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PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE PERFORMANCE OF HISTORYAuthor(s): ELIZABETH EDWARDSSource: Kronos, No. 27, Visual History (November 2001), pp. 15-29Published by: University of Western CapeStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41056667 .

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PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE PERFORMANCE OFHISTORYELIZABETH EDWARDS

PittRiversMuseum, niversityfOxfordI want o startwith woquotes, rom wovery ifferentistorians hoseworkadmire reatlynd which orm sub-texto this rticle.*irst lizabeth onkinquotingndparaphrasingarenBarber:

To understandrikiAa form f Yoruba raise hant]..youhave tosee them s a very pecific,ntense ndheightenedorm f dia-logue, nwhich he ilent artners as crucial s the peakerfor urcontextsere eadviewer] .. it s clear hat hedramaticommuni-cation foriki hantshere eadphotograph]s at theheart fveryfar-reachingrocesses f social action .. In engagingnthis ction[it s]reactivatinghe ncoded astfor presenturpose.1ThenGregDening

I think hatwe neverknowthetruthy being old t. We have toexperiencet nsomeway.That s the biding race fhistory.t sinthe heatrehatwe know he ruth.. truths always here ut nsome other orm hanwe might xpect .. sometimes ncertainly,sometimesontradictorily,ometimes loudedbythe forces hatdrive s to t, ometimesoclearlyhat tblinds stoanythinglse.2

I want o consider particularoleofphotographsn nscribing,onstitutingndsuggestingasts.The basicquestionwhich as nformedllmywork ecentlys:whatkind fhistoryrephotographs? hat s the ffectiveone hrough hichthey rojecthepast nto hepresent? ow can theirpparentlyrivialncidentalappearance f surface e meaningfulnhistoricalerms? ow does one unlockthe specialheuristicotential'fthe ondensed videncenphotographsepre-sentings they o intersections?gmonde ndMason haverecentlyescribedthesentersectionss 'crossroads fmorphologicalhains, s the ntersectionfnumerousontexts ndactions, r at thenodalpointwhere oth ontemporaryand modern reoccupationseflect ndenhance ach other'.3 o photographshave their wnagencywithin his? fthere reperformativeualities npho-tographs,here otheyie? nthe hingtself?nitsmaking?nits ontent?I can only chipawayat one corner f thesequestions. want omove* This articlewasoriginally resenteds a keynote aper t the nternationalonferenceEncounters ith hotography',held t the outhAfrican useumfcape own,July 999.1 E.Tonkin, arratingurPasts Cambridge,992), 4.2. G.Dening, erformancesMelbourne, 997),1013. F.EgmondndP.Mason,A Horse alledBelisarius,HistoryWorkshopournal1999)47,249.

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beyond he urfaceevel evidence fappearanceo thatif t canbe recognisedthat istoriesre cultural rojects,mbodyingnterestsndnarrativetyles,hepreoccupation ith hetranscendenteality farchives nddocuments houldgivewaytodisputeboutforms fargumentnd nterpretation'.4his must eseen as experimental,heuristic evice to enable a bit ofhistoriographicalexploration,orphotographsrea majorhistorical orm or he ate nineteenthandtwentiethenturies,etwe havehardlytartedograspwhat hey reabout,howto deal with heir awness,nboth enses ftheword theunprocessedndperhapshe ometimesainful.A fewpreliminaries.amtakingcolonial' as implicitere, utmy rgu-ment aswidermplications.t is simplymore ntense,erhaps,n its colonialmoments,utnot xclusivelyo. Somemay abel thephotographsamconsid-ering s anthropological. ertainlyheyhave been at some timeor stillareanthropological,ut prefero call ithistory, ith small H' (both hethingitself nd whatwe do toit),for o liberatemagesfromuchcategorisationssthe irsttep oarticulatinglternativeistorieshroughhem.My argumententres round omephotographsrom hePacific nthelate nineteenthentury.hese few Pacific mages re ones withwhich havebeenworkingately ndwere nstrumentalnmy thinking. onsequentlyheyarenotmerelyllustrativeut a central ndformativeart fmy argumentstheyetmethinkingnthefirstlace.I haveargued n a number foccasions, s haveothers,heparallelsbetween ralhistoryndvisualhistory photographs.orthe akeofargumentamgoing o concretisehis onnectionytaking model rom ralhistory,spe-cially hat rticulatedyElizabeth onkin, hom quoted t thebeginning.hismodel s that fgenre, xpectancyndperformance.5t is not model hat annecessarily e downloaded ophotographsxactly, ut theshape s useful othinkwith n relation o photographs. enreand expectancywill resonatethroughhis aper. xpectancyfthemediummight e glossedhere s howweexpectphotographs, ith heir eguiling ealism, o tell us about thepast ngivenperformativer interpretativepaces andwith heir arious udiences.Genres, isualdialects fstyle, orm,ntentions,ses,rhetoricaltrategiesarryanexpectationnd ssumptionn the ppropriatenessfperformance.

