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Gunnar Almevik
University of Gothenburg, Conservation, Faculty Member
This article concerns knowledge transfer within traditional crafts. Setting out from documented encounters with craftspeople, enterprises and craft communities, the objective is to reveal different notions of traditional craftsmanship and... more
This article concerns knowledge transfer within traditional crafts. Setting out from documented encounters with craftspeople, enterprises and craft communities, the objective is to reveal different notions of traditional craftsmanship and how ways of thinking about crafts affect knowledge transfer. The article focuses on a few general questions derived from surveys and interviews. What is the nature of craftsmanship? What constitutes a tradition? How can this knowledge be documented and passed on in a meaningful way? Particular interest is placed on relations between amateur communities and professional trades, between crafts and the academic knowledge system, and furthermore between crafts and heritage conservation. Mass production and mass consumption have greatly challenged traditional craftsmanship. Trade structures for crafts have been dissolved, and enterprises have been decimated. Still, in this dismal transformation, small craft-based enterprises constitute a large part of t...
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This work also contributes to the objective of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, to ‘support the development of specialised skills and improve knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the cultural heritage sector, taking... more
This work also contributes to the objective of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, to ‘support the development of specialised skills and improve knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the cultural heritage sector, taking into account the implications of the digital shift’, and the European Initiative ‘Heritage Related Skills’, launched by the European Commission in order to make sure the European Year leaves a policy imprint beyond 2018.
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Kunskap kravs for vard av aldre byggnader. Men hur vardar man kunskap? Kan man ateruppta forlorat hantverkskunnande? I den har artikeln presenteras Hantverkslaboratoriet, som ett nytt forsok att mota ett gammalt problem, namligen behovet... more
Kunskap kravs for vard av aldre byggnader. Men hur vardar man kunskap? Kan man ateruppta forlorat hantverkskunnande? I den har artikeln presenteras Hantverkslaboratoriet, som ett nytt forsok att mota ett gammalt problem, namligen behovet av hantverkskompetens for att varda aldre byggnader och kulturmiljoer.
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I den har boken mots hantverkare for att tala om hantverksmetoder, material och redskap, men ocksa om olika yrkesvagar och satt att lara sig ett hantverk. Boken ar resultatet av ett projekt som syftar till att stimulera den informella... more
I den har boken mots hantverkare for att tala om hantverksmetoder, material och redskap, men ocksa om olika yrkesvagar och satt att lara sig ett hantverk. Boken ar resultatet av ett projekt som syftar till att stimulera den informella utbildningen, den som bygger pa personliga moten och kunskapsoverforing mellan hantverkare. Tanken ar ocksa att visa hur intervjuer och observationer kan anvandas som redskap i det livslanga larandet.
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The distance between Hemse church and the fields of Mästermyr on the Swedish Island of Gotland is about eight kilometers. The distance or rather the proximity between these two places is given importance in this filmed research article.... more
The distance between Hemse church and the fields of Mästermyr on the Swedish Island of Gotland is about eight kilometers. The distance or rather the proximity between these two places is given importance in this filmed research article. In the 1930s, a farmer found a wooden chest in Mästermyr containing hundreds of forged tools and other artefacts. During a restoration of the Romanesque Hemse church in the 1890s, reused parts of a stave church were discovered in the wooden floor. The hypothetical question that is investigated in this study is whether the tools from Mästermyr were used in the construction of Hemse stave church in the early 1100’s? This filmed article analyzes and compares the traces of toolmarks in Hemse stave church and the woodworking tools from the Märstermyr finding. Through a forensic examination involving 3D scanning with structured light, 3D printing and reconstruction of tools and woodworking procedures, it is revealed that several toolmarks in the stave chur...
The making of artefacts is a core activity in society, the result of which contributes to the building up of our physical surroundings and material culture. Throughout history, craft skills have be ...
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During a restoration of the Romanesque church in Hemse in 1896, the remains of a stave church were found as reused floor tiles. The discovery was important at the time, providing new information to a prestigious research field with few... more
During a restoration of the Romanesque church in Hemse in 1896, the remains of a stave church were found as reused floor tiles. The discovery was important at the time, providing new information to a prestigious research field with few sources of knowledge. Today, the remains of Hemse are esoteric and inaccessible for scholarship. The stave church material in the present museum context seems to have one function, to communicate an age value. The leading question in this article is, what more could we retrieve from this old archaeological material? We may agree that the museum’s archaeological collections and the stave church remains are valuable sources, but for what new kind of knowledge? This article presents the process and outcome of an in-depth examination of the material remains and archival records of Hemse stave church. The aim is to develop or revise how this wooden church may have been constructed and appeared both outside and inside when it functioned as a building. The r...
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Traditional craftsmanship is a specified domain in UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003). During 19 and 20 centuries, museums and archives in the western world have been collecting a... more
Traditional craftsmanship is a specified domain in UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003). During 19 and 20 centuries, museums and archives in the western world have been collecting a considerable amount of artefacts and producing records of trades, workshops and manual procedures referring to threatened traditional crafts. What potential value is embedded in the records on traditional crafts? To whom and for what purpose may this documented heritage be of interest or have value? We find these questions critical to the subject of museology and to general safeguarding strategies of intangible cultural heritage. How can we develop augmented documentation methods and displays of traditional craftsmanship? This paper critically investigates film making of traditional craftsmanship, and experimental methods as an appropriate way to elicit tacit dimensions and multisensory aspects of craft skills. The text is grounded on a case study of a docum...
