ABSTRACT

Throughout North America, contentious debates and protests are occurring over the existence of historic monuments that represent racial hatred. As post-colonial countries, the United States and Canada, are only now grappling with managing historic statues, buildings, and landscapes associated with African American racism and cultural genocide among aboriginal people. The “negative heritage” embedded in these monuments was created by acts of tradition. In this context, tradition is a series of acts and rituals intended to embed cultural values on a place or an object. As North Americans acknowledge the injustice that was done to African Americans and aboriginal people, an iconoclastic movement is underway, resulting in the removal of monuments and buildings. This paper proposes that the role of tradition and iconography should be re-examined in conserving and managing North American built patrimony. Tradition, by its nature, is an intangible heritage and new traditions can transform people’s perceptions of historic monuments. Using the “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” installation at the Tower of London as a case study, this article will explore how using tradition can redefine a historic monument within the context of contemporary time and place.

摘要

在整个北美，有关代表种族仇恨的历史古迹的存在正在进行有争议的辩论和抗议。作为后殖民国家，美国和加拿大现在只是在努力管理与原住民之间的非裔美国人种族主义和文化种族灭绝相关的历史雕像，建筑物和景观。这些纪念碑中的“负遗产”是由传统行为创造的。在这种情况下，传统是一系列旨在将文化价值嵌入到某个地方或物体上的行为和仪式。由于北美人承认对非裔美国人和原住民造成的不公正待遇，正在进行的反传统运动，导致古迹和建筑物被拆除。本文提出，在保护和管理北美建筑遗产方面，应该重新研究传统和肖像的作用。从本质上讲，传统是非物质遗产，新传统可以改变人们对历史古迹的看法。本文以伦敦塔上的“鲜血大地和红色海洋”装置为案例研究，本文将探讨如何利用传统在当代时间和地点的背景下重新定义历史古迹。