However,s mytitle uggests,t s the astcharacteristic,erformance,on which intend oconcentrate,xploringheways n which hotographsouldbe thoughtohaveperformativeualities, oth iterallyndmetaphorically.want opush his dea to see howfartwill ead us in anhistoriographicalibera-tion f, s a heuristicevice,we allowphotographscertainctivitynthemak-ingofhistory.hopethe xamples usewillperformhat want o discuss osomeextent. t first lance hey re ratherrdinaryhotographs,ut hopetonudge hem nto ction.First,ne should onsider rieflyhenature fthemediumtself or hisis inseparablerom hegenres,xpectancyndperformancen which t s entan-gled. n itsstillness, eathlike s some commentatorsaveargued,t contains4. N.Thomas,n Oceania: Visions, rtifacts,istoriesDurham C, 1997),34.5 TonkinNarratingurPasts, assim

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withintsframe,racturingime,paceandthus vent, ausing separationromtheflow f ife, rom arrative,rom ocialproduction.nmaking etail,t sub-ordinateshewholeto thepart.t is indiscriminate,ortuitousnits nscription,randomn ts nclusiveness.rom his onfigurationmergehe nherentlynsta-ble signifiersn the mage.Central o this re stillness nd frame or hey resites f semioticnergyndthusmutabilityfmeaning.

******Among hefive haracteristicsf thephotographefinedyJohn zarkowskinhis famous atalogue orThePhotographer'syeat theMuseum f ModernArtinNew York n 1966 s the Frame'. quote:The centralctofphotographysthe act ofchoosing ndeliminating,t forces concentrationn thepicture'sedge,the ine that eparatesin"from out"and on theshapescreated yit'.6While his tatement as made nthe ontextfa modernistestatementfpho-tographic urityndessence, t has wider esonancesf we allow ourselves omoveoutwards romhis haracteristicf thephotographatherhan nward oaconcentrationnessence, nd to considerherelationshipf form nd themak-ingof historicalmeaning. am not rguinghat hemedium s themessagebutthat he ulturalssumptionsndexpectancyoth imit hinkingboutphotogra-phy ndputtoogreat stress n its ndexicality.ather,ikeBarthes, wouldliketoreintegratehe ntologynto he hetoricf themedium insert he enseofmagic, f theatrendevenalchemyorhistoryoo embraces uch ubjectivi-ties.Thephotographwakens desire o know hatwhich tcannot howfort sperhapsn ultimatenknowabilityhich s at the entre fthephotograph'sis-torical hallenge.We are facedwith he imits f ourownunderstandingntheface of the endlessness' owhich hotographsefer.t was Siegfried racauerwho saw 'endlessness' as one of his four ffinities f photography.7venSzarkowski imselfointsnthis irectionnstatinghat hepictures bound ytheplatebut that hesubjectfromwhich t was extractedwentoff n threedimensions,uthe does not xplorehis dea.Frame,ntheway n which tcontainsndconstrains,eightensndpro-duces fracture hichmakes s intenselyware f what iesbeyond. husthereis a dialectic etween oundaryndendlessness; ramed,onstrained,dgedyetuncontainable.t is the ension etweenheboundaryf thephotographnd theopenness f ts contexts hich s at theroot f ts historicalncontainabilitynterms fmeaning. errida's rgumentn the activities f frameswould seempertinentere.Whileapparentlyaturalised,rames reessentiallyonstructedandfragile. ramingndconstraintmpose rtificiallyna discourseonstantlythreatenedith verflowing.8his s so evenofthemost vertly ppressivefphotographicractices,uch s anthropomtriehotography,here hehumanis-ingmarks f culture the rrangementfhair, he ulturalmarkingfthebody6. J-Szarkowski,hePhotographer'sye NewYork, 966),9.7. The others eing an outspoken ffinityith nstaged eality,ortuitousnessndindeterminacy.'iegfried racauer'Photography'eprintednA.Trachtenburg,lassicEssays nPhotographyNewHaven,1980),263-265.8. JXterrida,Parergon'nTheTruth bout ainting,ransi. .Bennington I McLeod,Chicago,1987), 0.