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The (Scientific) Construction of the ”Sydgotiska Huset” The sydgotiska huset (South Gothic house) is by far one of the most acknowledged traditional building types within building history from the early period of ethnology and history of... more
The (Scientific) Construction of the ”Sydgotiska Huset” The sydgotiska huset (South Gothic house) is by far one of the most acknowledged traditional building types within building history from the early period of ethnology and history of vernacular architecture. The name sydgotiska huset is a literary construction proposed by the scholar Sigurd Erixon (1917). Characteristic of the type, as he presented it, is a house-complex including one or two storage houses with a loft added on each side of and rising above a single one story room cottage. Det sydgotiska huset takes a central part in presentations of Swedish vernacular architecture, as an object and a representation of medieval building traditions and a kind of mending of various natural and cultural phenomena in a borderline region within Southern Scandinavia. The aim of this article is to analyse the construction of the South Gothic house as research object within the disciplines of ethnology and history of vernacular architect...
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The papers appearing in this issue comprise the proceedings of the 1st Biennial International Conference for the Craft Sciences, held online during 4–6 May 2021, initiated by the Craft Laboratory, affiliated at the Department of... more
The papers appearing in this issue comprise the proceedings of the 1st Biennial International Conference for the Craft Sciences, held online during 4–6 May 2021, initiated by the Craft Laboratory, affiliated at the Department of Conservation, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The Craft Laboratory was established in 2010 in cooperation with heritage organisations, craft enterprises and trade organisations, to empower craftspeople in the complex processes of making. The comprehensive agenda is to bring research into practice and involve craftspeople in the processes of inquiry. Among the operational tools are Master Classes provided for highly trained professional craftspeople in particular skills. Craft Scholarships are offered to craftspeople to investigate a problem or question in their practice, or develop ideas to improve methods or techniques. The site-specific workshop capacity in Mariestad allows craft researchers to implement research questions in practice and to perform full...
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This research is presented through an interactive application. A virtual reconstruction based on the remains from a medieval stave church is used as a case study to re-establish the historic building as a tangible place and assemblage.... more
This research is presented through an interactive application. A virtual reconstruction based on the remains from a medieval stave church is used as a case study to re-establish the historic building as a tangible place and assemblage. Augmented by virtual reality, the research focuses on the sensuous aspects of the stave church as a whole—where architecture, artefacts, light, and materials interact—through the movements of approaching, entering, and dwelling. The research output is a virtual reconstruction, or a virtual diorama, that “re-members” the stave church elements and re-contextualises contemporaneous religious artefacts that have been dismembered and diffused in various exhibitions and deposits. The contribution in this research is methodological, seeking to test and provide a case to discuss how non-traditional research outcome can be crafted to elicit the sensuous aspects of research and still attend to the rigor of science. We seek to methodologise the digital artefact ...
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A common way to describe craft knowledge is through the figure of speech it's in your hands. With this description, there is no attempt made to explain the complex knowledge which is present in craft. One reason why these explanations... more
A common way to describe craft knowledge is through the figure of speech it's in your hands. With this description, there is no attempt made to explain the complex knowledge which is present in craft. One reason why these explanations are rarely articulated is that they consist of sensory judgments. With this film, Ways of Tacit Knowing, we argue that, with the help of film media, it is possible to decode and articulate some of the knowledge content embodied in craft that is often described as tacit knowledge. We, the producers of this film, are experienced craftspeople, which makes us at once both subjects and objects of the research—a methodology akin to auto-ethnography. In the film, we present examples of situations from practice in our different craft fields: the practice in cultivation and management in gardening and the practice of culinary crafts situated in the kitchen and in the dining room. This film presents a dialogue of knowledge in action with craftspeople who dis...
The distance between Hemse church and the fields of Mästermyr on the Swedish Island of Gotland is about eight kilometers. The distance or rather the proximity between these two places is given importance in this filmed research article.... more
The distance between Hemse church and the fields of Mästermyr on the Swedish Island of Gotland is about eight kilometers. The distance or rather the proximity between these two places is given importance in this filmed research article. In the 1930s, a farmer found a wooden chest in Mästermyr containing hundreds of forged tools and other artefacts. During a restoration of the Romanesque Hemse church in the 1890s, reused parts of a stave church were discovered in the wooden floor. The hypothetical question that is investigated in this study is whether the tools from Mästermyr were used in the construction of Hemse stave church in the early 1100’s? This filmed article analyzes and compares the traces of toolmarks in Hemse stave church and the woodworking tools from the Märstermyr finding. Through a forensic examination involving 3D scanning with structured light, 3D printing and reconstruction of tools and woodworking procedures, it is revealed that several toolmarks in the stave chur...
A significant part of our cultural heritage consists of wood. Research on historical wooden structures and artefacts thereby provides knowledge of people’s daily lives and the society in which they lived. Dendrochronology is a... more
A significant part of our cultural heritage consists of wood. Research on historical wooden structures and artefacts thereby provides knowledge of people’s daily lives and the society in which they lived. Dendrochronology is a well-established dating method of wood that can also provide valuable knowledge about climate dynamics, environmental changes, silviculture, and cultural transformations. However, dendrochronology comes with some limitations that end users in cultural heritage sciences must be aware of, otherwise their surveys may not be ultimately performed. We have drawn attention to studies in which dendrochronological results have been misinterpreted, over-interpreted, or not fully utilized. On the other hand, a rigorous dendrochronological survey may not respond to the request of information in practice. To bridge this rigour-relevance gap, this article has considered and reviewed both the dendrochronology’s science-perspective and the practitioner’s and end user’s call f...
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The craft sciences have emerged as a field of academic research in Finland, Sweden and Norway since the early 1990s. In Finland, craft research has examined various aspects of crafts using a multidisciplinary approach, adapting a range of... more
The craft sciences have emerged as a field of academic research in Finland, Sweden and Norway since the early 1990s. In Finland, craft research has examined various aspects of crafts using a multidisciplinary approach, adapting a range of methods from other academic disciplines according to the research topic. Another source has been the schools of domestic sciences in which craft research has been a recognized field. In Sweden and Norway, craft research has developed strongly in architectural conservation and cultural heritage with a focus on traditional craftsmanship and the performative elements of intangible cultural heritage. This article offers an overview of the developments and progress of the field of craft sciences in these countries, including its methodological approaches, with a focus on Ph.D. theses. Through mapping recurrent methodological approaches, the following categories were derived: craft reconstruction, craft interpretations, craft elicitation, craft amplifica...
