The adolescent phase of anthropology

This is like middle school, all over again.

I'm in this agonizing phase of crafting my elevator pitch, figuring out who I want to be to strangers, and struggling to find a good way of presenting myself. See, when you're an anthropologist, you basically hang out and try to talk to people, and then build relationships with them, so that you can understand where they're coming from. I feel like a junior high school kid, asking people to be my friend. So I've been going to art and cultural sites here in Abu Dhabi and basically talking to strangers.

On Friday, I decided to visit the Abu Dhabi Heritage Village and see what they had going on. It was surprisingly like the heritage constructions in Oman: Bedouin tents, weaving, falaj systems, and frankincense burners. And of course, displays of sailing ships in their various incarnations throughout the history of the Indian Ocean.

Empty vending machines - you shouldn't be eating during Ramadan anyway!

Abu Dhabi Heritage Village: the "Desert Environment" section

Giant frankincense burners! A Khaleeji (Gulf) staple

 Then on Saturday, I attended an art workshop at Manarat al Saadiyat. The workshop was entitled "Metal Etching," and was specifically targeted to adults. I signed up because I wanted to see what the workshops were like, and gain a better sense of the offerings on Saadiyat. Who goes to them? What are they like?  I had no idea what I was in for, and on top of that, I'm not good at art and have no previous experience with metal etching. But...gotta get started somewhere!

Manarat's workshop room

 We began by taking a piece of carbon paper, a picture of our choosing, and a metal plate covered in a blue varnish. Taping the carbon paper on top of the plate, and then the drawing on top of that, we used pencils to trace over the drawing. When we removed the papers, penciled outlines of the drawing appeared on the plate. From there, we used nails (really, long metal sticks shaped like pencils) to etch the penciled outlines into the plate. Our instructor, Fatima, explained how to do shading: essentially, with etching, you're creating an mirror image. So what you etch into the metal, even though it shows up light against the darker blue of the varnish, will actually show up in the print as black, and any text you write should be backwards.

After we finished etching our designs into the plates, we washed it in a chemical bath (you can find recipes for how to make safe, nontoxic varnish and the chemical bath here). As the plate sits in the bath, you use a paintbrush and swirl over the plate. As the chemicals interact with the plate and the varnish that's coming off, they start to rust and create these little brown flecks. You use the paintbrush to get rid of these, and to prevent the chemical reaction from corroding so deep that it ruins the metal plate. After ten minutes, you remove the plate and use bathroom cleaner (no joke!) to clean the plate.

My plate post-chemical bath

 After the plate is clean, you cover it with black ink. Then, you put it into a press with a piece of cotton paper. Fatima told us if we don't have a press handy (clearly, most people have them in their homes, what cretin wouldn't), we could "run over it with your car in your driveway." Unfortunately, we had to make do with the printing press...I'd like to try the other method sometime soon!

 I started with the far right image, of the Hindu God Vishnu, and traced that onto the metal plate (middle) and then printed it out (far left). I definitely have some work to do as an artist, but it didn't turn out half as badly as I expected. In addition, I met some of the other workshop participants, got some valuable observational data, and made some friends who work here in Abu Dhabi and in culture. All in all, I'm counting it as a success.

Art Hub's Ramadan tent

Yesterday, I went to Abu Dhabi Art Hub to attend an artist talk. They have a Ramadan talk series. I got there five minutes before the talk was supposed to start, and sat down in the Ramadan tent on the roof. About half an hour later, I asked the girl setting up the a/v and serving me coffee if the talk was still happening. Long story short, the speaker never showed, and I ended up meeting the staff of Art Hub and chatting with them for an hour...and they asked me to give a talk on Saturday!

It's been a completely uncomfortable week. I feel like an awkward teenager again, stumbling all over everything, but I've been lucky enough to meet and speak with so many key people in the art scene here and they've been open, supportive, and welcoming. A week ago, I was really afraid that my project wouldn't be feasible in the long run. But now, I have some new contacts and some openings to work with people here in the future.  I might just be able to pull this off after all, and I'm growing up as an anthropologist. Slowly, painfully, but growing up all the same.

I definitely feel like I live a blessed life.