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such as cicatrices,ierce heobjectifyingmagewith hepossibilityfsubjectexperience.9ndeed t sperhapshe ensions etween he ntensebjectifiedre-sentationfsubject nd an awareness f beyond'that s part fthepowerofsuchphotographs.Most mportantormy rgumentere s the heatricalityfframing:nintensifyingf thespatial ndnarrativerrangementshichoccurwithin heframe. ut firstt s necessaryoexplore he dea ofperfrmatiity nd theatri-cality nrelation ophotographs.ne can argue hat heatricalitys linked ophotography,nd ntwo senses.First,he ntensityfpresentationalorm thefragmentfexperience, eality, appeningwhatever ouwant o call it) con-tainedhroughramingandsecond, heheighteningfsignworldswhich esultfromhisntensity.The idea ofperformancend its moreovert ndformalmanifestation,theatricality,s notmeantnthe enseofthe mbedded ormalualities f drama

as a genre,o much s a representation,eightening,ontainmentndprojection- a presentationhichconstitutes performativerpersuasive ct directedtoward conscious eholder.10he nature f thephotographic ediumtself ar-riesan intensityhich s constitutedythenexusofthehistoricalmomentndthe oncentrationf thephotographs an inscription.hisconcentration,ocusor containmentasa heighteningffect nthe ubjectmatter.tforcesntovisi-bility, ocusingttention,iving eparate rominenceotheunnoticednd moreimportant,reating nergyt theedge.Further,hotographs ight e said to'perform'hemutabilityf their ignifyingtructuress they reprojectedntodifferentpaces.Forinstance, owdo photographsecome anthropological'?Photographs ave a performativity,n affectiveone, relationship ith heviewer, phenomenologyot f contents such, ut s active ocialobjects ro-jectingandmoving ntoother imesand spaces. This is morethanpassiveimagesbeingread ndifferentontexts,lthoughhat s obviously art ftheequation. athers a heuristicevice,wecan see images s active hroughheirperformativity,s thepast s projectedctivelynto hepresent ythenature fthephotographtself nd the act oflooking t a photograph.ne is remindedhereof Mitchell's uestionwhatdo picturesherephotographs]eallywant?'This s not collapse nto personificationnd fetishismfthephotograph,utrather o cleara spacewhich llows for n excess or an extension eyond hesemiotic oanappealtothephotograph,hosepowers ndpossibilitiesmergein the ntersubjectivencounter.11erhaps t is more ntense t moments fencountercross ystemsfpower ndvalue,for ucha heuristicevicehigh-lights oints ffracture.Peacockhas definederformances a condensed,istilledndconcentratedlife an occasionwhen nergies reintenselyocused.12ike performancertheatre,hotographsocus eeing ndattentionn a certain ay.Performancesre

9. See E.Edwards, aw Histories: hotographs,nthropologynd MuseumsOxford, 001),144-47.10. MFried,TheatricalityndAbsorption:aintingnd Beholdern theAgeofDiderotBerkeley, 80)11 W.J.TMitchell,What oPictures eallyWant?' October1996),79.12. JPeacock,AnEthnographyfthe acred ndProfanen Performance'nR.SchechnerndW Appel, ds.,ByMeansofPerformanceCambridge,990),208.

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also setapart. ikewisephotographsreapart, eingofother imes nd otherplaces.Performances,ikephotographs,mbodymeaninghroughignifyingrop-erties,nd aredeliberate,onscious ffortsorepresent,o say somethingboutsomething.hesign tselfs, n Schechner'snalysis,13erformativen thattcon-stitutesne or morebitsofmeaningwhich re related ndprojectednto argerframes fperformance,scenes' sequencesofsignswhich mbodynarrative.Schechner's odel llowsus to ink hemutabilityf thephotograph'signswiththeir istoricalontexts,n thatarger rames fperformancethe ulturaltageon which he rama fthe hotographsplayed ut arecomprisedfthe maller,ontowhich t nturnseports eaningsn a mutuallyustainingelationship.Theatre lso confrontsheviewer opensa spaceforreflection,rgu-ment ndthepossibilityfunderstanding.orDening, Theatricalitys deep nevery ction .. thetheatricalitylways present,s intensewhen themomentbeing xperienceds full f ambivalences'.14t s throughheheighteningatureof themedium that heatricalityithin hephotographnd ts nscriptionthatpoints f fractureecome pparent.he incidental etail angivea compellingclarity,hrough hich lternativeistoriesmight e articulatedndtheperfor-manceextend hepossibilitiesf authorshipfhistory hroughhe nteractionwith reciselyhose oints ffracture.ignificantlyhe ovietfilmmaker,ergeiEisenstein, erceived imilarboundariesbetweenphotographynd film sbetween heatre nd film.15losing hetriangleurely lignsphotographyiththeatre. o refer ack tomyquote tthebeginning 'it is inthe heatrehatweknowthe truth'. onsequentlyne can argue hat here s a massing f ideaswhich ointnthedirectionfa certainerformativeualitynphotographs.I amgoing o ook atthree ifferentays n which he deaofperforma-tivity ighteunderstoodnrelation ohistoryndphotography,irsthe heatreof theframe,econd, heperformancefmaking ndfinallyheatre rperfor-mancewithin heframe. hese are notmutuallyxclusive utratherntegrallyinterconnectedntheperformancefhistory.I want oconsider irst wophotographsaken n the ameoccasion,n1884,probablynMarch, tMalekula,VanuatuorNew Hebrides s it wasthen). hesephotographs,s images o think ith, ecomemore han he umoftheir arts.

