Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s

The Possibilities of Ethnomethodology in Modern Art Studies 

 

195

- Ethnomethodology probably meets the spirit of times better than 

traditional “formal-analytical” sociology.

28

 

Any methodology for the modern analysis of art must take into 

consideration the peculiarities of the development of art culture under the 

conditions of the sharp actualisation of ethnic problematics. The problem 

of the interrelation of ethnos and art has always existed in a variety of fields. 

However, this “everlasting” problem acquires particular importance in times 

when artists in search of imagery are increasingly turning to archetypes and 

symbols of ethnoculture. In art studies this subject remains debatable and 

difficult. The logic of the development of ethnomethodology allows us to 

make use of its basic statements in the study of the national (local) 

characteristics of artistic phenomena and processes, which differ by their 

subjects and, accordingly, by their specificity of study.

29

 Ethnomethodology 

allows the researcher to record the mental intentions behind the content of 

art. As a result of their projection, the cultural code acts as a phenomenon 

influencing the semantics of composition. In this context, the central notion 

of the phenomenological life world as a basis of ethnos acts as a factor in 

the ethnoculturally characteristic motifs, themes and narratives of fine art.

 30

 

In order to realise the possibilities of ethnomethodology in art 

studies, it is expedient to enter consider the ethnocultural tradition as an 

initial category which relates to the concrete phenomena of the history of 

art. Works of professional artistic creativity reflect the features of ethnic 

communities and, under the certain conditions, may be transform into 

components of ethnos, becoming a recognisable feature of its members, 

penetrating into their everyday life.

31

 The ethnomethodological approach 

allows the researcher to reveal the expression of collective unconscious and 

archetypes, which can be turned into a tool for the analysis and 

interpretation of works of art.  

The problem of ethnocultural peculiarity of art in ethnic art studies is 

connected with the category of style in art. The identification of the style of 

works of art involves the extraction of ethnic features and the arrival at 

definite boundaries of one or another ethnos. It is precisely style that can be 

considered as an instrument to understand ethnic artistic phenomena. Thus, 

ethnomethodology creates a firm basis for ethnic art studies, orienting the 

researcher towards consideration of the role of ethnic factors in the art. The 

object of study is the art of ethnos, the subject is the ethnic peculiarities of 

the art.  

                                                 

28

 Ionin 2006, p. 74-90. 

29

 Nekhvyadovich 2013, p. 830-833. 

30

 Ibid., p. 406-409. 

31

 Stepanskaya 2014. 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

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L. I. Nekhvyadovich 

 

196

 

Summary 

Two stages can be identified in the formation of ethnomethodology.  The 

first stage is characterised as a preliminary one, and deals specifically with 

the formation of theoretical assumptions in phenomenology and 

hermeneutics, the creation of a specific methodological framework, and the 

absorption of the methods of ethnography, social and cultural 

anthropology. The second stage begins in the second half of the 20

th

 

century and is associated with H. Garfinkel’s Studies in Ethnomethodology.

32

 

Exploring the notion of a “methodology of ethnic art studies,” we 

define it as a part of ethnomethodology dealing with the principles, 

structures, levels and ways of study of ethnocultural peculiarities in art. The 

analysis of ethnomethodological concepts highlights the expediency of 

using hermeneutics and phenomenology as the theoretical-methodological 

basis of ethnic art studies. As a system of academic knowledge, ethnic art 

studies fulfils the gnoseological, synthetic, explanatory and methodological 

functions of art. 

The artistic culture of ethnos and in particular its kernel - works of art 

- most fully reflect the mental distinctiveness of ethnos among all other 

spheres of ethnic culture. It is impossible to identify directly the influence of 

ethnic tradition on art. It is far more likely that this connection can be 

considered indirect; however, over time the forms of interaction become 

complicated, the graphic-expressive means become subject to an increasing 

degree of transformation, influencing the individuality of artistic method 

and style.

33

 

A rational basis in ethnic art studies is essential to modern artistic 

practice. This field, firstly, specifies the problem of ethnic art studies as a 

method of interpretation of works of fine art and, secondly, orients itself 

towards the revelation of the concrete historical content of ethnocultural 

tradition and its role in forming of works of fine art. In this context it is 

necessary to study the essence of phenomena arising from an ethnocultural 

tradition, and how that tradition is represented in various historical eras, 

ethnocultural and art systems. 

An illustration of these statements can be found in the fine art of 

Altai. The uniqueness of the artistic heritage and cultural space of the region 

is largely due to its polyethnicity: there are representatives of more than one 

hundred nationalities living in the Altai Territory and the Republic of Altai. 

Local painters and sculptors, as well as artists who arrived after completing 

their studies in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Irkutsk, Alma-Ata, Riga, 

                                                 

32

 Garfinkel 1967. 

33

 Nekhvyadovich 2014, p. 406-409. 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

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