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Artikeln handlar om de nationella utvärderingarna av hantverksinriktade högskoleutbildningar som har genomförts i Högskoleverkets och senare i Universitetskanslersämbetets regi mellan åren 1997 och 2015. Den övergripande frågan är vad... more
Artikeln handlar om de nationella utvärderingarna av hantverksinriktade högskoleutbildningar som har genomförts i Högskoleverkets och senare i Universitetskanslersämbetets regi mellan åren 1997 och 2015. Den övergripande frågan är vad akademiseringen gör med utbildningar som har sin grund i ett professionsområde, och hur de nationella utvärderingarna påverkar akademiseringsprocesser. Intresset riktas framförallt mot begrepp om teori och praktik i högre utbildning, och hur dessa tänkta kunskapsformer kommer till uttryck i formella beskrivningar och används i bedömningar. Forskningen visar att utvärderingarna systematiskt bortser från utbildningsområdets professionsinriktning. Den del i högskolelagens portalparagraf som utpekar beprövad erfarenhet som en grundpelare, vid sidan av konst eller vetenskap, väger mycket lätt i dessa utvärderingar. De hantverksinriktade utbildningarna hamnar ofta i konflikt, både med konstens krav på subjektivitet och vetenskapens krav på objektivitet.
ABSTRACT This article investigates the spatial practice of a medieval mass by time-geography analysis and space-syntax analysis. The aim is methodological to test whether these methods of human geography and architectural research may... more
ABSTRACT This article investigates the spatial practice of a medieval mass by time-geography analysis and space-syntax analysis. The aim is methodological to test whether these methods of human geography and architectural research may contribute to cultural historical research on religious buildings and reveal new aspects of the complex relations between people and buildings. The analysis is based on building investigations and a re-enactment of a medieval mass in Endre Church on the Swedish island of Gotland. The re-enactment was filmed in 1989 by Swedish Television following an original mass instruction from about 1436–1448. The methodological result indicates the advantage of combining time-geography analysis and space-syntax analysis to identify the relations between spatial practice and spatial formation. The combined use of methods, based on a full-scale re-enactment of a medieval mass, suggests that the spatial units of the church change with people’s different paths and agencies in the project. The interior church space is visually transparent, seemingly integrated and intelligible, but the mass initiates a production of social spaces that are layered with boundaries other than the church’s stone walls and screens.
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It is hard to extract and articulate someone’s tacit knowledge or craftsmanship into universal rules for all to employ. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for appropriate tools to be devoloped t ...
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Under tidig medeltid fanns i Södra Råda en liten stavkyrka1 med långhus och kor mel- lan jordgrävda stolpar. I början av 1300-ta- let fälldes träden till det som skulle bli stommen till en ny timmerkyrka. Södra Råda kan från början ha... more
Under tidig medeltid fanns i Södra Råda en liten stavkyrka1 med långhus och kor mel- lan jordgrävda stolpar. I början av 1300-ta-
let fälldes träden till det som skulle bli stommen till en ny timmerkyrka. Södra Råda kan från början ha varit ett kapell som hörde till Amne- härads socken och möjligtvis var det i samband med en sockendelning som den nya timmerkyr- kan byggdes.2 I denna artikel vill vi diskutera de praktiska aspekterna vid att bygga en kyrka i trä: Hur gick det till att bygga en timmerkyrka vid denna tid? Hur mycket material gick åt och hur lång tid tog de olika procedurerna? Hur många träd, hur många spån och hur mycket järn be- hövdes till spiken? Vad ansvarade yrkespersoner för och vad ombesörjdes av bönder själva, om vi förutsätter att en sockenmenighet stod bakom bygget?
Södra Råda gamla kyrka brann till grunden år 2001 i ett pyromandåd. Kyrkans ägare, Riks- antikvarieämbetet, beslutade att rekonstruera kyrkan ”som ett pedagogiskt exempel för att ge nytt hantverkskunnande och kunskap om vår medeltida historia.”3 Rekonstruktionsarbetet startade 2007, efter arkeologiska undersökning- ar och förstudier, och pågår alltjämt. Den här artikeln bygger på resultaten av de hantverksve- tenskapliga och byggnadshistoriska studier som rekonstruktionen av kyrkan har inbegripit.4 Syf- tet med artikeln är att diskutera hur det kan ha gått till att bygga en timmerkyrka på 1300-talet. Främst handlar det om analyser av byggnads- material, hantverksprocedurer och verktyg som ett kyrkobygge av det här slaget kräver. Artikeln grundar sig också på våra undersökningar av be-
varade medeltida kyrkor, arkeologiskt material, medeltida handskrifter och illustrationer.
Artikeln inleds med en presentation av tidiga- re forskning om medeltida timmerkyrkor och re- dovisar därefter kritiska perspektiv på den speci- ella metodiken att handgripligt rekonstruera ett forskningsobjekt. Därpå följer undersökningen av Södra Råda som börjar med en tolkning av vem som lät uppföra kyrkan. I påföljande avsnitt analyseras kyrkokonceptet och vi för en diskus- sion om hur byggnadsprojektet kommunicera- des och visualiserades. Den sista delen utgör ar- tikelns huvuddel och behandlar timmerskogen, byggnadsmaterialet och byggprocessen steg för steg med proceduranalyser, huggarlistor, materi- allistor och dagsverken i en ordning som följer det praktiska arbetet. Avslutningsvis diskuteras resultaten och allmänna slutsatser om företaget att bygga en timmerkyrka.
let fälldes träden till det som skulle bli stommen till en ny timmerkyrka. Södra Råda kan från början ha varit ett kapell som hörde till Amne- härads socken och möjligtvis var det i samband med en sockendelning som den nya timmerkyr- kan byggdes.2 I denna artikel vill vi diskutera de praktiska aspekterna vid att bygga en kyrka i trä: Hur gick det till att bygga en timmerkyrka vid denna tid? Hur mycket material gick åt och hur lång tid tog de olika procedurerna? Hur många träd, hur många spån och hur mycket järn be- hövdes till spiken? Vad ansvarade yrkespersoner för och vad ombesörjdes av bönder själva, om vi förutsätter att en sockenmenighet stod bakom bygget?
