What is Visual Anthropology anyway?

The concept of visual anthropology was very new to me when I arrived at CWU. My only familiarity with the idea of it was a 15 minute presentation I had seen by a graduate student TA at UW. She had many pretty pictures and was making some point about the importance of Andy Warhol, which I entirely missed. Afterwards, I had more or less concluded that visual anthropology was an imaginary subfield that people liked to trot out whenever they wanted an excuse to talk about their favorite director or artist.

Fast forward three years and I am now the graduate student. Somehow, I have become a TA for entire class on visual anthropology. I know absolutely nothing about it; apart from a newly found knowledge that it must actually be legitimate exist. But, the only associations I make with visual anthropology are neon colors and images of bananas. No, that can't be right. I guess it's time to figure out what it's really all about!

Me? Visual Anthropologist? 

Little did I know that I had already done some visual anthropology of my own! During my undergrad at the University of Washington I took a class on participatory methods. I was partnered with a homeless senior who was a member of the senior center in Pike Place Market in Seattle. His name was Antonio. I visited with Antonio for a few hours several times a week. Although he was very guarded, I was able to build trust over time and ask about his life story and the challenges he faced.

For one of the class assignments we were to draft a map of the market showing places of importance to our partner. This way we could contrast the typical tourist experience of the market with that of homeless seniors. Antonio and I walked around the market and he pointed out to me places that were important to him. Together, we took photos that he felt showed these sites. At first, he showed me places that were important to the history of the market itself, such as a famous restaurant that had been there many years. Antonio had a great love of history, so even though the history of the market was not his own, he enjoyed sharing it. We took pictures of a bakery that donated leftover pastries to the senior center. This business was important to him because it represented something positive in his life that gave him a feeling of support from the community. We took pictures of the area food bank, tucked away on a corner below the main market. The Alaskan-Way Viaduct was another subject since it was an ever-present feature in the view from the senior center, the market, and his walks to and from the shelter. He also pointed out areas best avoided after dark if you wanted to stay out of trouble. He showed me the path he would walk everyday from the shelter the senior center. It was carefully selected for elevators and ramps since the sickness that had led to his homelessness also greatly limited his mobility.

The photos were a means of literally showing others his point of view in a way that many words could not. The photos we took together provided more than just a window into Antonio’s daily life and his experience of the market. The camera itself was a tool, even a catalyst, for initiating discussions about the importance of different locations. Without the camera and the act of seeking things to photograph I do not believe that the same information would have been shared. It would have been very unlikely to have come up in conversation. The photos of locations were something I could point to and ask questions about, when before I had not even known what sort of questions to ask. The walk we took around the market to take the photos also provided a shared experience for Antonio and I that deepened our mutual trust and respect and resulted in better communication. Afterwards, he was much more open to sharing details of his life with me and I didn’t feel like I was prying as much when I would interview him. I know that others in the class had similar experiences.

I did not know it at the time, but this was my first foray into visual anthropology. And I will never forget it. At the end of the quarter, Antonio was able to visit campus and I showed him important places that were a part of my daily routine. This time, he had plenty of questions for me and seemed to really enjoy the experience. Sadly, Antonio passed away that night. I learned so much from Antonio, about himself and what it is like to be a homeless senior citizen in downtown Seattle.  I will always be amazed by and thankful for the role that photos played in increasing our understanding of each other.