'The Technological Sublime': Combining Art and Archaeology in Documenting Change at the Former RAF Coltishall (Norfolk, UK)
Since at least the 1990s, archaeologists and artists have been documenting military installations following the withdrawal of service personnel. They have usually embarked on these recording opportunities separately, experiencing these sites as derelict, lifeless places, with stripped buildings devo...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of York
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Internet Archaeology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue56/16/ |
| _version_ | 1797281102448033792 |
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| author | Gair Dunlop https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1409-1228 |
| author_facet | Gair Dunlop https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1409-1228 |
| author_sort | Gair Dunlop |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since at least the 1990s, archaeologists and artists have been documenting military installations following the withdrawal of service personnel. They have usually embarked on these recording opportunities separately, experiencing these sites as derelict, lifeless places, with stripped buildings devoid of much of their meaning after their occupants have left. Archaeologists have typically created maps and made photographs. Artists have also taken photographs, but in addition made films and created soundworks. Wherever the medium and the motivation, the assumption is usually made that only those closely familiar with the rhythms and rituals of service life can begin to understand the emptiness of what remains. And being secretive military installations, creating a record during their occupation is never an option.
Uniquely, in the months leading to the closure of RAF Coltishall (Norfolk) in 2006, the RAF granted the authors unprecedented access to record the base's drawdown and closure. The project brought artists and archaeologists together to see what could be achieved in unison, while still maintaining some degree of research independence. In undertaking this survey, three related themes emerged: the role of art as heritage practice, new thinking on what constitutes landscape, and the notion of a 'technological sublime'. Following an earlier publication, we now reflect again on those themes. In doing so, we offer this collaboration between art and archaeology (traditionally considered two distinct ways of seeing and recording) as an innovative methodology for documentation, not least after the closure and abandonment of such military and industrial landscapes, where occupational communities had once lived. In this article, the words represent our ideas; the images and films are an example of the result. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T16:51:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c4640109d6b405bb19de77d85439f57 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1363-5387 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T16:51:41Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | University of York |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Internet Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c4640109d6b405bb19de77d85439f572024-03-03T04:40:17ZengUniversity of YorkInternet Archaeology1363-53872021-10-015610.11141/ia.56.16'The Technological Sublime': Combining Art and Archaeology in Documenting Change at the Former RAF Coltishall (Norfolk, UK)Gair Dunlop0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1409-1228https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1409-12281https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6903-7395University of Dundee / http://www.atomtown.org.uk/University of YorkSince at least the 1990s, archaeologists and artists have been documenting military installations following the withdrawal of service personnel. They have usually embarked on these recording opportunities separately, experiencing these sites as derelict, lifeless places, with stripped buildings devoid of much of their meaning after their occupants have left. Archaeologists have typically created maps and made photographs. Artists have also taken photographs, but in addition made films and created soundworks. Wherever the medium and the motivation, the assumption is usually made that only those closely familiar with the rhythms and rituals of service life can begin to understand the emptiness of what remains. And being secretive military installations, creating a record during their occupation is never an option. Uniquely, in the months leading to the closure of RAF Coltishall (Norfolk) in 2006, the RAF granted the authors unprecedented access to record the base's drawdown and closure. The project brought artists and archaeologists together to see what could be achieved in unison, while still maintaining some degree of research independence. In undertaking this survey, three related themes emerged: the role of art as heritage practice, new thinking on what constitutes landscape, and the notion of a 'technological sublime'. Following an earlier publication, we now reflect again on those themes. In doing so, we offer this collaboration between art and archaeology (traditionally considered two distinct ways of seeing and recording) as an innovative methodology for documentation, not least after the closure and abandonment of such military and industrial landscapes, where occupational communities had once lived. In this article, the words represent our ideas; the images and films are an example of the result.https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue56/16/archaeologyartheritage practicelandscapechangedocumentationmilitary installationphotographfilmraf coltishallnorfolk |
| spellingShingle | Gair Dunlop https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1409-1228 'The Technological Sublime': Combining Art and Archaeology in Documenting Change at the Former RAF Coltishall (Norfolk, UK) Internet Archaeology archaeology art heritage practice landscape change documentation military installation photograph film raf coltishall norfolk |
| title | 'The Technological Sublime': Combining Art and Archaeology in Documenting Change at the Former RAF Coltishall (Norfolk, UK) |
| title_full | 'The Technological Sublime': Combining Art and Archaeology in Documenting Change at the Former RAF Coltishall (Norfolk, UK) |
| title_fullStr | 'The Technological Sublime': Combining Art and Archaeology in Documenting Change at the Former RAF Coltishall (Norfolk, UK) |
| title_full_unstemmed | 'The Technological Sublime': Combining Art and Archaeology in Documenting Change at the Former RAF Coltishall (Norfolk, UK) |
| title_short | 'The Technological Sublime': Combining Art and Archaeology in Documenting Change at the Former RAF Coltishall (Norfolk, UK) |
| title_sort | the technological sublime combining art and archaeology in documenting change at the former raf coltishall norfolk uk |
| topic | archaeology art heritage practice landscape change documentation military installation photograph film raf coltishall norfolk |
| url | https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue56/16/ |
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