Södra Råda gamla kyrka brann till grunden år 2001 i ett pyromandåd. Kyrkans ägare, Riks- antikvarieämbetet, beslutade att rekonstruera kyrkan ”som ett pedagogiskt exempel för att ge nytt hantverkskunnande och kunskap om vår medeltida historia.”3 Rekonstruktionsarbetet startade 2007, efter arkeologiska undersökning- ar och förstudier, och pågår alltjämt. Den här artikeln bygger på resultaten av de hantverksve- tenskapliga och byggnadshistoriska studier som rekonstruktionen av kyrkan har inbegripit.4 Syf- tet med artikeln är att diskutera hur det kan ha gått till att bygga en timmerkyrka på 1300-talet. Främst handlar det om analyser av byggnads- material, hantverksprocedurer och verktyg som ett kyrkobygge av det här slaget kräver. Artikeln grundar sig också på våra undersökningar av be-
varade medeltida kyrkor, arkeologiskt material, medeltida handskrifter och illustrationer.
Artikeln inleds med en presentation av tidiga- re forskning om medeltida timmerkyrkor och re- dovisar därefter kritiska perspektiv på den speci- ella metodiken att handgripligt rekonstruera ett forskningsobjekt. Därpå följer undersökningen av Södra Råda som börjar med en tolkning av vem som lät uppföra kyrkan. I påföljande avsnitt analyseras kyrkokonceptet och vi för en diskus- sion om hur byggnadsprojektet kommunicera- des och visualiserades. Den sista delen utgör ar- tikelns huvuddel och behandlar timmerskogen, byggnadsmaterialet och byggprocessen steg för steg med proceduranalyser, huggarlistor, materi- allistor och dagsverken i en ordning som följer det praktiska arbetet. Avslutningsvis diskuteras resultaten och allmänna slutsatser om företaget att bygga en timmerkyrka.
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This article investigates the spatial practice of a medieval mass by time-geography analysis and space-syntax analysis. The aim is methodological to test whether these methods of human geography and architectural research may contribute... more
This article investigates the spatial practice of a medieval mass by time-geography analysis and space-syntax analysis. The aim is methodological to test whether these methods of human geography and architectural research may contribute to cultural historical research on religious buildings and reveal new aspects of the complex relations between people and buildings. The analysis is based on building investigations and a re-enactment of a medieval mass in Endre Church on the Swedish island of Gotland. The re-enactment was filmed in 1989 by Swedish Television following an original mass instruction from about 1436–1448. The methodological result indicates the advantage of combining time-geography analysis and space-syntax analysis to identify the relations between spatial practice and spatial formation. The combined use of methods, based on a full-scale re-enactment of a medieval mass, suggests that the spatial units of the church change with people's different paths and agencies in the project. The interior church space is visually transparent, seemingly integrated and intelligible, but the mass initiates a production of social spaces that are layered with boundaries other than the church's stone walls and screens.
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Using the wooden church of Södra Råda as a case study, this article concerns new applications of technology to contextualise and activate archive material in situ at places of cultural significance. Using a combination of augmented... more
Using the wooden church of Södra Råda as a case study, this article
concerns new applications of technology to contextualise and activate archive material in situ at places of cultural significance. Using a combination of augmented reality and virtual reality, we describe a process of turning historical photographs and two-dimensional reconstruction drawings into three-dimensional virtual models that can be lined up to a physical space. The leading questions for our investigation concern how archive material can be contextualised, and how the result may be made accessible in situ and contribute to place development. The result of this research suggests possibilities for using historical photographs to faithfully reconstruct lost historical spaces as three-dimensional surfaces that contextualise documentation and offer spatial information.
concerns new applications of technology to contextualise and activate archive material in situ at places of cultural significance. Using a combination of augmented reality and virtual reality, we describe a process of turning historical photographs and two-dimensional reconstruction drawings into three-dimensional virtual models that can be lined up to a physical space. The leading questions for our investigation concern how archive material can be contextualised, and how the result may be made accessible in situ and contribute to place development. The result of this research suggests possibilities for using historical photographs to faithfully reconstruct lost historical spaces as three-dimensional surfaces that contextualise documentation and offer spatial information.
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Den här texten är inledningen till en antologi om hantverksvetenskap. Den röda tråden är relationen mellan vetenskap och praktisk kunskap. Hur kan ett vetenskapsområde kring hantverk byggas, som upprätthåller kopplingen och relevansen för... more
Den här texten är inledningen till en antologi om hantverksvetenskap. Den röda tråden är relationen mellan vetenskap och praktisk kunskap. Hur kan ett vetenskapsområde kring hantverk byggas, som upprätthåller kopplingen och relevansen för praktikfältet? Vilka teorier, metoder och kommunikationssätt svarar mot både vetenskapliga och hantverkliga begrepp om kunskap?
