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JaremaDrozdowicz
ourworldviewsthroughvisualizationsoftheculturalhorizonweshare,aswellwe
attempttoimplementittoothers.merefore,thevisualaspectofanthropologyis
theforemostsignificantfactorinunderstandinghowanthropologyiscontributing
totheemergenceofafragilegridofculturalrelations,whichmakethefounda-
tionsofsocio-culturalpraxis.Visualizationofculturewithintheanthropological
paradigmisalsobasedupontheassumption,thatcultureischaracterizedbythe
categoryofdifierenceandthevisualaspectofthatinnerdifierentiationisthefirst
tobepointedoutinthesituationofculturalcontact.
megazeisinthiscontextsimultaneouslyanactofspeech.Wegivenamesto
thingsandpeopleintheverymomentweseethem.Wegiveshapetowhatiscul-
turallyindifierentandputlightinwhatisobscure.Byexposingthepictureofthe
Othertooureyeswedevelopaspecificimagebyusinganthropologicalknowledge
asoursymboliccamera.However,theanthropologicallensareusingharshlight,
butasońfocus,torecallthebooktitlebyJamesPeacock(see:Peacock,2004).
Justlikethebasicruleofphotography,thesmallertheaperturethelargeristhe
depthoffield,anthropologyisusingitsspecificopticstogatherthevastamountof
formsofhumanculturesinordertogetinfocusitsobjectinthebroadcontextit
isfunctioningoneverydaybasis.Nomatterifwespeakofexoticcustoms,rituals,
clothes,art,thewaypeoplelookorbehave,oureyesarethemostimportanttool
intherecognitionofothernessinthefirstplace.Asothersensesfollow,weslowly
buildupthepictureofthewhole-someonewhodoesnotsharethecultureof
ourown.meOtheristakenintoaccounteitherthroughitsaestheticalsimilarity
orthelackofit;throughimplementingourjudgmentoftasteontostructuresof
valuesnotnecessarilycoveringthosesharedbyourselves.Inthatcasethecategory
ofaestheticdifierenceisturningintoaculturallyconditionedaxiology.Evenmore,
theseestheticconceptsaresometimesbeingtranslatedintonaturalcategories,that
istheconceptofraceandracialdifierentiationofhumanpopulations.Bycombin-
ingnatureandcultureourvisualityisorderingtheOtherintoanontologyofthe
senses.meoppositionsemergingfromthatprocesshadbeenputforalongperiod
oftimeintotermssuchashighcultureandlowculture,civilizationandsavagery
orsimplybeautyandugliness.
Ifwetakeclassicalanthropologyanditsoriginsasaproductofthetransitions
inWesternthoughtwemayalsotracebackthecomplexprocessofvisualization
ofethnographicknowledge.misprocesstookshapeinthemidstsurroundingthe
birthofmodernity,butitcertainlydidn’tstartedinthemodernage.Culturalcu-
riosityinspiringthecollectingofexoticartifacts,ordeliveringtheOthertowest-
ernsocietiesthroughgraphicrepresentations,suchaspaintingsorsketches,was
presentfromtheverymomentEuropeanshadacknowledgedthefact,thattheir
ownpositionisnotinthecenteroftheuniverse,buttheyarejustoneofmany
civilizationsinhabitingtheknownworld.ForancientGreeks,justlikeforexample
