Is Disneyland authentic? This is a question I have pondered for a number of years, since I visited what was Eurodisney in 1992 (and explored in my book with Mike Pearson – Theatre/Archaeology – [Link]). It is too easy to say that Disney is superficial, or fantasy, or ideology. Here are a couple of cases…
(past) presences
Ruin Memories
The Ruin Memories project is drawing to a close. Here is the introduction to the final portfolio: Modernity is rarely associated with ruins. In our everyday comprehension ruins rather bring to mind ancient and enchanted monumental structures; an archaeological dream world featuring celebrities such as Machu Picchu, Pompeii and Angkor Wat. Yet never have so…
Autosuggestion – rough cuts
Mike and I have edited the script of last week’s presentation of Autosuggestion – our new work of Theatre/Archaeology. Autosuggestion – the script There’s still some fact checking to do – mainly on the details of car history (and any suggestions will be very welcome – use the comment form at the end of the…
Pearson|Shanks – Autosuggestion
Mike Pearson and I have a new work of theatre/archaeology, to be premiered next week – Friday 28 June. Here’s how we describe it: Just what is an automobile? In this new work of theatre/archaeology — the rearticulation of fragments of the past as real-time event — Mike Pearson and Michael Shanks reflect on an…
The Field Marshal, the artist, and an old edition of Walter Scott
Matters of the presence of the past — haunting presences. A couple of editions of Walter Scott’s poetry have arrived from my favorite bookseller – Barter Books of Alnwick, Northumberland UK. The first is an 1866 edition of Scott’s poem, Marmion, about the days before the disaster of Flodden Field in 1513. It is illustrated…
Ghosts in the Mirror
I was quite pleased with the special Blurb edition of the review of theatre/archaeology that Mike Pearson and I just published (good quality imagery, reasonable typography and layout) [Link] [Link] So I ran up a new portfolio of my rephotographed daguerreotypes – “Ghosts in the Mirror”. Ghosts in the Mirror by Michael Shanks Here…
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