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Den här texten handlar om metoder för hantverkarens dokumentation inom kulturmiljövården. Fokus ligger på möjligheterna att fånga upp och beskriva relationen mellan hantverkarens handlingar och kulturmiljöobjektens egenskaper. Vilka slags... more
Den här texten handlar om metoder för hantverkarens dokumentation inom kulturmiljövården. Fokus ligger på möjligheterna att fånga upp och beskriva relationen mellan hantverkarens handlingar och kulturmiljöobjektens egenskaper. Vilka slags iakttagelser kan hantverkaren bidra med? Hur kan dokumentation och undersökning integreras i hantverkarens praktiska arbete? I texten diskuteras tillvägagångssätt men den ger också orientering och viss praktisk handledning i olika dokumentationstekniker.
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In Sweden there are about 450 self standing campaniles from nineteenth century or older and approximately 6000 preserved church bells. Until recently the oldest preserved campanile were considered to origin from the sixteenth century. A... more
In Sweden there are about 450 self standing campaniles from nineteenth century or older and approximately 6000 preserved church bells. Until recently the oldest preserved campanile were considered to origin from the sixteenth century. A survey and dendrochronological analysis of campaniles in Skara Diocese have identified at least six campaniles from the fourteenth and fifteenth century. This paper aims to bring new information on the historic construction of these wooden campaniles in central Scandinavia and their transformation during the medieval. In the research we investigate significant qualities in construction and craftsmanship, how this type of the medieval campaniles were built and raised and later restored and transformed. The medieval campanile in Grevbäck is used as a case for in deep investigation.
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To improve conservation practice, heritage conser-vation as a professional field needs to gain a better understanding of how different forms of expertise and skill coalesce in their material interventions in heritage objects (Jones &... more
To improve conservation practice, heritage conser-vation as a professional field needs to gain a better understanding of how different forms of expertise and skill coalesce in their material interventions in heritage objects (Jones & Jarrow 2014). Among the actors involved in conservation, the craftsman is the one who spends most time on site, close to the source material, and whose innumerable decisions have the greatest impact on the final result (Almevik 2016). Nevertheless, the craftsman is often reduced to a means of production, and is thus detached from the historical inquiry, the design and the structural analysis. This inconsistency is poorly explored in previous research.
Taking off from a case of heritage conservation of a medieval corner-timbered tithe barn, this paper ex-plores what an enhancement of craftsmanship in the conservation process implicates in terms of conser-vation theory. The questions for this paper are: How may craftsmanship be enhanced in the conservation process? What does augmented involvement of craftsmen implicates in terms of conservation theo-ry? Furthermore, arguing that contemporary heritage conservation has to take on a community-based ap-proach to support local heritage values: How may craftsmanship be used in participatory and commu-nity-based methods?
The research questions have been investigated through the conservation of a 13th century corner-timbered tithe barn in Ingatorp, Sweden. Until re-cently the barn was an anonymous building used for storage of equipment. A dendrochronological analy-sis dated the building to 1229±10 years. This makes the tithe barn the second oldest preserved wooden building in Sweden. The research method is prac-tice-led and experiential, using the restoration prac-tice as an arena for inquiry and the methods of prac-tice as methods of inquiry (Almevik & Melin 2015). Concepts and perspectives are influenced by semiot-ic pragmatism and environmental dynamics and fo-cused on contemporary theory of conservation (Sul-ly 2015, Silberman 2015).
The research reveals how the craftsmen’s percep-tion contribute to the forensic building investigation to outline of a buildings history and to obtain a thor-ough understanding of the structural behaviour of the built cultural heritage. The conclusion under-pinned by theoretical inquiry and experimentation in this case is that it is possible to enhance craft prac-tice in all steps of the conservation process, and that doing so is productive in regard of aesthetic, histor-ic, scientific and social heritage values.
Taking off from a case of heritage conservation of a medieval corner-timbered tithe barn, this paper ex-plores what an enhancement of craftsmanship in the conservation process implicates in terms of conser-vation theory. The questions for this paper are: How may craftsmanship be enhanced in the conservation process? What does augmented involvement of craftsmen implicates in terms of conservation theo-ry? Furthermore, arguing that contemporary heritage conservation has to take on a community-based ap-proach to support local heritage values: How may craftsmanship be used in participatory and commu-nity-based methods?
The research questions have been investigated through the conservation of a 13th century corner-timbered tithe barn in Ingatorp, Sweden. Until re-cently the barn was an anonymous building used for storage of equipment. A dendrochronological analy-sis dated the building to 1229±10 years. This makes the tithe barn the second oldest preserved wooden building in Sweden. The research method is prac-tice-led and experiential, using the restoration prac-tice as an arena for inquiry and the methods of prac-tice as methods of inquiry (Almevik & Melin 2015). Concepts and perspectives are influenced by semiot-ic pragmatism and environmental dynamics and fo-cused on contemporary theory of conservation (Sul-ly 2015, Silberman 2015).
The research reveals how the craftsmen’s percep-tion contribute to the forensic building investigation to outline of a buildings history and to obtain a thor-ough understanding of the structural behaviour of the built cultural heritage. The conclusion under-pinned by theoretical inquiry and experimentation in this case is that it is possible to enhance craft prac-tice in all steps of the conservation process, and that doing so is productive in regard of aesthetic, histor-ic, scientific and social heritage values.
