HERITAGE, INTERPRETATION AND BRANDING BOSSE LAGERQVIST UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Oxford English Dictionary HERITAGE VALUES: INTERPRETATION (Internet, 9 Nov, 2018) Interpretation 1. a. The action of interpreting or explaining; explanation, exposition. b. The faculty or power of interpreting. Obsolete c. The technique of obtaining information from a photograph, esp. an aerial photograph 2. a. An explanation given; a way of interpreting or explaining b. Construction put upon actions, purposes, etc. c. The representation of a part in a drama, or the rendering of a musical composition, according to one's conception of the author's idea 3. The way in which a thing ought to be interpreted; proper explanation; hence, Signification, meaning 4. The action of translating; a translation or rendering of a book, word, etc. Obsolete UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG HERITAGE VALUES: INTERPRETATION - a formal activity within museums and heritage management - implies notions of target group, audience, activity, media format, exhibit - a continuous component of the broad variety of heritage practices - implies guidance for how to perform actions, interventions, and outcome aims - made within a societal context that explicitly or discreetly creates frames for interpretation - implies need of critical problematisation of the role, goal and context for the interpretation UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: Basic principle Heritage policies, societal needs provides a frame Interpretation of Contextualisation, what properties/ Interpretation of interpretation of the qualities to record recorded data to situational for general on what objects / information knowledge development Outputs such as phenomena exhibitions, panels, DATA INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE books, films, teaching, etc. Outputs such as Recording of objects and reports, measured Situational object- phenomena, /problem-specific drawings, etc., for The ’normal’ under- collection of data knowledge operative use in standing on where heritage practice interpretation is done situations UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: Recording process “The supposition that data is not affected by age or lessening value, but that it lies in the archives and becomes more valuable every year, is one of the most dangerous assumptions of the museum profession. /…/Different demands should beforehand be placed at the planning stage on forthcoming research material, including a basic formulated problem which has as its main aim the arrangement of data in a meaningful sequence.” Matyas Szabo, Some aspects of museum documentation, 1986 UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: Recording process Tangible tracks on the object Tangible tracks Intangible tracks The local context Measure from the object from the object (the landscape) Physical properties Archive People Local community Environmental dependant (informants) Local/regional Literature infrastructure/ Sampling Archive context Materials, on-going processes Literature Products People (informants) Photography Archive Systematic Analytic photography Literature diff. wave lengths Products (UV, IR, X-ray) Heritage recording: Photogrammetry - Problem driven 3D-scanning - Interpretation based - Property/quality oriented UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: Recording process Object Depending on the Object today Time Now problem New input due to external influence Properties/qualities Interpretation Gaps – lack of information Material – Intangible Then Increasing – Decreasing Stable – Temporarily Properties/Qualities Interpretation: The ability to identify, characterise and assess relevant properties UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: Basic principle Heritage policies, societal needs provides a frame Interpretation of Contextualisation, what properties/ Interpretation of interpretation of the qualities to record recorded data to situational for general on what objects / information knowledge development Outputs such as phenomena exhibitions, panels, DATA INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE books, films, teaching, etc. Outputs such as Recording of objects and reports, measured Situational object- phenomena, /problem-specific drawings, etc., for The ’normal’ under- collection of data knowledge operative use in standing on where heritage practice interpretation is done situations UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: increase understanding High-quality interpretation can: o learn about heritage, support formal education; o enhance visit, ability to connect with qualities of the heritage; o local engagement, community ownership and stewardship; o promote conservation; o encourage behaving more responsible; o paying visitors satisfaction, i.e. generating an income; o encourage return visits; and o benefit competitiveness. UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: increase understanding Main Principles of Interpretation ̵ Provoke – attention, curiosity, interest ̵ Relate – to everyday life ̵ Reveal – messages in imaginative & creative ways ̵ Address the whole – help to illustrate the main interpretative theme ̵ Strive for unity – in design and by linking design to message Target Audiences ̵ The intended group for which something is designed ̵ Can have a main and secondary target audiences ̵ Drives the interpretation approach UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: increase understanding A good text panel will – Awake the visitors interest – Relate to the visitor’s world – Reveal a surprising discovery – Will have a maximum of 80 words – Have a clear target audience – Be interactive UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION: Basic principle Heritage policies, societal needs provides a frame Interpretation of Contextualisation, what properties/ Interpretation of interpretation of the qualities to record recorded data to situational for general on what objects / information knowledge development Outputs such as phenomena exhibitions, panels, DATA INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE books, films, teaching, etc. Outputs such as Recording of objects and reports, measured Situational object- phenomena, /problem-specific drawings, etc., for The ’normal’ under- collection of data knowledge operative use in standing on where heritage practice interpretation is done situations UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG INTERPRETATION– the bigger picture Formation of heritage values, or What becomes heritage Present Imagined, interpreted concepts of heritage, Imagined, interpreted societal conditions, the Past Future Filter purpose of heritage: Filter Identity, legitimacy Effects from memory righteousness, power, Strategies for memory production inclusion, unifying, production development, Historical research exclusion, meaning, etc. Urban and land use planning, regional Heritage interpretation development & documentation Critically examine needs Heritage interpretation Who are the stakeholders & documentation UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Frames for defining heritage Assimilatory or single-core models One set of common values is accepted, no pluralisation Heritage: Instrument for assimilation of ’outsiders’ into the core, strengthening the core for the ’insiders’ Melting pot models Ethnically diverse groups melted into a new homogenous identity Settler societies with long term immigration, typically USA; or diverse identities going from colonial regime to independence Heritage: Settler societies, willingness to abandon heritage background (the ‘baggage’) for the new identity Postcolonial nation building, new heritage based on pre-colonial roots Core+ Models Postcolonial societies in the process of nation-building, core identity, distinctive minority cultures as add-ons not to be incorporated Heritage: Instrument for creating and sustaining leading culture, enhance core by promoting values of add-ons (e.g. Little Italy, Chinatown, etc) Pillar models A set of self-contained ‘pillars’ with little interconnection. Intentional or unintentional Heritage: Each group manages its own heritage for its own benefit (e.g. Belgium: Flanders with Dutch, Wallonia with French) Salad bowl models Multiculturalism, ingredients brought together, As a ‘mosaic’ (fragments put together creating a pattern), As a ‘rainbow’ (different colours produce a regular pattern by remaining distinct) Ashworth, G. J. , Graham, B. J., Tunbridge, J. E. Heritage: As an inclusive instrument – everyone are invited to take part of the heritages / As an exclusive instrument – (2007) Pluralising pasts. Heritage, identity and place cultural empowerment in multicultural societies. London : Pluto Press. UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Frames for defining Concepts of heritage heritage and conservation approaches Dean Sully (2013) Conservation Theory and Practice. Materials, Values, and People in Heritage Conservation In: The International Handbooks of Museum Studies, Volume IV: Practice. First Edition. Edited by Conal McCarthy. General Editors: Sharon Macdonald and Helen Rees Leahy. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Valuation is in focus To guide society’s definition on ’what is heritage’ To guide interventions (conservation) The need for valuation – linked to modernism (developed during the 19th century) UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Alois Riegl, Art historian, Vienna 1900: Values Unintentional monuments Comemorative values: Age value: Premature ageing as offensive as new additions in an old structure The object should age on its own conditions Age value could come in conflict with preservation motives Budapest UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG Alois Riegl, Art historian, Vienna 1900: Values Unintentional monuments Comemorative values: Age value: Premature