WEEK 11-13 Flashcards
Vandalism, stems from where and what does it mean?
The Vandals sack Rome in 5thcentury; term “vandalisme”originates during French Revolution (1790s) to describe destruction of art by revolutionarie.
Definition: the unauthorised removal or defacement or destruction of political symbols.
Related to the inherent vulnerability of public art and artifacts.
Stigmatization of vandalism
often a negative connotation of terms like vandalism, defacement and destruction as they are often associated with violence and disrespect and uncivilized behaviour.
This reflects a hegemonic notion of social values and normative behaviour (dominant societal values are to protect houses and property) the way society sees vandalism is also shaped by ideas about the importance of property in maintaining order.
Hard to see vandalism as a transformative act for 4 reasons.
4 obstacles for seeing vandalism with transformative capacity…
- social standing of vandals
- stigmatization of acts of vandalism
- view of heritage as source of pride
- aesthetic complaints
Collective material testimony
- Public artifacts as speech on behalf of a collective.
communicates collective knowledge.
public artifacts can be collective material testimony.
EX: Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, presents itself as collective testimony to shared guilt.
However, when these artifacts are created or maintained without genuine input or consent from the collective they claim to represent, they become “untrustworthy” or “risky” because they don’t authentically reflect the views or values of the people. In this context, vandalism can challenge or alter these public artifacts, making them more truthful and reflective of the actual collective voice, thus contributing to more reliable testimony.
BASICALLY: Vandalism makes a testimony more reliable.
symbols legitimize and celebrate the existence
Vandalism and the right to the city
Right to the City has 2 key elements:
appropriation (the ability to use and share urban spaces)
participation / co-creation (the collective involvement in shaping the city’s identity)
so according to this, vandalism is not destructive but vandalism is a way of RECLAIMING and contributing to the city’s creative process, expressing the right of idnviiduals to participate in and reshape the shared urban environment.
A duty to vandalize
tainted symbols = those that alienate or degrades (EX: statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the United States. )
Derogatory pedestalling: by celebrating an unjust oppressor or ideology, speakers rank their targets as inferior, convey hostility and insult and attack
A pro tanto duty to vandalize: moral obligation to deface these symbols bc their continued existence reflects societal complicity in accommodating their harmful messages.
Reconceptualizing Vandalism
POWER OVER CONTENT
- non-democratic, exclusionary process of colelctive authorisation ==> symbolic empowerment
-vandalism has the potential to be corrective ==> materially grounded symbolic empowerment !!!
Conservative Vandalism
Conservative vandalism refers to acts of vandalism aimed at maintaining or restoring traditional values, cultural norms, or power structures, rather than challenging or subverting them. Unlike radical or transformative vandalism, which seeks to disrupt the status quo, conservative vandalism is often motivated by the desire to protect what is perceived as moral, historical, or cultural purity.
EX: Mary Seacole, first Black nurse contributing to UK but got vandalised which was racially motivated.
Erasure of Memory, Indigenous communities in Toronto
‘indian wgwam’
- Freeman argues it was the design and order they were presented in which erased indigenous memory from toronto history.
note that the erasure was SUBTLE not outright. need to consider how they were presented and potrayed.
the floats: made them only 1 of a ton of floats and potrayed by mohawks rather than mississaugans because they were on better terms with the mohawks.
As the parade went on, there was less sign of Indigenous communites integrated into the image of toronto.
need to focus on:
- design and order of the floats.
AND
- how they were presented and potrayed
Problems with the Wigwam Float
- Represented by Mohawks
- 3rd float, 1 one 12 where they were only indig ppl on the float
- misrepresented identity of the trime, they were potrayed as undifferentiated
SO INDIANS served merely a symbolic purpose
Benefits of memory erasure case study for indigenous peoples, 2 kinds of erasure?
- constructing a historical narrative that excludes indigenous peoples and not including pre-european case
- erasure of actual historical events and processes via mythical erasure practices
Contested Memory: Bear River Massacre
changing accounts of the deadliest single day for indigenous communities in USA history.
FIRST memorial: traditional, tall stone peak
— erected by 3 groups: daughters of Utah pioneers, pioneer trail and landmark association, boyscouts of america
change in 1990..
- state of Idaho erected 10 foot billboard and plac
- demonstrate a revised history
- refer to events as a massacre (FIRST TIME REFERING TO IT AS THIS)
- Plac said it was a disaster but for who?
Marker set, 2006
- significant change
- tribe gained legal ownership of this sight
- not a marker, more of a series of info
- transforms from plaqs to signs
- collection of lieux de memoire i sunusual in marking indigenous memory
CONTESTED MEMORY!
COMMEMORATIVE VILIGANCE
- commemoration ceremonies
REIMAGINING MEMORY (Hochelage Village)
dont know if this ever happened - jacque cartier says it did - claims first sight of indigneous peoples.
indigenous conveniently dissapear in this argument though. not about them, became a political tool .
- indigenous memory as a tool for contemporary politics with something that is contested
Hochelaga rock - sat unnoticed, forgotten but then became important as it was moved somewhere more visible.
rock turned into a dialogic monument.
Civil War Symbolism
SYMBOL MYTH COMPLEX
civil rights memorials can reinforce national myths of progress, equality, and justice by commemorating struggles for civil rights as pivotal moments in fulfilling a nation’s ideals
Lost Cause
Historical narrative that erases slavery. These people were confederate sympathizers.
Suggests that the things that were lost:
- tradition
- religiosity
- Southern independence (they represented honour and chivalry)
A relevent lieux de memoire for this was Birth of a Nation.