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The entrance of Chalmers Architecture is a well known skatespot in Gothenburg, recognized by the levelled curbs in between stairs and ramps with smooth concrete pavement. Chalmers campus offers in all many skateboard terrains and elements... more
The entrance of Chalmers Architecture is a well known skatespot in Gothenburg, recognized by the levelled curbs in between stairs and ramps with smooth concrete pavement. Chalmers campus offers in all many skateboard terrains and elements like charging platforms, handicap ramps, handrails, bumps and transitions. This appreciation of architecture and appropriation of space by skateboarding was not intended and is probably not even recognized as such by its creators, owners and legitimate users. In my paper I intend to examine how skateboarders appropriate, reinterpret and rewrite architecture and urban space in Gothenburg, from out a theoretical perspective referring to Ian Borden and Adrian Forty. From a discussion on the symbiosis between the skateboarder's body in performing tricks, the skateboard as a tool and the architecture, I will outline skateboarding in Sweden from the arising in the mid 1970 th until present day. The paper involves case studies of skateboarding terrains in Gothenburg, through autopsy and drawings and in contexts presented in Swedish newspapers and skateboard magazines. My inquiry take hold on the purpose built skateparks 'Skateland' in Frölunda, 'Välen' in Askim and the forthcoming 'Actionpark' in Burgårdsparken, as well as the unintended terrains 'Bananen' in Landala, 'Tjernobyl' in Marieholm and, as mentioned, the entrance of Chalmers Architecture. The results of the study concerns, on the one hand, how the interaction between body, tool and architecture put new demands on intentional skateparks and appropriate new urban terrains, and, on the other hand, how society through urban and architectural planning and public concern for youth activities, sports and leisure act and react upon skateboarders claims on urban space.
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Sommaren 1977 träffades svenska ungdomar med kraft av den amerikanska skateboardvågen. Mottagandet från vuxenvärldens sida var minst sagt ambivalent. Under åren som följde publicerade Dagens Nyheter hela 60 artiklar om skateboard. Ömsom... more
Sommaren 1977 träffades svenska ungdomar med kraft av den amerikanska skateboardvågen. Mottagandet från vuxenvärldens sida var minst sagt ambivalent. Under åren som följde publicerade Dagens Nyheter hela 60 artiklar om skateboard. Ömsom handlade de om den stora skaderisken, ömsom om utövarnas halsbrytande men imponerande konster. I den här artikeln summeras skateboardens tidiga arkitekturhistoria och visar på några av de viktigaste spåren av den moderna ungdomskulturens första decennier.
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Den här artikeln behandlar uppbyggnaden av Dacapo Hantverksskola och dess väg från kvalificerad yrkesutbildning till universitetsinstitution. I artikeln beskrivs och analyseras kollegiets prövande och sökande efter ett relevant... more
Den här artikeln behandlar uppbyggnaden av Dacapo Hantverksskola och dess väg från kvalificerad yrkesutbildning till universitetsinstitution. I artikeln beskrivs och analyseras kollegiets prövande och sökande efter ett relevant ämnesinnehåll, en hantverklig pedagogik och kunskapsteori. Den ståndpunkt som jag vill under- bygga i denna artikel att det hantverkliga och det vetenskapliga (eller det hand- lingsburna och det akademiska) inte står i motsats till varandra. Vetenskap är som jag ser det en social överenskommelse om en institutionell form för vissa kunskaper att verka inom. Formen är betydelsefull eftersom den ger både ekonomiskt och socialt kapital för vård, förmedling och utveckling av kunskaper. Hur denna sociala konstruktion ska se ut är inte given, utan någonting som kan och också böromprövas i ett föränderligt samhälle.
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Traditional craftsmanship is a specified domain in UNESCO’s Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage. During 19th and 20th centuries, museums and archives in the western world have been collecting a considerable... more
Traditional craftsmanship is a specified domain in UNESCO’s Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage. During 19th and 20th centuries, museums and archives in the western world have been collecting a considerable amount of artefacts and produced records of trades, workshops and manual procedures referring to threatened traditional crafts. What potential value is embedded in the records on traditional crafts? To whom and for what purpose may this documented heritage be of interest or have use value? We find these questions critical to the subject of museology, and how to develop appropriate documentation methods as well as safeguarding strategies for the intangible cultural heritage. This paper critically investigates film making of traditional craftsmanship, and experiment augmented documentation methods to elicit tacit dimensions and multi-sensory aspects of craft skills. The text is grounded on a case study of a documentary from early 1970th, recording two old blacksmiths making a wrought scythe. This documentary has generated several research questions: How instructive is this documentary, as learning resource for blacksmiths of today? What meaningful information dwells in the colour and sound of the work process? How does the discontinuity of the edited film affect the intelligibility of the process in action? The tacit dimension of craftsmanship has been investigated in philosophical and pedagogical research (Gamble 2002, Mayer 2003, Polanyi 1958, Schön 1983, 1987), management and organisation theory (Agyris 2003, Kolb 1984), and recently in the emerging field of craft research (Adamson 2010, Niedderer 2009). However, the edge focus on documentation methodology to elicit the tacit dimensions of traditional craftsmanship is not extensively examined. Peer research to this study is performed at The Art and Design Research Centre (ADRC) at Sheffield Hallam University (e.g. Hjort-Lassen & Wood 2013, McCullough 1997, Wood 2006, Wood, Rust & Horne 2009) and the Craft Laboratory at the university of Gothenburg (e.g. Almevik 2012, Jarefjäll & Sjömar 2011, Karlsson 2013) exploring the use of film record and time-geography in documentation and display of craftsmanship. The documentary is scrutinised through a time-space path and a procedure analysis. Setting out from the data and interpretation of the film record, the craft procedure has been re-enacted by the authors. The re-enactment gives a critical reference to the documentary, exposing discontinuities lacunas, misinterpretations and hideouts of tacit blacksmith knowledge. Core problems in understanding skills and judgments made by the old blacksmiths relate to lacking qualities in the documentary concerning colour and authentic timeline. One sub-experiment concerning the judgment of colour in the process of hardening and welding is carried out by visual and IR measure. The general outcome of this investigation, contributes to a documentation methodology for heritage craft skills. A set of craft protocols is tested along with a critical discussion on documentation practice to meet up the agenda of “living” cultural heritage. The conclusion in perspective of museum collection and exhibitions is, that crafts persons need to become involved in the work in heritage institutions, not only as objects or informants but also as work-companions and agents of generic knowledge.
