At the National Gallery in London with my sister and nephew. I always try to make a visit when I pass through the UK. Today I made a beeline for the Hoogstraten peepshow. My fascination with realism, perspective, the camera, optical instrumentality and everyday interiors continues. The peepshow is a box with a painted interior…
Author: Michael Shanks
media archaeology and cultural remix – a London experience
Lower Marsh, La Barca Restaurant with Alan Campbell Media stars all over the walls – agents’ photos. A curious genre. David Suchet – Hercule Poirot Black and white, mannerist, smiley faces. They say “we had dinner here and gave the restaurant our photo”. But also these photos make me think of claims like “Henry VIII…
Glasgow TAG conference – Layla Renshaw – a highlight
Glasgow TAG A highlight of the conference, for me, was Layla Renshaw talking about photographs of the excavation of remains of victims of the Spanish civil war. The context is that of the growing application of forensic archaeology to investigate mass graves in Bosnia, Iraq, Argentine, Spain. To identify. To pursue justice. To achieve some…
sham archaeological science in the academy
Glasgow TAG conference – the cows come home to Monte Polizzo. A few years ago now I left I field project in Sicily after just two seasons. I was very angry because I felt I had been forced out by people who didn’t want to listen to my concerns. Angry at my wasted effort, because…
archaeology – the “materialities of its discourse” – depressing lecture halls
Mike (Pearson) and I presented a series of performed lectures in the first years of the European Association of Archaeologists annual meetings across Europe – 1991 through 1996. Performed lectures – raising the level of expressive demands upon presenter and audience with intellectual content uncompromised – intermedia presentation dealing in the textures of archaeology and…
how to train archaeologists?
Glasgow TAG Saturday afternoon. I walked out of the the tedious plenary session. It was a debate about archaeology, the university and training professional archaeologists. Some professional from one of the archaeology units in the UK had published a deliberately hyperbolic comment to the effect that universities are failing the profession – graduates come out…
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