벗(but) is a platform that shares works across the boundaries of art and anthropology.
벗(but) is a native Korean word for “friend,” and we use its coincidence with the English “but” as a lens for thinking about relationalities. Rather than emphasizing the “and,” we turn to the “but,” the “despite,” the “nevertheless”—being together despite all misalignment and differences, the sighs and mixed feelings, the fractures in between.
The field of art and anthropology is an arduous process in which greetings, eye contact, touch, fractures, and breakdowns erupt. Misunderstandings and commotion are the (genuine) vitality of our lives, yet they are often filtered out in the service of writing.
BUT turns to friendship as a way of understanding the relations that are inevitably produced in the fields of anthropology and art. The relationships between anthropologists and (more-than-)human entities, between artists and their materials, rarely operate smoothly or symmetrically. We encounter numerous frictions and hesitations that arise from the relationships, yet we persist in trying to reconnect. These moments make relationships difficult, but at the same time, meaningful.
BUT seeks to call the relationships we inevitably encounter in the field by the name of friendship.
We actively engage with the everyday life of errors, attempts, and dissonances that have until now been left out, and we cheer on those who wish to begin a dialogue (with themselves) through their struggle with their work. We embrace both small stories that lean away from theory and writing that speaks to society through relationships.
We welcome writings that think with the relationalities of BUT—whether centered on methods, theory, fieldnotes, or creative experimentation. Contributions can take the form of essays, visual pieces, conversations, or hybrid formats that blur disciplinary boundaries. We look forward to hearing how you experience the relationships you form with your own BUT, and what those relationships mean within the worlds of art and anthropology.
