Interpretation Of Cultural Heritage Research Articles

ETHNOMOTIVES OF LEVKASES BY OLEH DENYSENKO AS A MANIFESTATION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY

The article examines the body of works of the artist O. Denysenko in the levkas technique, the plot component of which is stylistically formed images with embedded ethnic motifs. The main features of the manifestation of self-identification in creative variations and artistic experiments of the artist are considered. The national identity, traditions of history and culture of the people are reflected thanks to the ornamental and symbolic system, which acts as a tool of image creation. Attention is paid to the search for new images, methods and pictorial techniques in levkas with the aim of emphasizing the individual manner of the artist. Particular attention is paid to stylization, the uniqueness of figurative and symbolic language and an individual approach to the interpretation of cultural heritage. The main influencing factors on the formation of general and personal national identification, where language, customs, rites, traditions, archetypes and art are manifestations of national identity, are identified. The transition from ethnoculture to the accumulation of material and spiritual values, which arose with the appearance of writing, is determined by special features of culture. These signs indicate a transition from general to personal identification. The article aims to investigate the main plot motifs related to national self-identification, which are present in O. Denysenko's creative work. In this context, the ornamental ethnic motifs and symbolism of the artistic language used by the artist in his works are analyzed. The relevance of preserving cultural heritage and positioning national identity is demonstrated by the language of art. Further research can be aimed at identifying the features of the symbolic language used by the artist, the search for new pictorial ways of self-expression, including the analysis of the use of metaphors, a peculiar color, compositional techniques and other elements that contribute to the creation of a characteristic individual style and a complex of means of expression in the artist's work.

디지털 인문학으로 분석한 문화재 안내판의 분포와 어휘

The Cultural Heritage Interpretation Boards are public facilities erected on site to explain the designation, historical background, and preservation value of the cultural heritages. The Cultural Heritage Administration has been revising the inscriptions for the improvement project since 2019. With the previous literature largely grounded upon linguistics, this article analyzes the distribution and vocabulary of the Boards reinstalled from 2019 to May 2023. To do so, I employ the methodology of GIS and corpus linguistics in the name of digital humanities. The first half of the analysis performs inductive analyses examining a total of 2,705 Boards revised. Gyeongju-si houses the greatest number of them, while Paldal-gu in Suwon-si has the highest density. The top-frequency words — involving designation, periodization, and appearance — vary across the four regions and affirm the corpora’s uniqueness as Boards. In the second half devoted to deductive analyses, I visualize the locations where specific terms are mentioned. The search words are found in unexpected places unless irrelative usages are filtered out. Although this paper examined only the latest revisions due to the limited accessibility to the previous information, I hope to identify the complete patterns of the Boards in follow-up projects by incorporating the pre-revision data.

Virtual reality supports perspective taking in cultural heritage interpretation

Our research proves that virtual reality (VR) technology can be used to encourage users to adopt an alternative point of view through a virtual embodiment. Our results extend previous studies showing that emotional responses are evoked in virtual environments (Meuleman and Rudrauf, 2018) and arouse the sense of empathy (Ventura et al., 2020).To this end, we built a virtual museum, where different avatars can interact with experimental subjects to discuss emotional and value-driven interpretations related to artworks, aiming at bootstrapping user's interpretation-reflection loops (IRL) (Daga et al., 2022). IRL consists in encouraging the user to (a) provide a point of view, (b) to know about another point of view, and (c) to possibly take a different perspective.In line with recent literature, our results are based on the analysis of dialogue, and on the psychophysiological response of the users, showing that a VR-driven methodology can both develop a sense of embodiment, and maximize the human capacity to take another's point of view. Results also confirm that the use of immersive VR can be a valid tool to promote empathy through an embodied experience.

