

critique

after

collaborating with art historians and anthropologists which provided

him

with

useful

tools

for

understanding in the ongoing process that continue to ‘strip bare’ non-western museum objects.

4

The Western system of art and museums operates as a machine for the production of economies of commodification and desire while at the same time preventing the fulfillment of those desires. (Phillips, 2012)
In the modern worldview we often try to separate and purify the categories between and humans and artwork as we isolate the possible interconnections that we can discover. To further validate on misinterpreting artwork is to display an African mask such as the Sowei mask as a bare headpiece which will not satisfy the viewer’s voyeuristic pleasure of completely experiencing the translation of knowledge from other cultures. The mask decapitated from the rest of its context robs the viewer from the heart of satisfaction of desire to know the truth. Western museums tend to universalize the process of translation of art by following a process which does not treat artwork as a part of the complex network. The modern strategies to art installations prevents the viewer from distinguishing the historical and contemporary networks of interconnection among the cultures around the world. Phillips example of the mask from Sierra Leone drives a compelling picture of how it was stripped from its meaning and its historical and political context whether it would provide any underlying political or economic factors that may have contributed to the making of the mask. Museum installations of indigenous arts have also changed, in ways that are more uneven and difficult to characterize. But there have been some changes in the way art was displayed by providing with detailed labels, maps and photos to incorporate a much greater context and meaning for the viewer. The relationship between art history and anthropology is
5

often characterized as two contrasting methods of approaching works of art. In art history defines art as work of high culture to encourage aesthetic appreciation while anthropology studies the material culture in order to promote rational understanding of entire social groups.
Through the rest of the paper it will discuss Phillips review over the hybridity of indigenous art in the early 21st century in three different ways. First through the relationship between art history and anthropology and how it should be more evident over the next years. Second is Bruno
Latour’s actor network theory and his concepts of translation and how to urge museums of indigenous art to rethink the way art is represented in the 21st century. Finally Phillips discusses current exhibition from the Torres Strait Islands art and how it signifies what Latour’s actor network theory advocates.

Actor Network Theory
During the 1970’s Bruno Latour a French anthropologist and a social scientist along with Steve
Woolgar carried out a field work at institute in California. Their observations methods did not fit any preconceived notions of scientific method and through that it created the foundation of the theory. In various ways this mode of attempting to understand science turns regular scientific methods on its head, as it try to reveal and associate connections in order to provide more context. 6

The main methodological principle is ‘follow the actors’. To investigate how something becomes ‘true’, routine or accepted, the researcher finds a point of origin and traces how networks spread, who or what was enrolled, and how interests were translated. Translation is a sort of exchange whereby actors join networks because it is in their own interests, as well as the interests of the network builder. (Garrety, 2014)
The quote above defines how we should improve our observation methods and how to treat humans and non-humans as connections and explore the strong ties that would link in a cultural network. By focusing on the activity of translation, as Latour recommended, we may be better able to re-position museum representations within complex networks of historical and contemporary cultural interaction rather than mystifying them. The application of the actor network theory is universal where the separation of hybrid objects containing human and nonhuman elements is difficult. Recently there have been some confusion between two distinct practices. First was the practice of translation which it creates mixtures between entirely new types of hybrid culture. Second is the practice of purification which creates two zones that humans and non-humans as separate elements. Both practices complement each other without the first set, the practice of translation would be ineffective and without the second set the process of purification would be slowed down and limited. (Latour, 1993) If we distinguish the importance of both practices separately we will able to adapt to this modern hybrid culture.
7

From the perspective of ANT, in relation to the western and non-western art and its culture issues are themselves part of a large network. It is necessary that current works of museology should develop a better understanding between parallel relationship of art history and anthropology for much improved representation of art.

Networking art connections in museums
Latour’s approach is not only useful in helping us understanding the issues that museums experience but also to allow an enhanced representation of indigenous art. Such projects would require museums to make an evident efforts in which ways categories of art are networked. The interconnection of art history and anthropology and economics are among other relationships that western and non-western cultures share over the recent centuries. Phillips learned from her experience in her fieldwork in Sierra Leone in the 1970’s is the emphasizes to focus on the process of translation to cognitively attempt to bridge concepts which are more difficult to translate by revealing and bridging the different world views in order to achieve dialogue. The act of translation enables us to identify the actors that would link people and art together forming a network which is a key concept of actor network theory (ANT). How museums will incorporate the practices of translation from ANT in order to further improve the process of translation.
The remainder of this paper will demonstrate what Phillips attempted to promote is how museums shift their practices of translation. The installation of masks and masquerades at the
8

National Museum of Australia in Canberra, entitled “Dhari a Krar: Headdresses and Masks from the Torres Strait” which opened in 2005. The exhibit managed to translate the work of hybridity which allows the viewer to obtain more context while the size of the exhibition is relatively small and was created with modest budgets but the exhibition managed to capture the dynamic nature of the masquerade traditions that immerses the visitors into the indigenous art. Rather than just freezing the artwork in the past and fetishizing them as objects of desire. The museum prepped the exhibition so that the masks are the focus for aesthetic appreciation made available to the audience with support of a large life size projection of the performances. The use of lighting and sound is utilized to immerse the viewer and be part of the culture through the combination of forms of multimedia and design for an ideal practice of translation.

Dhari a Krar
The video projection activates the mask headpieces displayed on the walls and enables visitors to become spectators at a virtual performance. The 19th century masks from the Torres Strait were constructed from the famous tortoise shell and wooden masks which left the Strait in the late 19th century when the missionaries arrived the Torres Strait Islands to convert the people to
Christianity. Today none of these masks can be found from the Torres Strait communities and

9

according to Phillips it is remarkable how Dhari a Krar displayed how the masquerade traditions which evolved in order to adapt to the political and spiritual changes that happen in the Strait throughout the years. The exhibition does an exceptional job to display the masks with such clarity and detail while displaying the relationship between the older masks to the more recent masquerade masks. By understanding the context through identifying the reason and purpose behind each piece of art it demystifies the viewer from traditional views of indigenous art. Through trade the people from Torres Strait obtained the bases of the masks which reflects on the hybrid process of making the mask and how it symbolizes the distinct local identities within the Torres community.
The exhibit also acts a key site to preservation of history and culture which is a source of ongoing pride of identity within the community. It was a success in communicating the art through not only messages but also from the choices of lighting and color to visually engage the viewers.
Inspired from the enormous changes in spiritual belief and how it impacted their art form which will continue to evolve of the years which makes it a source of pride within the community.
10

These exhibitions make clear that it is not necessary to choose between formal appreciation and contextual understanding, or between knowledge of the historical evolution of an art form and its relevance to contemporary societies.
(Phillips, 2012)
According to Phillips the exhibition successfully translated the familiar traditions of displaying art in western museums into a form aesthetically pleasing ways but also covers a cognitive understanding of the communities. Improving methods of distinguishing and relish the differences and interconnections that we can discover through art especially.

Strategy for translation
The art of translating a culture to another culture is an evolving practice which should be an essential process for proper cognitive understanding of culture and its art. The challenge is to adapt to the changes and utilize the resources to reveal connections that would give the viewer much greater context on the subject matter. By treating all possible components human and nonhuman connections as part of larger network to only view them through their ties and using
Latour’s terms through its actors. The actor network theory allows to connect relationships that would provide more insight regardless to what field you are exploring in.

11

Although it is a theory, it does not usually ask why and how a network takes place but rather
ANT is a way of exploring relational ties between actors regardless of human or non-human elements. Actor network theory tries to explain how material and semiotic networks come together as a whole and the combination of actors involved will create a different view of understanding. According to Latour knowledge is embodied in many material forms like text, papers even presentations, but where does it come from? The answer through using the actor network theory approach of that it traces all the heterogeneous pieces and organizing all the right materials and semiotics to form a pattern which would make a network with meaning and context. actor-network diagnosis of science: that it is a process of "heterogeneous engineering" in which bits and pieces from the social, the technical, the conceptual and the textual are fitted together, and so converted (or "translated") into a set of equally heterogeneous scientific products. (Law, 1992)
The theory acts as diagnosis to the common practices of science and when it comes to tackling complex situations which requires different form of translation that would encompass all disciplines objectively. It brings the idea that the social is not just limited to humans but also machines, animals and text can be a part of the social as whole network. Hence it suggests that the social is mediated by a network of objects and people. Take this research paper for example
12

I am transmitting my information and knowledge into an academic paper which follows a certain guideline in laying out the information, and then it gets delivered through an electronic network.
On the receiving end the reader would require a computer along with a connection to the internet to receive the paper. The actor network theory highlights the various networks that participate in the social and how it shapes it.

Conclusion
In this paper I have discussed the principles of actor network theory by reviewing the article which was written by Ruth B. Phillips. The article argued that indigenous art in western museums often unable to represent the art pieces accurately with precise context. By focusing on the activity of translation, as Latour recommended, we may be better able to re-position museum representations within complex networks of historical and contemporary cultural interaction rather than mystifying them. In this case using the actor network theory approach helps reveal connections that would give us much greater context of the time period. Such a transformation would require museums to make apparent changes in the way in which categories of art are networked. The goal is to successfully translate the understanding of a culture to an audience and the Dhari a Krar exhibition was an ideal model of how the museum used the core of the exhibit is the large screen on which masquerade performances are projected so that the dancers

13

appear close to life size which activates the mask headpieces displayed on the walls and enables visitors to become spectators at a virtual performance.
Bruno Latour’s Actor Network Theory was the driving force in Phillips argument in the paper. The theory indulges in the relationship and ties that humans and objects are equal actors in a network.
This approach allowed us to step back and diagnose the processes and practices especially in the field of art history and anthropology which was the main focus of this paper. It encourages us to look for connections and how it interacts with other ‘actors’ to reach a better understanding.
This theory personally impacted me towards dealing with any form of communication from business to technology as it is a powerful tool that allows the user for better cognitive understanding on any subject matter.

14

References
Duchamp, M. (1915). The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass).
Retrieved from http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-the-bride-stripped-bareby-her-bachelors-even-the-large-glass-t02011
Garrety, K. (2014). Actor Network Theory. Being Practical with Theory: A Window into Business
Research, 15-19. Retrieved from https://eurekaconnection.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/p-15-19-actor-network-theorytheori-ebook_finaljan2014-v3.pdf Latour, B. (1993). We Have Never Been Modern. (C. Porter, Trans.) Cambridge University Press.
Law, J. (1992). ‘Notes on the Theory of the Actor-Network: Ordering, Strategy and
Heterogeneity’, Systems Practice. Retrieved from http://heterogeneities.net/publications/Law1992NotesOnTheTheoryOfTheActorNetwor k.pdf
Mask; Torres Strait. (19th Century). Retrieved from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/311950 Phillips, R. B. (2012). The Mask Stripped Bare by its Curators: The Work of Hybridity in the
Twenty First Century. In D. Mills, & J. Finn (Ed.), Visual Communication and Images in
Action (p. 294). Oxford University Press.
15

Phillips, R. B. (n.d.). Canada Research Chair in Modern Culture. Retrieved from Carelton
University: http://carleton.ca/fass/research/chairs-and-distinctions/ruth-b-phillips/
Tatnall, A., & Gilding, A. (1999). Actor-Network Theory in Information Systems Research. Proc.
10th Australasian Conference on Information Systems, 955-66. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.10.1265&rep=rep1&type=p df

16