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”Jag skulle ha gjort den där intervjun, nu är det för sent!” Många gånger har jag hört den meningen sägas, ofta av erfarna hantverkare. Jag har också slagits av hur mästare inom traditionella hantverk mytologiseras. Personerna framställs... more
”Jag skulle ha gjort den där intervjun, nu är det för sent!” Många gånger har jag hört den meningen sägas, ofta av erfarna hantverkare. Jag har också slagits av hur mästare inom traditionella hantverk mytologiseras. Personerna framställs som excentriska och kunskaperna som närmast ouppnåeliga. Det finns ett slags determinism, som om hantverkskonsterna, i skuggan av det moderna, vore dömda att försvinna med de kunniga människorna. Hur står det egentligen till med kunskapskulturen inom de traditionella hantverken?
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This article concerns the reconstruction of the medieval corner timbered church of Södra Råda that was burnt to the ground in an act of arson in 2001. The reconstruction was initiated by the Swedish National Heritage Board to gain... more
This article concerns the reconstruction of the medieval corner timbered church of Södra Råda that was burnt to the ground in an act of arson in 2001. The reconstruction was initiated by the Swedish National Heritage Board to gain knowledge of the culture and craftsmanship of wooden medieval buildings. The theoretical focus of the project is founded on the combination of sources and the utilisation of the methods and potentials of craftpersons. The reconstructive experiments are informed by a methodology where the present maker’s attentiveness and embodied skills disclose new information on historical working procedures, intentions and affordances. The article also presents results that bring new light on the oldest corner-timbered church buildings in existence.
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Det är farligt enkelt att förbise det avancerade kunskapsinnehållet i ett arbete, att fälla omdömen om vad som är eller inte är en komplicerad arbetsprocess, när man inte själv kan. Forskning om hantverk utförs sällan av hantverkare och... more
Det är farligt enkelt att förbise det avancerade kunskapsinnehållet i ett arbete, att fälla omdömen om vad som är eller inte är en komplicerad arbetsprocess, när man inte själv kan. Forskning om hantverk utförs sällan av hantverkare och uppmärksamheten fastnar då lätt i kunskapsteoretiska resonemang. Hantverkens egna ämnesteorier och ämnespraktiker förbises eller reduceras till någonting antingen mystiskt eller banalt. Inom teknologi och materialvetenskap bedrivs forskning om material och processer, som olika hantverksyrken hanterar i sitt dagliga arbete. Istället för att involvera hantverkare som medaktörer, glöms de helt enkelt bort eller görs till anonyma objekt. I den här artikeln riktas uppmärksamheten mot de ojämlika villkor som hantverkskunskaperna verkar under, samt möjligheterna att åtgärda dessa. Texten argumenterar för en utveckling av hantverksvetenskaper till stöd för hantverksyrken. Det krävs enligt min mening forskning i hantverkens egna ämnesteorier och metoder.
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Buildings are indeed mute, yet many historians and architects claim that they can nevertheless speak. The challenge is to understand their language. This thesis examines the building as a source of knowledge. Setting out from a repertoire... more
Buildings are indeed mute, yet many historians and architects claim that they can nevertheless speak. The challenge is to understand their language. This thesis examines the building as a source of knowledge. Setting out from a repertoire of historical investigation methods used by professional actors within the field of architectural conservation, the thesis deals with the question of what standard buildings can teach us about the past. What can buildings say, and to whom? The thesis is based on a case study of the national cultural reserve of Örnanäs in the region of Skåne in the south of Sweden. Örnanäs serves as a laboratory for action-based research and involves both conservationists and craftsmen. The unit of analysis is not the site in itself but the context and process of investigation. The process is examined from three perspectives, which correspond to the layout of the thesis: the forensic perspective on material culture, the source pluralism perspective, which refers to the possibility of combining information from multiple sources, and the actor perspective, which sheds light on how the actors involved influence the investigation. A theoretical platform is given by Carlo Ginzburg’s perspectives on diagnosis through clues and Martin Weaver’s approach in ‘forensic conservation’. The results constitute a set of reflections and judgements on a range of different survey methods and sources. In focus are working methods that facilitate an increased exchange between practice-based research and research-based practice. The forensic perspective activates the building as a source of knowledge, and by combining different approaches it is possible to shed light on the history of the building from many different angles. Inquiry of historic construction, material use and signs of toolmarks, tested through processual reconstruction, is a method that has been systematically examined. The conclusion is that this method requires craft skills, yet it also opens up for cross-disciplinary work and thinking. The results articulate the importance of a heuristic approach. As conservationists and architectural historians we need to oscillate back and forth between the details and the whole, between observations and logical reasoning and between a physio-technical and socio-cultural perspective in order to uncover the layers and traces of the history of a building. Keywords: Architectural conservation, historic buildings, building survey, survey methods, historical sources, building documentation, mapping, architectural drawing, architectural analysis, forensic conservation, reconstruction, historical work process, traditional building craft.
I den här artikeln behandlas praktiska erfarenheter av hantverksutbildning och möten med samhällets syn på hantverklig kunskap. Hantverk har som organiserat kunnande en lång historia, som traderad yrkeskunskap i företagande, skråväsende... more
I den här artikeln behandlas praktiska erfarenheter av hantverksutbildning och möten med samhällets syn på hantverklig kunskap. Hantverk har som organiserat kunnande en lång historia, som traderad yrkeskunskap i företagande, skråväsende eller altrustiska strukturer så som familj och släkt. Trots lång historisk kontinuitet är hantverkens kunskapssituation idag tämligen bräcklig. Det mesta av vård, tradering och utveckling av hantverkskunskap är utlämnat till kunniga hantverkare i näringen. Tradering är i näringssituationen beroende av efterfrågan. Den hantverkare som inte får sålt sin produkt överlever inte länge som näringsidkare. Med personen försvinner kunskapen.
