Iain Sinclair and the urban imaginary

A fine piece of writing from Iain Sinclair, a bit overblown maybe, in The Guardian today about the Thames in the urban imaginary that is London – Paint me a river. Liquid prompts guide our steps towards the scintillae of the supremely visible Thames. Here begins the work of poets and painters, their argument and…

Derrida’s archaeology

I never got to finish my comment on Derrida who died in October. [BBC Link] The obituaries were largely stifled by misunderstanding, outrage, horror and incredulity – have a look at the Guradian’s lamentable list – [Link] Mark Taylor was better in the NYT – [Link] Flying back to the US today I see that…

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…

everyday horror and repressive normality

An archaeological sensibility I regularly post about the horror that lies just beneath the surface of things, everyday normality rooted in the uncanny secret lives of things – have a look at Horror and disclosure – a scene of crime clings to its past Joe (Adler) has just sent me word of Die Familie Schneider…

more fantasy archaeology

– the never-ending search for the Holy Grail … The BBC is reporting what looks like another publicity scam Fascination with the Holy Grail has lasted for centuries, and now the Bletchley Park code-breakers have joined the hunt. But what is it that’s made the grail the definition of something humans are always searching for…

Mike Pearson and theatre/archaeology

Mike Pearson, performance artist, was in Stanford this week. We wrote the book Theatre/Archaeology together. He talked to our New Media Workshop about recent work of his, and then to the Archaeology Center about his research into what really went on in the expeditions to the Antarctic back in the early 1900s. Both were provocative….