Musician Alan Chadwick of the Chicago Music Exchange plays a history of rock and roll in twelve minutes using one hundred guitar riffs. Rock and roll is broad category of different music styles, so here’s an example of how to explain the diversity quickly to an audience. If it’s possible to interpret a complex history with an intangible collection, can it be adapted for physical sites that cover many centuries and families?
Archives
Video: African American Cemeteries of New Jersey
For today’s break, a beautifully produced yet simple 3:44 video by Adam Worth about the historic African American cemeteries in New Jersey, many of which are abandoned and slowly disappearing into nature. It discusses their historical significance as well as current preservation challenges.
Video: The Royal Castle
In honor of Historic Preservation month, the videos in May will feature related topics, starting with “The Royal Castle: From Destruction to Reconstruction” by Novina Studio. This 2:28 animation traces the destruction of this historical monument by the Nazis in World War II to its reconstruction in 1974. Simple and dramatic, it provides a quick history of the site.
Video: the Mast Brothers
Take a break today and be inspired by this video on the Mast Brothers, a small chocolate maker in Brooklyn. It’s a combination of craft, history, and biography in a well produced short film by The Scout. For historic sites that interpret processes past or present, such as food production, building construction, archaeology, or historical research, this might be an engaging approach.
Video: Welcome to Fontevraud
This Friday’s break features Welcome to Fontevraud, a 2:25 video interpreting an arts and cultural center housed in a medieval abbey in western France. How would artists interpret your site?
Video: Starry Night
For today’s Friday break, a video by Petros Vrellis that demonstrates an interactive iPad application of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”. Is this a glimpse of a future where visitors can explore collections in new ways?
Video: Shaping History, Shaping Tomorrow
For your Friday break, Shaping History, Shaping Tomorrow is a video commissioned by Kieo University that explores the contrasts in Tokyo between new and traditional, historic and modern, young and old. How would these topics be presented at your site or community?
Video: U. S. Army Women’s Museum
An introduction to the U. S. Army Women’s Museum in Virginia. It’s celebratory and vague (you can easily swap the word “women” with “African Americans,” “Virginians,” or even “Latvians,” and not change the patriotic message very much) but who knew such a place existed.
Video: Denver History Minute
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This Denver History Minute produced by Denver 8 TV and Havey Production follows the political history of women in Colorado during the 20th century. It covers a lot of information in a short period (actually 1:30).
Video: Interpreting a woman suffrage photo
The Local History Specialist of the Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado interprets a 1915 photo of women seated in an open car advocating for the woman’s right to vote. The content is a bit overwhelming for me (its needs some themes and fewer discrete facts) but it provides an example of interpreting collections through video. It’s part of the “Framing Community, Exposing Identity” series to interpret “iconic images capturing life at the foot of Pikes Peak.”
Engaging Places 