About Shelly Errington

Anthropology is less a discipline than an attitude, said an art historian of my acquaintance. At its best, I think, Anthropology is a disciplined attitude of curiosity, appreciation for how other people think and practice their lives, an openness to experience, and a willingness not to dismiss and judge otherness while pursuing tactfully hard questions and facts. And we like to understand how things work, discovering meaningful form and (almost to quote Clifford Geertz, a major figure in 20th century anthropology) tacking between the smallest details and the most profound questions of what it is to be human.

During my long professional career, I did fieldwork and writing about Papua New Guinea; a “library dissertation” about a centuries-old written but chanted hikayat in Old Malay; a former kingdom in South Sulawesi, Indonesia; and opportunistic fieldwork and interviews in museums and public spaces in many places I visited, including Mexico, where I had grade school and now visit frequently.

At this point I am devoting myself to making things—photographs, informal writings and reflections, amusing drawings and mixed-media that comment on events and ideas and that I use to process my experiences. I enjoy traveling and good conversation and strive to do good in this troubled world. My favorite new phrase, created by the great performance artist Guillermo Gomez Peña, is “Ternura Radical” (“Radical Tenderness”). I very much welcome new and old connections, and invite you to write me with comments and responses.