Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Chapter
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Chapter
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Let it all fall down
T2 - Delighting in anti-heroes, alternative heritage and ruination
AU - Patterson, Anthony
PY - 2018/11/15
Y1 - 2018/11/15
N2 - Against a backdrop where protectors of cultural heritage are naturally motivated by the watchwords of preservation and conservation, it is hardly surprising that the cheerfully cultivated squalor of alternative heritage remains so little examined. Via a literary-inspired method, this chapter makes the case for the inherent goodness of ruination. I begin by briefly contemplating the peculiar, even perverse, appeal of decaying and neglected places. I also suggest that there is a greater audience for the reification of such desires than is presently acknowledged. I contend that such consumers have three qualities in common: an interest in retroscendence, impoverished enrichment and catharsis. I conclude with a plea that heritage defenders, instead of rushing to impose preservation orders, to dip all in amber, should on occasion simply allow the patina of decrepitation and brokenness to do its worst, or best, as the case may be.
AB - Against a backdrop where protectors of cultural heritage are naturally motivated by the watchwords of preservation and conservation, it is hardly surprising that the cheerfully cultivated squalor of alternative heritage remains so little examined. Via a literary-inspired method, this chapter makes the case for the inherent goodness of ruination. I begin by briefly contemplating the peculiar, even perverse, appeal of decaying and neglected places. I also suggest that there is a greater audience for the reification of such desires than is presently acknowledged. I contend that such consumers have three qualities in common: an interest in retroscendence, impoverished enrichment and catharsis. I conclude with a plea that heritage defenders, instead of rushing to impose preservation orders, to dip all in amber, should on occasion simply allow the patina of decrepitation and brokenness to do its worst, or best, as the case may be.
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9781138092822
BT - Cultural Heritage
A2 - Campelo, Adriana
A2 - Reynolds, Laura
A2 - Lindgreen, Adam
A2 - Beverland, Michael
PB - Routledge
ER -