Heritage Landscapes vol.23

A site that collects photographic evidence from the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, documenting nearly a century of history in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is called Cyberphotos.

15 photographic funds. 121,088 photographs of people, events, happenings. All divided by theme: portraits, landscapes, transportation, architecture, sports.

The site brings together photographic funds (including the oldest in the collection of the Musée du Bas-Saint-Laurent) from local collectors and donors, precisely for the purpose of being disseminated. The goal is to make this great ethnological heritage available, allowing people to literally peek, study and observe the past of an entire community. We move among photographs of families, people posing, children and nuns smiling, empty school desks frozen in time, little girls dressed as brides, or a photo of M. Alphonse Dubé stopped in 1915.

The photographs move and are presented to us aesthetically and fluidly, without wanting to look for them, with the names appearing in muted color, as if to tell a story.

Quincy Jones, one of the greatest musical minds of the last century, recently passed away. For those who subscribed, the New York Times devoted a long article to him amid archival photographs, images such as one featuring him in the company of Lionel Richie, Daryl Hall, Mr. Jones, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder as they recorded “We Are The World” in 1985. We travel back in time to the beginning of his career, when he was still a jazz trumpeter, to the production of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. For non-subscribers, however, Rolling Stone traces Jones' career through videos of the pieces he worked with, from Ray Charles to Michael Jackson. It's a way to immerse yourself in masterpieces and discover one of the songwriters who changed music history and, in some way, everyone's life.

A virtual reality to touch Italian prediction games such as Totocalcio and Totip. On Wednesday, Nov. 13, the Sisal Immersive Museum was previewed, which through XR visors allows visitors to explore the history of the brand and its impact on Italian customs. The experience is available in two modes: one with the accompaniment of a Human Performer, actor and guide; another in individual mode, accompanied by a narrative voice. On the same day, the talk “The Role of Digital Technology in Cultural Enhancement” took place from 10 to 11 a.m., where the relationship between digital and the world of culture was discussed.

A postcard with a stamp on the diagonal. This is where National Geographic's brilliant video begins, which tells the story on Instagram, through archival material and old photographs, of messages encrypted with stamps. A way of doing things that originated in Victorian times to keep love affairs hidden from family or curious letter carriers. Because yes, one inverted stamp can mean “I think of you all the time” and another can mean “I don't love you at all.” A very short, brilliant, curious video.

Credits: Musée du Bas-Saint-Laurent; Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Associated Press; Sisal; National Geographic

A few months ago Linkiesta told us that it was preparing a Nostalgia-themed issue of ETC for October 2024, and asked if we could write a piece where we talked about our work. And indeed, what could be more nostalgic than archives? Our goal, however, was to tell about archives as something that goes far beyond nostalgia. Creatures that connect the past and the future, dynamic, full of ideas, movement, colors and stories.

We recounted this through some of the archives we collaborate with: the Laguna~B Archive, the Michele De Lucchi & AMDL CIRCLE Archive, the Fondazione Fiera Milano Historical Archive, the Flavia Madaschi Cassero LGBTQIA+ Center Documentation Center Archive, and the Centro Studi Fondazione del Teatro Stabile di Torino Archive. The piece was authored by Andrea Montorio, CEO of Promemoria Group, and is titled The Meaning of an Archive.
It has been quite a journey to tell the story of how we see the world, the past, nostalgia and archives. We are sure that you, too, will enjoy reading it.