Challenges of cultural heritage adaptive reuse: A stakeholders-based comparative study in three European cities

The adaptive reuse of cultural heritage can contribute to sustainable development and circular economy, preventing waste production and resource depletion by extending the heritage lifespan. This reuse is limited by challenges mostly identified at the case study level. However, further theorising these challenges could enrich the related body of knowledge and contribute to their mitigation. By defining a theoretical framework, this research builds on the cross-sectional analysis of adaptive reuse undertaken in three European cities: Amsterdam, Rijeka, and Salerno. The challenges were identified by representatives of the public, private, knowledge, and non-profit sectors through stakeholder engagement workshops. Examples of challenges common to the three cities are shortcomings in existing approaches; lack of awareness and capacity; cultural heritage interpretation and management; data management; costs; conflicting interests; lack of knowledge; lack of participatory processes; and compliance with regulations and policies. Being identified in diverse European cities, these challenges can be representative within the European region. Arguably, some of these challenges also apply to other regions since they were reported in case studies from Asia, North America, and Oceania. Addressing these challenges could contribute to sustainable development by potentially contributing towards efforts to achieve ten of the Sustainable Development Goals, as some challenges align with some of these goals.

Promoting students’ multiliteracy, multimodal, and global citizenship skills in the second language classroom through designing a digital city tour on izi.TRAVEL

There is now wide recognition that for language students to be able to communicate in today’s globalised world, they need to be engaged in a variety of multiliteracy and multimodal practices that transform them in creators of meaning. Digital storytelling is one of such practices. It combines the power of narration with that of technology and allows students to expand their language and digital literacy skills while also helping them develop their own voices. In our study, two groups of elementary and intermediate university students of Italian as a second language were involved in a two-part project aimed at the composition of a digital story on the city of Venice. In the first part, students participated in both classroom and museum activities, which encouraged them to practice their skills in Italian as well as to learn about the Venetian cultural heritage. In the second part, students were guided to craft their own digital tours of the city of Venice using the izi.TRAVEL platform. The multimodal analysis of the two tours shows that creating digital stories based on students’ understanding and interpretation of cultural heritage promoted both their narration and mediation skills in the second language and their role as global citizens.

Was tun, wie umgehen mit dem ›Dissonanten Kulturerbe‹?

Abstract The notion of dissonance expands on Norbert Huse’s concept of Uncomfortable Monuments to include the identification of conflicting heritage communities emerging from divergent practices of use and memory and differing political, cultural and social affiliations. This notion can be ascribed to any cultural heritage and invokes multi-perspective approaches to research, participation and mediation strategies. In border areas and sites of conflict, the dissonance model can become a laboratory for diverse site- and situation-specific perspectives on and inclusive processes of negotiation of existing cultures of memory and commemoration. Fostering the individuals’ right to participate in the process of definition, research into, and interpretation of cultural heritage, the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (2005) provides instructions on the study of dissonant cultural heritage and explicitly recommends the democratic participation of different perspectives in the shared co-production of heritage.

Study on the Service Design of Ouyue Cultural Tourism based on the Concept of Heritage Interpretation

Heritage interpretation is an important element in enhancing Ouyue cultural tourism services. Based on the perspective of heritage interpretation, this study explores the design ideas and models of Ouyue cultural tourism services, and ultimately realizes design support for its tourism service development. After exploring the tangible nature of cultural heritage and the intangible nature of experience in tourism services, and combining with relevant research on heritage interpretation and service design, this study review the process of heritage interpretation experience design in existing Ouyue cultural tourism services. Finally, design model of tourism services is constructed based on the perspective of heritage interpretation. The effectiveness of the design model was verified. The design practice has been practically verified using the example of the miner's village in Fude Bay, Wenzhou. According to the three stages of research and analysis, design planning, as well as verification and evaluation, this study analyzes and reconstructs the interpretation connotation, medium and content in the model, as well as continuously improves the manifestation of Ouyue cultural heritage, which help to not only better present the historical information and humanistic connotation of Ouyue culture but also realize the orderly development of Ouyue cultural heritage interpretation. Therefore, this study concludes design points of the heritage interpretation experience with service as the core.

The Sacra Infermeria—a focus group evaluation of an augmented reality cultural heritage experience

ABSTRACT The digital representation of our past has long been an important tool in the interpretation of cultural heritage in museums. The recent rise in the use of Augmented Reality (AR) has seen various approaches to adding dynamic information to existent artefacts. The challenge is even greater when uncertainty further complexifies the represented history. This paper presents a critical analysis of an AR installation in the Sacra Infermeria museum in Valletta, Malta. After a description of the AR configuration of the installation, we present a thematic analysis carried out from a multidisciplinary focus group of 11 researchers in the field of Interactive Digital Narratives (IDN), from three perspectives: the technological implementation of the AR experience, the historical accuracy, gamification and the influence of social media-centred design, and the representation of the complexity arising from the uncertainty of history. In the light of the results of the multidisciplinary focus group, we provide a list of recommendations and heuristics at the end of the article.