Beacheshave been described y Deningas 'beginningsndendings,frontiersndboundaries' hatdelineated hetransformativepace ofculturalcontact16notunlike hotographsnsomeways.Thesebeach cenes, recurringphotographicropenthePacific, ecome ntensifiedhroughheaction f theframe. heirvery rdinarinesss transformedntoa quiettheatricalityhichdefines oth hephotographic omentnd the olonial ncountern the dgeofthe sland. t is pushedntovisibilityhroughheboundaries fthephotograph.Buttheparticularsithinheframeverflowhepictorialimit nto hegeneralculturaltage n which he ittle rama splayed ut.13. R SchechnerMagnitudesfPerformanceinSchechnerndAppel eds ByMeansofPerformance441 DeningPerformances1 915. QuotednKracauer,hotography,56.16. G.Dening,slands ndBeaches:Discourse n a Silent and:Marquesas1774-1880 Honolulu, 980),3 1-32.

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Figure . Onthebeach tMalekula,Vanuatu. 884?Photographerapt.WA.D. Acland.(Courtesy fPittRiversMuseum, niversityfOxford,998.159.29.1)The firsthotographhows group f Malekula eople n their eachwith lieu-tenantromRoyalNavy loop,HMS. Miranda, hichwasdoing tour fdutyn'The slandRun' as itwasknownFigure ).Thiswasusuallyhree o fourmonthsat sea out fSydney,ncompassinghuge hunk foceandelineatedythe un pthroughorfolksland,NewCaledonia, iji,New Hebridesnd ast o Samoa.ThephotographerasMiranda's ommander illiam cland, well-connectedoungman oinghe hree-yearostingn theRoyalNavy's ydneytation.But whatwashappeninghat ayat Malekula?What ittle istorys it?Theres a self-consciouscting utofframes rboundariesn thebeach, owingthe utriggeranoe sailors ndboats, ritish ndMelanesian.Stagedpicturesuchas thisdisclosespecificntentions,s opposed opromisingo reveala priorimeanings odged nconfigurationsftheworld.There s also a theatricalityn Michael Fried'ssense, hat hesubjects rojectthemselves rthe dramaforwardo somethingxternal thecamera nd theviewer. encewecan attributeome ignificanceo the elf-conscious,ntention-al contentfthephotograph.e are ooking ere tencountersuringhe geofgunboat iplomacy.hescene n thebeach an beread s a tenseworkingutofa potentiallyolatileituation. umourndcamaraderieppear odefuse he itu-ation.Boundaries ndbeaches,as Deningcomments,17re made of sensiblethings,aucousaughterndhere, canoe. ntimacys suggested ythe ontain-ment fboth he anoeand he ordersfthe hotographrame,oncentratingheviewer's ttention,eighteningontentndmoving he atter rom hepurelyinformationalothe ealm falternativeepresentationsndcontemplations.17. Ibid, 0.

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Figure . On the each t Malekula. 884?Photographerapt.WAD. Acland.CourtesyofPittRiversMuseum, niversityfOxford,998.159.29.3)I would rgue hat here re ayered patialitiesnthis hotograph,ntensifiedytheframing f thephotograph.A naval lieutenant s 'inserted' intotheMelanesianphysical pace of theoutriggeranoe.At one level the theatrefaction n thebeachwouldappear o fracture elanesian pace and make thecolonialpower elations isible,yet bsenceor silence an be a resonant ctivepresence, familiar evice nboth heatre ndphotography.elanesian pacemay appear suppressed n thephotographs,ut it is present, mbodied nMelanesian ocialbeingon their each.Land is importantnMelanesian oci-eties, eing inked o statushroughheproductionffood, ut ea is equally o.One is a continuationf theother. husgeographicalfacts' inkpeopleto theirhistorynd theorganizationf ocal knowledgend to Melanesian erceptionsanddefinitionsf space.18Malekulans,hrough resence f their wn culturalunderstandingsf that pace,mark t withinhephotograph,fwe,theviewers,only llow them hat pace.While his s intensifiedytheframetcannot erenecessarilye reduced olely o theaction ntheframe lone,but to thequietassertions f intersectingistorieswhichbecome morevisiblethroughheheighteningction ftheframe.Another each scene,takenat the same time s similarly arefullyframedndcomposedFigure ). Thecoming ogetherfrecognitionnd fram-ing, s Szarkowskiuggested,s thephotographer'srimaryct,dictating,nourcontexts, hat s performeds historynd what s not.Two navalratingsormthe eft ndrightramesondensinghegroup. he oneon therighttandingnthebow of theship'sboat whichprojectsnto he frame.At the water's dge18. L LindstromKnowledgend Power n South acific ocietyWashington1 90) 5 1and71

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another eamanstands, rms inked steadying erhapsn therelativelyongexposureftwoor threeeconds)with hose ftwoMelanesians.However he ontrollingrame oth hysicalndmetaphoricalas startedtospring leak, s containerso. The eak s a semiotic xcessorenergy, hichmanifeststself s therawness,he mbiguityrultimatencontainabilityf thephotographs history. racauer's endlessness',triggered y thefortuitous,reaches eyondheframe. rame,nthis egister, arks provisionalimit nly:itscontent eferso otherontentsutside hat rame.Within he ontainmentfthe mage, mallheighteningetails, uch as the inked rms, pairof boots(navalboots?) lung round omeone's eck, ssume metaphoricalndsymbol-ic density.hecareful resentationo the amerahasthequiet heatricalityithall the elf-consciousnesshat uch tableau ntails,s both arties rojectheircontestingpacesfor he esultingmage.However hemedium isguisesheges-ture, tterancendresonance n whichfragile elations,uch as thoseon thebeach tMalekula, epended. heir bsence s madepalpably resenthroughhephotographsfweimaginehe heatricalossibilitiesfthe emporallyuspendedgesture,he tayed lance, hemotionlessingerna forearm.Thesetwo mages ssumewhatDaniels has described s 'high pecificgravity'for hey ppear o condense range f socialforcesndrelations'19 heheighteningffect fstillness ithin heframe s thehistoricalmoments per-formed orus,opens up possibilities otfor eeingwhat hepictures 'of inforensicerms utrather,nd more ignificantly,or his s where believepho-tographsre an uniqueform fhistory,hey an suggest heexperiencefthepast.Kracauer,writingfthe distinctionsetween aintingndphotography,encapsulatesheir istoriographicaleed: Inorder or istoryopresenttself,hemere urface oherence f thephotographmustbe destroyed'.20 hilepho-tographs articularise,t the same time hey esonatewith hat eyond hem-selves, hey xplain omethingfthatworldwhichmade hem ossiblenthe irstplace.Thesephotographshow Melanesian pacesat thepoint fnegotiation,betweenpaceandtypes fpower, etween hat s close to ndividualsndthoseremotend exteriororces,uch s theRoyalNavy nd colonial olicy,n whichlocal ife s enmeshed. hephotographsn thebeacharepart fan endless on-tinuumfmicroscopicncidents,ctions nd nteractionshich onstitutehis-torical eality.21he fragmentingature fphotographyrings heexperientialmomentonotice, isibility,n ndiscriminaterivilegingf moment.onverselyit s theStudium,o useBarthes'model, hat y giving ontext llowspunctum,thedetail hat ssumes ignificance,obe recognised the teadyingingerorinstance.Withoutrame, hysical ndmetaphoricalheres nothingopierce.This swhat meanbythe heatricaleighteningfphotographyallowinginesoffractureoappear nd he pacefor lternativeeadingsrhistoriesoemerge.19. S.Daniels,FieldsofVision:Landscape magerynd National dentitynEngland nd the United tates Cambridge,

1993),244-245.20. Siegfried racauer,Photography'n TheMass Ornament:Weimar ssays,transi. ed., T.Levin CambridgeMA,1995),52.21. R.Barthes,The Rhetoric f the mage' in ImageMusic Text ransi. . Heath London,1977); D.Barnouw,CriticalRealism:History,hotographynd theWorksf iegfriedracauerBaltimore,994),251

