Art Analysis: The Salvage Paradigm

Salvage paradigm has become a important concept through out history, having the desire to rescue something that is authentic and to keep it alive and useful. Salvage paradigm is used mostly in the field of ethnography, it’s a branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific descriptions of specific human cultures. We today find salvage paradigm, through representations in textbooks, art, and even to museums. Have what we have been holding on to for thousands of years ,the background of our own mankind history been the truth or a conception build overtime, using salvage paradigm to help come up with a explanation. James Clifford and Virginia Dominguez discuss the intervention of using slavage paradigm to the extent to help explain
western culture roots. James Clifford starts off with explaning that socities were sequenced as the progression from savage to barabarian to civlizied but now jumped to the conclusion that human were redistributed as primitive or tribal groups.
Through out his articles he uses examples that helped build up the western culture taxonomy. Along with traditions , history and authenticity that helps underlie the salvage paradigm. Clifford mentions that non-western ethnographic are the western’s actual past. But on the other hand western cultures is consently trying to civilize and intrude on cultures and have a hard time accepting unique aspects. For example James Clifford , states that the Speik River art was meant to be inspiring. The art was isolated to emphasize their importance, there was a chant with music in the background for a tribal ambiance , the pictures were presented in black and white nor near realistic to keep the tribal art context. The example presented was an example of a salvage paradigm , declaring that a certain culture or society calls for attention or presented
because they need to be save. We focus on an aspect of a culture because the way they live are primitive, we associate them with our mankind past and history. It leads to the idea that we look past the real idea of a culture for western’s own benefit. The focus is on the idea of where western’s history started. Representation is used in a vague way, we have a representation upon how a culture or tradition should be and we use that to our disadvantage and jump to a conclusion based on our own perspective and what we were taught. For example the Spekik River Art, how would we come to a conclusion that it was a tribal aspect and the true roots of the culture background, or are we advertise what western culture believes and the truth of the culture is hidden and buried. Virginia Dominguez starts off stating that salvage becomes symbolic, but we used practices that seek to bury rather than preserve.
One problem , is the idea of perception of otherness. Relating to Clifford article, through salvage paradigm, certain culture history helps build up western’s history. Referring to them as others, in coming to a sense that they’re not western people. These people known as others are yet significant to our western society. Dominguez discusses that we use otherness to acknowledge their ideas , history or traditions that is not ours. But we use the practice of otherness to help explain our primitive as we incorporate or represent our history. Second problem Dominguez states is representation, the study of others is fostered on active social, cultural movement not just to represent others but also their right to duty to do so. Representation has been a big impact on salvage paradigm, it set’s up a scenario as cultures becomes scarce artifacts that are all that is left. Behind the setup of art work or even museums exhibts what is being told is what western culture has been taught to beilieve and some culture are now presented to look as if they’re extinct. What is considered extinct may not be extinct. We make a big deal to preserve information, many believed that the culture that have been advertise to be extint shared culture tradiotions with the western society. It seems to me that the main focus is on western society, having the courruption
thought that the western culture is better than everyone else to the extent to close off other cultures. Who are we to write their cultures in our own terms and call them others, how can we include all the people in writing history and only write about some. In conclusion, both Dominguez and Clifford overall statements include that the assumption of salvage paradigm is to save traditions, or is it really to close or come to a ending of cultures an let western society live. We are the one’s who write about the history for other people, not the people in their culture themselves, the authenticity of the facts and theory becomes questionable. The problem of using paradigm arises, but at the same time what kind of changes will solve the problem, the paradigm is already used as a tatic to explain history. The idea of focusing less of western culture and out ruling other cultures may be the start and accepting the truth that western culture can’t always be at the top. When it comes to using paradigm to study cultures vary from Oceanic, and Native American to African, it may be a conflict because the information gathered may be what western’s philosophy want us to hear or also there may not be enough information upon these cultures.