On the return of the past: document, memory, and archive. Katie Pearl (theatre director and professor at Wesleyan – see her extraordinary work here – [Link]) recently got in touch asking about the performance in Wales in 1995 of Tri Bywyd (translation – Three Lives), a work of theatre/archaeology by arts company Brith Gof. Specifically…
ruins and remains
Ruins – Josef Koudelka
Thoughts on the universality and valency of ruination. With a comment about the toppling of statues of erstwhile heroes. A couple of months ago Alain Schnapp was talking with me about his new book, a universal history of ruins, an exploration of an archaeological sensibility that takes us back to antiquity [Link]. I have just…
Dryburgh
Project : So werd ich Todten-Kopff ein Englisch Antlitz seyn – [Link] Marta Pilarska (Edinburgh) has discovered a favorite place of mine – Dryburgh Abbey, Scottish borders, a landscaped ruin. Here are a couple of headstones, mid eighteenth century, converted by Marta into 3D models. The textures are very good, as is being able to…
Heritage – actuality and performative pragmatics
Published next month – Chinese translation of my essay on heritage as actuality, with a case study from the Roman north. [Link] to 2012 version in English.
Ossian – archaeological memory
Project: Borderlands – [Link] Toscar: I shall sit in my cave in the field of the sun. The blast will rustle in my trees, and I shall think it is the voice of Culhona. Culhona: What cloud is that? It carries the ghosts of my fathers. Locale, genius loci, weather, voices on the wind, the…
second hand costume
Sheila Gwilliam amidst her extraordinary collection of vintage costume. I asked her which was her favorite. “Jack and Danny’s” – London Street, Bath UK – [Link]