Derivas fotográficas. Retratos de Hans Mann en el Gran Chaco

Abstract

In the following article, a possible relationship between anthropology, pictures, and arts is settled, taking as a starting point the portraits of indigenous populations from Gran Chaco, taken by Hans Mann, a German photographer, in the 30s. Two different scales of analysis are suggested. On the one hand, a question is posed about the pictures themselves, shedding light over the category of “portrait”, which has a complex genealogy, as well as over the photographic medium itself. On the other hand, it is necessary to pay attention to these pictures’ drift within different fields, such as the anthropological and the artistic ones, as well as their popular consumption by a massive audience. Finally, a comment about the current influence of these connections must be made, understand how these visual productions are still effective within the anthropological sciences and the contemporary artistic circuits