New Frontiers of Applied Digital Humanities in the Italian Cultural Heritage Sector: The Case of the Domus Aurea

ABSTRACT The advent of digital technologies in the cultural heritage sector has revolutionized our critical engagement with the visual arts. The possibility of virtually reconstructing highly fragmented contexts has contributed to a deeper historical awareness of heritage, and has raised the level of demand for cultural education. This article considers and critically engages with two case studies, exploring the diverse methodological aspects employed in the creation of digital reconstructions, and ultimately reflecting on the philological use of primary sources. The two case studies are the Domus Aurea Experience (2017) and Raffaello e la Domus Aurea: L’invenzione delle grottesche (2021). They both aim at offering an experiential interpretation of cultural heritage via digital technologies and storytelling, highlighting the need for shared norms in the processes of digital reconstructions and restoration of fragmented or deteriorated artefacts or structures. Their analysis fosters a deeper understanding of technology as an enhancer of scientific content.

Museum and School Interpretation of Cultural Heritage

The museum and the school are two complementary institutions within the system of cultural heritage care. The Knight’s Hall in Brežice Castle is used here as an example for qualitative research on cultural heritage interpretation. The research focused on scientific art-historical information as the basis for cultural messaging. The analysis of the museum interpretation included a printed Knight’s Hall guidebook, as well as hall-related information boards and digital information, while the analysis of the school interpretation included an art history exam catalogue and an art history textbook. The research revealed a minor difference in the interpretation of the Baroque wall paintings, specifically with regard to the ceiling of the hall. At the museum, the ceiling is interpreted as a part of the wall painting, not, however, as its highlight.

Editors’ Introduction

Editors’ Introduction

Spatial aspects of the interpretation of cultural heritage

Creating an exhibition is a multidisciplinary task which, besides the work of the authors of the scenario, copywriters and experts in the given topic, involves also the work of architects and landscape architects. Although the paper reflects on various completed exhibitions, the scenario and form of an exhibition cannot be separated. The paper focuses on spatial aspects of outdoor exhibitions from the perspective of an architect and landscape architect and documents them via various completed exhibitions. In terms of architecture they can be classified upon the aspects of form and content, wherein form covers the spatial, i.e. architectural, design of the exhibition and means, and content covers the quantity, complexity, style and chronology of the information communicated. The motivation for the paper is the need to identify the factors influencing the educational quality of exhibitions that the professionals designing the space and form of exhibitions may use in their practice. This covers predominantly those factors that relate to the designing of spaces where exhibitions take place based on the given scenarios, to which the viewers react rather subconsciously.The method used for the research is a spatial and content analysis of three exhibitions presenting cultural and natural heritage, specifically Hardangervidda National Park in Norway, Kongernes Jelling visitor centre in Denmark, and the National Museum of Rural Life at Wester Kittochside – Scottish National Museum in Great Britain. Factors considered include: the connection to the site – landscape context; authenticity; spatial scenario; and so-called warm-up and cool-down spaces that create atmosphere. A scenario, as in a film, connects the environment and content in a defined chronology. By this research we want to follow up on the trend in museums and exhibitions to present information through powerful narrative storytelling.

A sociosemiotic interpretation of cultural heritage in UNESCO legal instruments: a corpus-based study

Abstract The past few decades have seen a plethora of interest in heritage studies in international law, as the legitimization of cultural heritage is a significant aspect of protecting the legacy of humanity’s collective memory, which is fully reflected in a series of international instruments on culture. This paper examines the meaning-making process of UNESCO legal documents on cultural heritage from a sociosemiotic perspective. The data for the corpus-based study were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by applying the securitization theory to heritage studies. Research findings reveal three significant shifts in cultural heritage, i.e., from property to heritage, from tangible to intangible, and from material-centered to human-centered, which embodies the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature, a philosophical idea embedded in traditional Chinese culture. As noted, terms targeting cultural heritage in UNESCO international instruments are the sign vehicle, generally mediated and shaped by social values, cultural beliefs, and conventional wisdom, etc. as a part of the interpretant, making different categories of heritage meaningful and interpretable. Characterized by temporality and spatiality, cultural heritage is subject to multiple interpretations. The meaning-making of international instruments for consideration is a sociosemiotic operation that can be construed through contextual factors and a process of social negotiation. This paper argues that a sociosemiotic approach to heritage studies is conducive to explicating the construction and deconstruction of heritage as discursive practices while offering some implications for future research.

ONTOLOGY AND PRESENTATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE: A CASE STUDY OF QIONG-LIN SETTLEMENT IN KINMEN

Abstract. The management and interpretation of cultural heritage is an important international conservation issue. The construction of long-term sustainable international exchange information will help to present and promote the interpretation of intention for the cultural heritage. The Arches system platform of this study presents the concept of the life cycle of cultural heritage, and establishes the thesauri and metadata in the management and maintenance stage of Taiwan's monuments, which can mapping to the entity of relevant ontology, covering the contents required by previous visits and related needs interviews, while the detailed description part is still filled with the entity of description; the presentation platform is no longer limited to the vertical or horizontal query of the existing national database and can integrate categories, keywords, maps and other ways to present related knowledge, and expand to the system according to a physical thing, actor, activity and other entities, so as to enhance the functionality of user search. We should make long-term planning to establish complete metadata and ontology model of the tangible and intangible life cycle, provide the development direction of the national cultural heritage database and provide the basic work of international data exchange in the future.

A STUDY ON THE SPATIAL INTERPRETATION STRATEGY OF CHANG'AN CITY SITE OF TANG DYNASTY: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CULTURAL ROUTES INTERPRETATION

Abstract. Chang'an is the starting point of "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor", which was listed as World Heritage in 2014. Based on the practice and exploration of presentation of the Chang'an City Site of Tang Dynasty in Xi'an, this paper presents a discussion of how to combine the interpretation of cultural routes with the interpretation and presentation of the urban traces under a modern city. Under the pressure of urban development and renewal, it explores the interpretation strategies based on cultural routes, trying to solve the contradictions between the needs of potential heritage conservation and urban development. Moreover, the paper explores contradictions between meanings and values arising among approaches to heritage sites in relation to the urban role as a starting point of the Silk Road. Focusing on the need to actively integrate potential underground ruins into the development plan of the city, the paper extends the notion of "setting" to include the historic urban context and their structuring components. Integrating archaeological and literature materials and based on the heritage value of Chang'an City of Tang Dynasty in the cultural route, the paper attempts to sort out the relationship of inheritance and continuity between the underground city and the modern city patterns. It is argued that such kind of sorting is a key task for spatial interpretation. Furthermore, the spatial interpretation-based strategy for potential sites is recommended as the tool to explore the guiding principles of urban cultural heritage interpretation and land use co-development.

The Influence of Interpretation through Guiding Tour, Quality of Reception and Relics’ Worship on the Satisfaction of Pilgrims Attending the Iasi Feast

Recently, in line with the increased attention paid to cultural tourism in general and to religious tourism in particular, researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in the analysis of various aspects related to cultural heritage in order to capitalize on its value by means of its interpretation, thus providing beneficial effects both for tourists and for tourism’s sustainable development. The aim of this research is to analyze the extent to which the methods of interpretation of the religious cultural heritage: guiding tours, quality reception, and relic worship influence the satisfaction of tourists participating in the “Saint Parascheva” pilgrimage, held annually by the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iasi. The data were collected by means of a survey (N = 932) and the information was processed by using the SPSS version 25 program. Our results indicate the significant influence that the potential to worship relics has on pilgrims’ satisfaction compared to other interpretation methods, such as the relationship with the Cathedral’s staff or the possibility of participating in guided tours. Pilgrims’ satisfaction is also perceived differently depending on certain aspects of their socio-demographic profile, i.e., their age and the perceived faith level. This study is relevant for researchers, managers, and students interested in the field of cultural heritage interpretation in genera, and in the field of religious heritage in particular, and could significantly contribute to improving pilgrims’ satisfaction as well as cultural heritage preservation.

