Matthew R. Webb
Lecturer
Dr. Matthew Raj Webb is a cultural anthropologist and filmmaker. His work examines the practice of design and the production and circulation of everyday consumer objects—particularly textiles and fashion—via ethnographic fieldwork in India and the United States. Dr. Webb’s current book project, Behind the Seams: Fashion Design and the Politics of Postcolonial Heritage in India, centers on the creative careers of students at India’s government-run fashion academy, who come from across the country — many from marginalized caste, tribal, religious, and gender-nonconforming communities — to train as designers under conditions of rising Hindu nationalist authoritarianism. Dr. Webb is a 2026-27 ACLS Fellow and was previously the 2025-26 Polaire Weissman Curatorial Fellow at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His research has been supported by the Royal Anthropological Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Textile Society of America, Society for Visual Anthropology, and more.
Education
- Ph.D. Cultural Anthropology, New York University
- M.Phil. Cultural Anthropology, New York University
- Adv. Grad. Cert. Culture & Media, New York University
- B.A. Hons. University Medal. Social Anthropology, University of Sydney
Film
Bhaskar Chitrakar: Painting Kalighat Moderns
2024. 11 min. India. Bengali and Hindi (with English subtitles) —with I. Syed, R. Sengupta, and N. J. Shah
Distributor: Royal Anthropological Institute / Alexander Street Press
Description: Bhaskar Chitrakar is among the last hereditary painters of the famed Kalighat temple tradition. From his unassuming home studio, he creates colorful and sensuous artworks that traverse global museums and art fairs. This short documentary explores Chitrakar’s painting style and eclectic sources of visual inspiration. We hear his perspectives about the decline of younger apprentices taking up painting work in his community, and his aspirations for the future of the craft. How has an artistic tradition ensconced in Hindu religious iconography and British colonial patronage become a site for modern secular social criticism? With characteristically wry humor, Chitrakar takes us behind the scenes of the changing social and class landscapes of his beloved city, one painting at a time.
Awards: Best Micro Film, India Chicago International Film Festival, 2025. More information: https://raifilm.org.uk/films/bhaskar-chitrakar-painting-kalighat-moderns/
Retouch
2022. 18 min. USA. English (with English, Spanish, and Hindi subtitles). Distributor: NYU Program in Culture and Media
Description: How do the celebrities depicted in glossy magazines achieve glowing skin and “perfect” bodies? This short documentary sheds light on the covert world of professional image editing. Featuring interviews and technical demonstrations with three generations of New York City-based photo “retouchers,” the film unpacks their craft and work on campaigns for fashion brands such as Valentino and Dior, and celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Natalie Portman, and Salma Hayek. As beauty standards evolve to embrace more “natural” looks and greater diversity, Retouch asks why and how such editing persists, highlighting the growing moral tensions between retouchers, their advertising clients, models, and consumers.
Awards: Semi Finalist for Best Film About Women, Paris Woman Festival, 2022.
More information: www.retouchfilm.com
Articles & Chapters
- Webb, Matthew R. In press. “Designing Embodied Citizenship: Paradoxes of Decolonization in the Making of an ‘Indian’ Regime of Clothing Size Standards.” American Anthropologist.
- Webb, Matthew R. and Nikita J. Shah. In press. “Henna’s New Medium: Translating Color and Culture from Skin to Cloth.” Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of World Textiles, Vol 4: Colour, edited by C. Checinska, B. Parmar, R. Räisänen, and N. Stylianou. London: Bloomsbury.
- Webb, Matthew R. 2025. “Compositing the Body: Ethical Expertise Among Professional Photographic Retouchers.” Visual Anthropology Review. (‘First Look’ publication)
★ Awarded the Hakken Prize, Committee for the Anthropology of Science, Technology & Computing - Webb, Matthew R. 2023. “Artisans, Creativity, and Ethics: ‘Skill Regimes’ in a Mumbai Fashion Export House.” In Sustainability Challenges in the Fashion Industry, edited by M. A. Gardetti and R. R. Larios-Francia, pp. 279-300. New York: Springer.
★ Awarded the Curl Essay Prize, Royal Anthropological Institute
★ Awarded the Eric R. Wolf Prize, Society for the Anthropology of Work
Special Issue Editor
- Webb, Matthew R. In press. “Standardizing Difference: Aesthetic Expertise and the Politics of Bodily Inclusion” Visual Anthropology Review —with papers by B. Barry, D. Patterson, and M. R. Webb.
Reviews, Dialogues, and Op-Eds
- Molina, Sarah and Matthew R. Webb. 2025. “Narrative Threads: Weaving New Pathways for Textile Knowledge.” Textile Society of America Newsletter, Fall.
- Webb, Matthew R. and Soumhya Venkatesan. 2025. “Epistemic Justice and Anthropological Practice” A Book Review Interview on Decolonizing Anthropology: An Introduction, by Soumhya Venkatesan. Cambridge: Polity press, 2024. Current Anthropology, 66(3): 443-445.
- Webb, Matthew R. and Nidhi Yasha. 2024. “Dressing the Divine: A Dialogue on Indian Screen Costume Design.” Film, Fashion, Consumption, 13(2): 177-192.
- Webb, Matthew R. 2024. “The Weave of ‘Fashion Diplomacy’: Jarracharra at the National Crafts Museum, New Delhi.” Museum Worlds, 12(1): 181-240.
- Webb, Matthew R. and Jonas Tinius. 2024. “Jonas Tinius on his book, State of the Arts: An Ethnography of German Theatre and Migration, 2023.” CaMP Anthropology, February 6.
- Webb, Matthew R. 2023. “Film Review: Threads: Sustaining India’s Textile Traditions. 58 min, 2022. Dirs., Katherine Sender and Shuchi Kothari. Watertown, MA: Documentary Educational Resources.” Anthropology of Work Review, 44(1): 48-51.
- Webb, Matthew R. and Brent Luvaas. 2021. “Brent Luvaas on his book, Street Style: An Anthropology of Fashion Blogging, 2016.” CaMP Anthropology, October 18.
- Webb, Matthew R. and M. Yokobosky. 2020. “Fashioning Inclusion, Designing Internationalism: Pierre Cardin at the Brooklyn Museum.” Visual Anthropology Review, 36(1): 178-200.
