Abstract
Picturing the Past ? Three Photographical Projects, 1895?1927
This article analyses the use of photography in Danish folkloristic documentation of immaterial culture. In particular, it focuses on the work of Axel Olrik (1864-1917), the first president of the Danish Folklore Archives and a representative of the early folkloristic movement, and his engagement in three different photographical projects during the years 1895?1927. Through a study of the actual pictures as well as readings of Olrik?s personal letters, applications for funding, and academic writings, two main arguments for the use of photography are identified: one line of argumentation pertains to the potential of photography as a conservatory technology; another series of reasons promotes photographs as a particularly well-suited medium for conveying the past in a holistic way. Furthermore, the article shows how these arguments hinge on a coalescence of time and space, comparable to that of concurrent ethnographic photography.
This article analyses the use of photography in Danish folkloristic documentation of immaterial culture. In particular, it focuses on the work of Axel Olrik (1864-1917), the first president of the Danish Folklore Archives and a representative of the early folkloristic movement, and his engagement in three different photographical projects during the years 1895?1927. Through a study of the actual pictures as well as readings of Olrik?s personal letters, applications for funding, and academic writings, two main arguments for the use of photography are identified: one line of argumentation pertains to the potential of photography as a conservatory technology; another series of reasons promotes photographs as a particularly well-suited medium for conveying the past in a holistic way. Furthermore, the article shows how these arguments hinge on a coalescence of time and space, comparable to that of concurrent ethnographic photography.
| Original language | Danish |
|---|---|
| Journal | Tidsskrift for Kulturforskning |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 5-22 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| ISSN | 1502-7473 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |