Idea: Tourism

"In the middle ages people were tourists because of their religion, whereas now they are tourists because tourism is their religion." ~Robert Runcie

"Tourism, human circulation considered as consumption is fundamentally nothing more than the leisure of going to see what has become banal." ~Guy Debord

Text:
R., Charles, and J. R. Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2008. Print.

I have kind of a love/hate relationship with tourism. If it weren't for it being a massive thriving business most of the places that I've visited wouldn't exist or wouldn't be as accessible and visitor friendly. However, I feel that in a lot of ways the Runcie quote sums up the effects of the industry on people. In a lot of cases I feel like the commercialism of it leads people to visit historical sites simply so they can say they've been there. The individual experiences aren't as important as the collecting of places.

Idea: Landscape

"Ever since the 1860s when photographers travelled the American West and brought photographs of scenic wonders back to the people on the East Coast of America we have had a North American tradition of landscape photography used for the environment." ~Galen Rowell

"Landscape is a piece that is emotional and psychological." ~ Jim Hodges

Text:
Copps, David H. Views from the Road: a community guide for assesing rural historic landscapes. Washington D.C.: Island Press, 1995. Print.

With this project the landscape of these historical sites is primarily what I am photographing. I like to look at these places that we know have a specific history and try to relate what I know happened there to what I'm seeing. In some places there are very distinct relationships between the what you can see now and what has transpired in the past, in others the relationship is a little more hazy. But I think those relationships are what give them such an interesting contrast.

Idea: Historical Preservation

"It has been said that, at its best, preservation engages the past in a conversation with the present over a mutual concern for the future." ~William Murtagh

"We strain to listen to the ghosts and echoes of our inexpressibly wise past, and we have an obligation to maintain these places, to provide these sanctuaries, so that people may be in the presence of forces larger than those of the moment." ~Ken Burns

Text:
Tyler, Norman, Ted Ligibel, and Ilene R. Historic preservation: an introduction to its history, principles, and practice. 2nd ed. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

Historical Preservation is really central to my project. Without regulations and policies in place to protect the historical sites many would have been destroyed. I think the lengths to which we go to in order to protect our history is really interesting. The fact that we set aside these large swaths of land and don't allow modern building or industry to use it is a testament to the importance we place on our history.

Idea: Signs

"in the present era an enormous amount of information is communicated on signs and other objects located in the built enviroment." ~Chris Calori

"well-designed sign programs serve to visually unify a site, signage can perform a placemakeing role by creating a unique identity and sense of place." ~Chris Calori

Text:
Calori, Chris. Signage and wayfinding design: a complete guide to creating environmental graphic design systems. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2007. Print.

In my trips to different historical one thing that seems to be a constant is signage. At first I kind of took the signs for granted, but after a while I started to think about how large a part they are of the sites. They direct you to where you want to go and convey information about the sites that you would never know if not for the signs.