D ocum ents:A
D e c o m p o s itio n
F o r N .O . B r o w n , r e v is io n is t
Jam es Clifford
(.. . and A le jo C a rp e n tie r, w ho w as a c o lla b o ra to r on th e jo u rn a l
D o c u m e n ts .)
\u2014 J a m e s C liffo rd , "O n E th n o g ra p h ic S u rre a lis m " (1 9 8 1 ),n . 4 , 1 2 7 .
T o re w rite P a ris o f th e tw e n tie s a n d th irtie s a s tra v e l e n c o u n te rs : N e w W o rld d e to u rs th ro u g h
th e O ld ;a p la c eo f d e p a rtu re s , a rriv a ls , tr a n s its ...
C o n te x t/
C o n te x t
"W hy notjust adapt som ething you've already written?"
i
In " T h e S to ry te lle r," W a lte r B e n ja m in d e s c rib e sth e tra n s itio n fro m
a tra d itio n a l m o d e o f
c o m m u n ic a tio n b a s e do n c o n tin u o u s o ra l n a rra tiv ea n d s h a re d e x p e rie n c e to a c u ltu ra l s t\u00a3 le \
characterized by bursts of "inform ation"\u2014 the photograph, the new spaperc lip , the perceptual)
s h o c k so f th e m o d e rn c ity .
Benjam in begins h is essay withth e First W orldW ar:
A
generation thath a d gonet o schoolon a horse-drawn streetcarn o w stood under
th e o p e n sk yi n a c o u n try s id ei n w h ic h n o th in g re m a in e d u n c h a n g e d b u t th e c lo u d s ,
a n d b e n e a th th ec lo u d s , in a fie ld o f fo rc e o f d e s tru c tiv e to rre n ts a n d e x p lo s io n s ,w as
th e tin y , fra g ile h u m a n b o d y .
R e a lity
is n olo n g e r ag iv e n , an a tu ra l, fa m ilia r e n v iro n m e n t.
T he self, cutloose from
i t s
a tta c h m e n ts , m u s t d is c o v e r m e a n in g w h e re it m a y .
\u2014 C liffo rd , "O n E th n o g ra p h ic S u rre a lis m " (1 9 8 1 ),1 1 9 .
A pagei nD o c u m e n ts (1929):th e
p e n ite n tia ry g a rris o n o f K a n a la , N e w
C a le d o n ia ; L e w L e s lie 's B la c k B ird s
u p o n th e ir a rriv a li n F ra n c eo n th e
steam shipF r a n c e .
(n ig g e rs -a re -a ll-a lik e , I-te ll-y o u v ic e s -a ll-th e
v ic e s -b e lie v e -y o u -m e
n ig g e r-s m e ll, th a t's -w h a t-m a k e s -c a n e -g ro w
re m e m b e r-th e -o ld -s a y in g :
b e a t- a - n ig g e r ,and you fe e dhim )
\u2014 A im 6 C e s a ire , " N o te b o o k of a R e tu rn to the N a tiv e L a n d " (1 9 3 9 ),5 9 .
V is u a l A n th r o p o lo g y R e v ie w
V o lu m e7
N u m b e r1
S p rin g1 9 9 1
6 3
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