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Walls without museums: anonymous history, collective authorship and the document
This article sets out to establish some of the genealogical and conceptual terms for recognizing the importance of the document within various strands of British visual culture. I argue that a practice of 'anonymous history' - a term taken from Siegfried Giedion but understood as having a more extensive provenance - can be seen as a crucial ingredient in the very different work of those involved in the exhibition 'Parallel of Art and Life' (Nigel Henderson, Eduardo Paolozzi, Alison and Peter Smithson) and Mass-Observation. 'Anonymous history' is a practice of collecting and perceiving the world that starts out from the 'disdained everyday field' and assumes no inherent hierarchy to the object world. The particular relationship that photography has to this practice is explored through the responses to the 'Parallel of Art and Life' exhibition. Alongside 'anonymous history', I suggest that those involved in documenting practices necessarily had to negotiate a particular author function that might inoculate the work against being perceived as an 'artwork'. While the practices of documenting might have radically democratic intentions, I also maintain that there are a number of critical problems involved in such practices.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Visual Culture in BritainISSN
1471-4787Publisher
Manchester University PressIssue
2Volume
8Page range
1-20Pages
21.0Department affiliated with
- Media and Film Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-02-06Usage metrics
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