Practicing Art and Anthropology

Book excerpt: Practicing Art and Anthropology presents an in-depth exploration of transdisciplinary work in the expanding space between art and anthropology. Having trained and worked as an artist as well as an anthropologist, Anna Laine's decades-long engagement in art practice, artistic research and anthropology provide her with a unique perspective on connections between the two fields, both in theory and in practice. Intertwining artistic and anthropological ways of working, Laine asks what it means to engage a transdisciplinary stance when academia requires a specific disciplinary belonging. In order to expand the methods of producing academic knowledge by going beyond conventional approaches to research, she draws on examples from her own work with Tamils in India and the UK to present an original take on how we can cross the boundaries between art and anthropology to reach multiple dimensions of understanding. Offering exceptional breadth and detail, Practicing Art and Anthropology provides a unique approach to the discussion. An important read for students and scholars in art and anthropology as well as artists and anyone interacting in the space in-between.