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Figure .MaugaManuma ndsupportersnHMSMiranda, ovember883.PhotographerCapt.WAD. AclandCourtesyfPittRiversMuseum, niversityfOxford,RM.B36.10a)This s evenmoremarkedntwophotographsaken ythe amephotographerfewmonthsarliernNovember 883 (Figures -4),22 he surface ppearanceis that f the rchetypalolonial mage islanders na gunboat,r abour oat,cruise hipsurroundedy sailorsortourists r themerely urious.Butagainengagingwith heheighteningntensityfspaceandmomenthroughhefrag-mentingharacter fphotographypens thespace for alternative istories.Again tcan be read s a performance.hevery xistence f these hotographs,likethe asttwowe looked t,breaks hroughhe nclosed paceof textual is-tories round his event themeeting f two rivalclaimants o a Samoanchiefly itle,Mauga of Tutuila,who have been brought n boardHM.S.Miranda o that hecolonialpowers an impose peace on the atters terms.The details rebeyond he copeof this rticle orwhat oncernsmehere s theway in which thephotograph, hroughheheighteningontainmentf theframe,onfrontshegeneralisingarrativefhistoryndperformsn alterna-tive set of statements f power. t returns hespecificity o the historicalmomentndforces t tosignify.Herewesee evenmore learlyheway nwhich hephotographeizes amoment rom heflowand processof existence and gives an intensityfmoment. he actofphotographingndowed his ventwith permanencendtheatricalityhich choes tanabstracteveltheperformancefthe venttself.Further,he ntensifiedragmentf eventheldin thephotographmirrorsheintensifiedragmentf culturalower mbodied nthe hip, heBritishunboat.Acland, he hip's ommander,ad ntendedhismeetingftheMaugasprecise-22 EdwardsRaw Histories 1 7-29

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Figure .MaugaLeiand upportersnHMSMiranda, ovember883.Photographerapt.WAD. AclandCourtesyfPittRiversMuseum, niversityfOxford,RM.B36.10b)ly as a performance fpolitical authority,he ceremonial tselfbeing an integralpartof that uthorityrticulatedn thespectacleorvisibility f the moment.Thephotographs husbecome thevery ssence of thatmoment.

However,a pointof fractures in place. Despite theappearanceof con-tainmentwithin hespace ofa British unboat, here s a Samoan spatialarticula-tionclearly twork,which,rather hanbeingfracturedy expressions f colonialpower, actuallyasserts ts own culturalcohesiveness and fracturesor perhapssubverts) hetotality f authoritativepace. One could arguethat heprocessofemerging lobal power s confrontedyconscious ocal configurationsfspace.Pre-existing ocio-politicalhierarchyn Samoa provides precise spatialconfigurationsremisedon thesocialised body, notablydemonstratedn thevil-lage meeting.The claimantshere,as highchief theMaugas), are seated in thecentre, ver their ight houlders re their rators,talking hiefs' with imedhairand carrying he ceremonialfly-whisk, ho spoke for the chiefsand served aschiefadvisors.Given that these crucial protagonists re in an ethnographicallyconfirmedpatial arrangementnd the other eniormenappear inbroadly emi-circulararray round theMauga, it is not an unreasonableassumption hattherest of theentourage xpresshierarchical nd kinshiprelations patially, epro-ducing Samoan space and the authority uch an arrangement arries,on theQuarterDeck of HMS Miranda. The spatial arrangement vident in thepho-tographs peaks to a morecomplex intersection f authoritieshan the colonialwritten ecordmight uggest.We cannot know it all, but the ntensityf visual-ization which the photographconstitutespresenteda line of fracturewhichallows an alternative iew ofwhathappenedat 10.30 on 17thNovember1883 ontheQuarterDeck ofHMS Miranda.

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Figure -6. Demonstratingottery aking,ortMoresby.hotography.C.Haddon/A.Wilkin 898. CourtesyfCambridge niversityuseum fArchaeologyndAnthropologyap. CD. 101-102)I want ow o ookbrieflytthe erfrmatiity f he ctofphotographing.nmanyways his s a lesscomplexmanifestationfthe deaofperformativityhan hosehave ust onsidered.onetheless,t s one crucial o the elationshipetweenho-tographynd hemakingfhistory. e canseethis peratinghroughvery iffer-ent nd unremarkableetofphotographsakennearPortMoresby, ritish ewGuinean1898.They emonstrategain heway nwhich ontentanbeunderstoodtoextendeyondts ubjectmatter.nthese hotographse canactuallyeethe er-formancefmaking hotographsthe hotographshow s the ctofobservation.Herephotographyctsouttheprocess f observationndthe ollectionof visualdata nan anthropologymbedded ncolonialrelationsFigures -6).Theactings dependentooon frame. t one evel thegenre f thephotographsis that funmediatedbservation,mmediacyndabsorption hichdeniesthepresence f theviewer,nincreasinglyominantruthalue nanthropologytthe end of the19th entury. oweverthewaythe cameramoves around hegroup f womenworkingt the bench' ntroducesnactive patial elationshipbetweenbserver nd observed. ne feels he ct ofobservations the amera,acting s theviewer's ye,movesaround hegroup to see better',to revealmore', ointensifyherecord. patial ndkinetic ualities reclearly videntthe bservers embodied,utside hephotographicrame s AntonyWilkin,heexpeditionhotographerr Alfred ortHaddon, he xpeditioneader they idthephotographyetweenhem)movearound hegroup.23here s a stronger-23. Foranextended onsiderationftheBritish ewGuineaphotographyf Haddon ndtheTorres trait xpedition,eeE.Edwards,Surveying ulture' nM.O'Hanlon & R.Welsch, ds.,HuntingheGatherers: ollectingndAgencynMelanesia Oxford,000),103-26.