Transformation of the concept of Identity in the context of interpretation of cultural heritage

The concept of identity in the the era of fundamental rearrangement of the cultural and national map of Europe in the XIX – XX centuries. The threat of losing the identity of entire states, separate regions, and local communities, actualizes the value of cultural specificity and view of identity as a special concept. Regional identity associated with the cultural and natural heritage of a particular region remains most common. Identity alongside cultural heritage overall, is singled out as a special category only in case of its loss. The formation of the concept was related to the process of fundamental rearrangement of the cultural and national map of Europe in during the large-scale socioeconomic processes of the XIX – XX centuries. A sense of losing cultural bonds of the people, region, or local community aroused scientific realization of the value of identity. Determination and translation of regional identity is one of the pivotal stages in socioeconomic development of the regions and formation of attractive image of the territory. Moreover, the professional, age, gender and other types of identity can be distinguished in accordance with unifying characteristics. In light of the aforementioned facts, the author proposes to view the principle of identity as a peculiarity of interpretation of the cultural heritage.

Cultural Heritage Interpretation: Proposals for Medieval Churches in Famagusta Walled City, North Cyprus

ABSTRACT Interpretation has recently become a more focused topic in the cultural heritage conservation field, due to the increasing concern about the involvement of the stakeholders and the social pillar of sustainability. As the enhancement of participation of the stakeholders in the conservation processes can be achieved by increasing their awareness and appreciation of cultural heritage sites, interpretation has a considerable role in this process. This research aims to search for methods for developing interpretation approaches for cultural heritage sites through the assessment of the responses of the stakeholders. Therefore, the Medieval churches of Famagusta Walled City have been chosen as the case study for this research. Assessment of the responses of the stakeholders is accepted as a tool for developing a better interpretation of the cultural heritage buildings, preventing them from further neglect or possible extinction. This research proposes the advancement of interpretive approaches for similar undervalued and underappreciated sites.

Food Museums as Cultural Institutions and Tourist Attractions: Evidence from Italy

In recent years, food museums have turned into popular attractions for tourists. Scholars and practitioners have emphasized their role as agents of preservation, education, and cultural heritage interpretation, but devoted little attention to tourism-related issues. To fill the gap, this article investigates Italian food museums in order to assess their characteristics, tasks, audience, and modes of engagement. Findings suggest that community engagement is an important task along with safeguarding and promoting food heritage. Creating or improving external relationships is crucial for public museums to get recognized for their role and value. For museums operated by private companies, engaging with local stakeholders and residents serves not just a branding purpose, but also in awakening their interest in past and present issues concerning the product (nutrition, safety, taste, cultural, and social values). The majority of Italian food museums mainly appeal to domestic travelers, which indicates the potential to reach a larger, international audience. Visibility and language issues remain crucial to reach international tourists but reframing the museum experience is also essential to meet new visitors' needs. Exploiting traditional exhibitions of food-related objects with multimedia technology and practical activities such as classes, workshops, and cooking shows can help in engaging the audiences.

Интерпретация материального культурного наследия в контексте музея

Interpretation of cultural values and cultural heritage is one of the most common types of their development and creative understanding. However, the concept of ‘interpretation’ remains blurred among related processes, usually without getting much mention. In the field of cultural heritage preservation, interpretation is the main method of human development of cultural heritage objects. The process and results of interpretation, as shown by the long history of preservation of cultural heritage, also affect the preservation of cultural heritage. The proposed material is devoted to the consideration of a museum as an example of one of the most consistent built spaces and tools for the interpretation of cultural heritage. The subject of the research is the methods of museum work considered in the context of mechanisms of interpretation of material cultural heritage. Museum as an instrument of interpretation has been known since ancient times. Human interest in ancient artifacts that act as visible symbols of historical and cultural memory of the past, eventually led to the development of collecting, and then, with the publication of collections, to the emergence of museums. Museum and its activities occupy a special place in the methodology of interpretation. The museum space can set its own special rhythm of historical time and create conditions for comfortable perception of the presented artifacts. No other cultural institution has such a task, and if it is necessary to present an artifact, interested persons in one way or another turn to the method tested on museum sites. As a result of the research, the author identified five stages of museum activities, which are generally typical for the mechanism of interpretation of cultural heritage. Therefore, the main goal of museum activities should be recognized as an interpretation of cultural heritage. In accordance with this goal, the museum's tasks are also implemented, including the preservation, publication and promotion of the collection's artifacts. Thus, the role and place of the museum as a specific space created for the purpose of interpreting cultural heritage is proved. These provisions allow us to look at the theory and practice of museum activities in a different way, in the context of interpreting cultural identity.