We are pleased to present our TAG 2016 session. Co-hosted by Grant Cox (ArtasMedia) and archaeology PhD student Kate Rodgers from the University of Southampton, the discussions will center on the importance of the creation process as a medium for understanding heritage and by being recognised, its role in attributing transparency, responsibility and knowledge to its creators. The conference is based in Southampton, UK and takes place between the 19-21st December. Please find the abstract below:
Archaeology borrows and adapts visualisation mediums and techniques from a range of artistic and creative practices including drawing, photography, film, gaming, digital animation and virtual reality. But do we take these visualisation practices as seriously as we do our scientific ones – or do we merely skim the surface of them, depriving ourselves of a deeper and more critical understanding of how the past is interpreted and understood? A key element of any art form, but arguably often side-lined in archaeology, is the visual author’s presence and ‘voice’. Following auteur theory, this house argues that the author’s voice in visual representations of archaeology deserves equal regard to that of the author’s voice in written archaeological works. Such a shift in values would necessitate archaeologists becoming more visually and technically literate in visual art-forms and industries in order to not only appreciate but meaningfully be able to critique and translate archaeological visualisations on a deeper level. Not only would this enhance the rights to the creators of archaeological visualisations (such as recognition, ownership and copyright), but it would also demand greater responsibility, transparency and accountability for the archaeological visualisations created.
This session invites practitioners of visual archaeologies and those who research visual representations of archaeology to critique and debate the above argument, interrogating the value and role of the author’s voice in visualising archaeology. We seek to include a range of visual forms and mediums, inclusive of but not limited to drawing, photography, video, film, gaming, digital animation, AR, VR and mixed-mediums. Archaeologists, artists, heritage professional, industry practitioners and those who straddle multiple roles are warmly welcome to submit. This session partners with TAG 2016’s art/digital/film exhibition ‘Sightations’, running on site throughout the TAG conference, and session speakers are warmly encouraged to display an example of their work in the exhibit. For more information on the exhibit please see ‘Sightations’ call for contributors.
If you’d like to be part of our session please send you name(s), affiliations, title of paper, and abstract of 250 words, to grant@artasmedia.com or ker1g14@soton.ac.uk. We’re accepting submissions until November 15th. If you have any question please don’t hesitate to get in touch, and please share this page with anyone you think might be interested!