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Figure .formativeuality ntwo axes. Firstwithin hegroup,which s absorbedn thenarrativection fmaking ottery,nd stresses hedistance rom heviewer. hesecond s interactive,heperformancef observationtresseshepresenceftheviewer, nd themaking f scientificnformation.hese twoare worked utsimultaneouslyithin he ameperformativepace.Frame s again provisionallimit. t is fracturedywhat s beyond ndrelationshipseyond the ontainerhasagain sprungeaks.The directionfresponsesfthewomen uggestsherewas another ocus fattentionrconversation,notheramera erhaps,r nter-preterrperhaps local colonial fficer,avidBallantine, ho orchestratedheperformancefmaking hepots.There s a sense of interactionetween hewholegroup, otmerely etween erformersnd camera utbyconstantefer-encetowhat sbeyondhe rame vermultiplepatial xes.Theperformancefphotographings alsoclear n a series fthreemagesoftattoo rocesses. gain herereshiftingamera ngles nd,more ignificantlyintrusions,nto rame.hadows,ndexical races fthe ctofobservation,iterallythe hadow f he aze, nscribebservation,heyreboth igurativendparadoxi-cal,a symbolfpresencend bsence. hey ointothe nseen iewer's ominantspacebeyond heframetatinghe uthorityfauthorship.eretheunintendeddetails,hefortuitous,eveal henature fmaking istory.urtherhese articularphotographicncountersereframed ithin olonial elations here ulture asperformedor he amerand he amera erformedulture.I want o lookfinallyt a photographfre-enactment,performanceoutsiderealtime'and reallife' becausea considerationfit, n conjunctionwith henature fphotography,uggests owcontent,ormnd thenature finscriptionometogethern a performancehat, ery iterally, akeshistory.talso fulfils omemain haracteristicsfperformancepreparationndpresen-

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tationwhich retranslatedhrough hotography,s an unmediatedxperience.Thisthen s launched n thenormalisedemporal rajectoryfphotographysthe there-then'ecomes here-now'. urthernrelation omy argumentere,thisphotographssumes n allegorical ature,nother erformancehere heimagebecomesrevelatorynd transcendent.ike the Malekulaphotographstbecomesparadigmaticf the inkbetween heatre ndframe, hotographyndhistory.t is conceptuallyery omplexnconfiguration.hisparticularhoto-graphs linked o salvage ethnography,hich ike thephotograph,onstitutesanotheremporallyefinedmperativeoncernedwith he threatfdisappear-ance.The scene sMabuiag sland, orres trait n 21stSeptember898.24Thesubjects Kwoiam, he otemic ero,whosemythicultwascentralto all western orres trait nitiationnd death eremoniesFigure ). It is in aseries f mages,madeto record' his entralmyth. erewe have thevisualisa-tion fthevery oot fmyth,ot nlynthephotographingf sacred paces, hesites ofmythical appenings, ut n thiscase throughhe re-enactmentf amythicalmomentwhichdefined hetopographicalpace and social space inTorres trait thedeathofKwoiam. The landscapewas definedmytho-topo-graphically,arkedhroughontactwithKwoiam'sbodyandthose fhis vic-tims hisfootprints in therock,boulders re the heads of hisvictims. helandscape s mapped hroughis social interaction: streamhatnever ries stheplacewhere e thrustisspear nto herock, hegrassy lanes tuddedwithpandanusre where e had hisgardens. is exploits hemselvesnvolvedmuchslaughterndassociated ead-huntingut, ventuallywoiamwas ambushedyhis enemies.He retreatedo the ummit fa hillwhere,rouched ntheground,he died.Haddonwrites ithnterestinghetoricallippage:

The bushes n the ideofKwoiam'shill have most f their eavesblotchedwith ed, ndnot few reentirelyfa brightedcolour.This s due to theblood that purtedrom woiam'sneckwhen twas cut t hisdeath; o this aythe hrubswitness his utragen adead hero.25ButHaddon lso writesmmediatelyeforehis assage:

I wanted ne of thenativeswho hadaccompanied s toputhimselfinthe ttitudefthedying woiam, o that might ave a record ftheposition eassumed, hotographednthe ctual pot ..26Thephotographere onfrontshePlatonic dealismwhichmistrustse-presen-tations freality nd thusperformance.hrough hetheatre f re-enactment24. For detailed onsiderationfthe hotographyftheTorres trait xpeditioneeE.Edwards,Performingcience: till

Photographynd theTorres trait xpedition'n A.Herle& S.Rouseeds.,Cambridgend theTorres trait:CentenaryEssayson the 898AnthropologicalxpeditionCambridge,998);and of this hotographeeEdwards, awHistories,157-8025. A.CHaddon,Headhunters,lack,WhitendBrownLondon, 901),147.26. Ibid.

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Figure .Re-enactinghe eath fKwoiam, 898.Photographer.C.Haddon/A.Wilkin.(Courtesy fCambridge niversityuseum fArchaeologyndAnthropologyStr.66)within heframe,hephysical ody s reinsertedntomythical pace throughrealistice-presentation,tselfxpressedhroughhe ealistgendas fphotogra-phy.Photography akes heabsent resent,heappearance fthatwhichdoesnotexist,physically resent. he temporalmbiguitiesf eventwhich risethroughhe notion fthere-enactmentrealso heightenedytheambiguousnaturefphotographytself. fragmentftime tilled, et t s atemporal,epa-ratedfrom ime.The ambiguitiesead hereto a collapse of the distinctionbetweenmythic arallel ime, istoricalime ndcontemporaryime hroughhenature fthephotograph.urther,e-enactments itself heatricalotonly nterms freplication:t s a heighteningfrealityhroughheboundedntensityof thephotographic oment,oth s action nd mage.The culturalxpectationofphotographiceracitynd the ensionsetweenemporalndspatial mbigui-tiesand mimetic ertaintiesfphotographyaturalisehetheatricalualities fre-enactmentn the reation frealityffects.ndlessness fa differentrder

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ofmythicaleing is signifiedhroughhe ontentf theframe nd the oncen-trationfenergy ithint.The death fKwoiampushesbeyond alvage ethnographyhich ol-lects he till xtant.t moves nto he ubjunctive ood as if - 'as if t were o'whichDeninghas identified ith oth e-enactmentnd thetheatrical ode ofhistory.27n re-enactmentheno-longerxtantr nvisible ecomes econstructedandreinstated,venperhapswith n element fresurrection,or hedisjuncturesofphotographynd itsrealityffect ivetheappearance f theextant.Mytho-poetichistoryecomesreal, visible, angible. o me this s an extraordinaryimage. f we thinkhroughhe ontentnterms fthe ntologicalhetoricsfthemedium,tencapsulateshe elationshipsetween hotography,erformancendhistorynd the laim hatit s in the heatrehatwe know he ruth'forherewearepersuadedfthe ctualityndrealityf Kwoiam.To conclude,t has beenargued hat heatre,ikephotography,smerelythereproductivelave ofthe deological pparatus freproductionhich anonly ree tself ythenotionf true erformance.y usingdeas ofperformativ-ity,heheighteningffect,nrelation ophotographs,necan, would rgue, ojustthis,bringingo thesurface grounded istoricalmeaningwhichmovesbeyond hemerelymimetic. hope have shown hroughhishistoriographicalexplorationertain elationshipsetween hotographynd theperformancefhistorynbringinghepoints f ntersectionnd fractureo thefore.nthis eg-ister he rivial,heordinaryndunconsideredeveals, hroughhedensityf tsmultipleayers,hepossibilitiesfthehistoriesondensed ithint.MichaelFriedhas writtenfpaintinghat ableaux ivants cenesmaybe understoodo show hat here an be no such hings ananti-theatricalorkof art that ny composition,ybeingplaced n certainontexts r framedncertainways,can be made to servetheatricalnds.28Withinmy argumentorphotographys a performancefhistoryne couldmake imilar laims.Onecanalso claimthat uch nargumentoesat least somewaytowards iving hoto-graphsnidea ofvisualitynhistorydequate o theirntology.29Whilephotographs ayhavedifferentensitiesn thewayin whichthey ring ogether field-forcef social relationsndpresentheir ontents,they onethelessarrywith hem he haracteristicsfphotographys a mediumof nscription.s such hey re all touched,ttheirdges, oa greaterr esserextent: amily hotographs,fficial hotographs,ortraits.heir ontainmentshave thepotential orperformingistoriesnways nwhichperhapswe leastexpect,when heyre usednotmerelys evidentialoolsbut s toolswithwhichto thinkhroughhenature f historicalxperience.hepositionedubjectivitiesin looking tphotographseaves a space to articulate therhistories utsidedominant istorical ethods.nusing erformances a toolto think ith hopeI havesuggested crucial haracteristicf thephotograph'sgencyn all this, swetryocometogripswith he elationshipetween hotographyndhistory.27 Dening Performances48 andpassim28 FriedTheatricalityndAbsorption173.29. Mitchell,What o Pictures eallyWant?' 82.

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