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The "Sydgötiska huset" (southern Swedish vernacular building type) is by far one of the most acknowledged traditional building types within building history from the early period of ethnology and history of vernacular architecture. The... more
The "Sydgötiska huset" (southern Swedish vernacular building type) is by far one of the most acknowledged traditional building types within building history from the early period of ethnology and history of vernacular architecture. The name sydgötiska huset is a literary construction proposed by the scholar Sigurd Erixon (1917). Characteristic of the type, as he presented it, is a house-complex including one or two storage houses with a loft added on each side of and rising above a single one story room cottage. Det sydgötiska huset takes a central part in presentations of Swedish vernacular architecture, as an object and a representation of medieval building traditions and a kind of mending of various natural and cultural phenomena in a borderline region within Southern Scandinavia. The aim of this article is to analyse the construction of the South Gothic house as research object within the disciplines of ethnology and history of vernacular architecture. A selection of publications that present this building type serves as material for this study. The article focusing the kind of significant characteristics the historians attach to this typology: how it is built, how old it is, why it looks the way it does, where it comes from and how it has developed. Their different versions reveal how significant characteristics and explanations have been added or/and removed along with an ongoing reproduction of this building type. The concluding remarks focus on differences and similarities between discourses in the publications analysed. Some consequences and alternatives are put forward to the methods in history of vernacular architecture and the story of the sydgötiska huset.
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Making Brick Vaults is a graphical educational book for masons and bricklayers, dealing with the working methods of traditional crafts. The book present basic geometry and geometrical rules for vaults, and step by step the procedures how... more
Making Brick Vaults is a graphical educational book for masons and bricklayers, dealing with the working methods of traditional crafts. The book present basic geometry and geometrical rules for vaults, and step by step the procedures how to layout the vault, calculate the courses and perpends to fit the vault, how to build the mould and finally to make the vault in the brick wall.
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The subject of this article is the documentation of intangible heritage, whose safeguarding is a core activity. The idea of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), in which traditional craftsmanship... more
The subject of this article is the documentation of intangible heritage, whose safeguarding is a core activity. The idea of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), in which traditional craftsmanship is identified as one of five domains for safeguarding, is based on a people-up system with appropriate community-based methods to elicit local heritage values. However, by far the two most highlighted implementation tools on the operational agenda are “the urgent safeguarding list” and “the representative list,” the methodology of which we are familiar with through western museum tradition. What context-appropriate methods do we need to involve craftspersons in documentation of craft procedures and crafted objects within their scope of competence and sense of heritage? How can we design for participation in heritage conservation and museum practice?
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The study of pre-Tridentine lived religion and musical experience in the Collegiate Church of Our Lady in Antwerp faces many difficulties. Despite its being rich in variety, the source material is often incomplete. Comparative research... more
The study of pre-Tridentine lived religion and musical experience in the Collegiate Church of Our Lady in Antwerp faces many difficulties. Despite its being rich in variety, the source material is often incomplete. Comparative research based on similar cases in the Low Countries and surrounding regions fills many of these gaps and opens new perspectives; an undeniable need for contextualisation in a broader geographic setting therefor manifests itself.
2-4 September 2021
Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance
59, rue Néricault Destouches - 37000 TOURS - FR
2-4 September 2021
Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance
59, rue Néricault Destouches - 37000 TOURS - FR
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Technical photography has long been a means to document the materials and condition of cultural heritage. Through filter and illuminant selection, not only visible but also UV and IR light, as well as stimulated emission (fluorescence and... more
Technical photography has long been a means to document the materials and condition of cultural heritage. Through filter and illuminant selection, not only visible but also UV and IR light, as well as stimulated emission (fluorescence and phosphorescence), can be used in image documentation. In the heritage documentation context multi-and hyper-spectral imaging can be thought of as extensions to technical photography, but with respectively increasing degrees of resolution. Multispectral imaging typically uses several band pass filters or specific illumination to generate a stack of images, which if properly processed can yield a low resolution spectrum per unit region of the image. Hyperspectral imaging on the other hand typically employs an imaging spectrograph and camera such that high spectral and spatial resolution images where there can be hundreds of layers in the image cube and where each pixel contains a full spectrum. With recent advances in imaging as well as computing technology, technical photography is seeing a renaissance. New visualisation technologies such as Augmented-and Virtual Reality can help multi-and/ or hyper-spectral documentation find new applications in both management and conservation practices of cultural heritage objects and sites. Anchoring the archive physical space as a digital access point to research documentation This poster investigates the process and gains of using Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to digitally dress a space in material obtained through both normal, Ultra Violet, and Infrared Radiation photography. By displaying a three-dimensional documentation of the portal, visitors and caretakers can see through the shingles and explore the portal and its relation to the rest of the structure without having to dismantle the wall. High resolution 3d-model of the portal behind the layer of wall shingles. The model was created from eighty high resolution photos using SfM. By displaying a three-dimensional documentation of the portal, visitors and caretakers can see through the shingles and explore the portal and its relation to the rest of the structure without having to dismantle the wall. The VR scene combined with the lens-setup allows the user to move around the virtual space and then at will bring up perfectly matched multispectral imagery of all parts of the chancel. The second prototype combines two full-room SfM-models of the chancel in a single Virtual Reality (VR) scene. The first of these models was photographed using normal light and constitutes the default view, while the second was photographed capturing IR light. After matching them to each other, an interface was created that lets the user bring up a virtual lens through which to view the IR-information from the second model. Conclusions By mapping visual data gathered through historical archive research and multi-spectral photography back onto the physical space of origin, or onto virtual copies, AR and VR are framed as contextualised windows through which both to archive and to access documentation. In this physical-digital hybrid space, the digital data of the documentation is given a physical context and the physical space is given a depth beyond normal light and current conditions. Rather than organising the material according to topic, archival and research data is mapped in relation to place in a three-dimensional space. AR and VR have the potential of being useful tools both for conservators and care takers. By organising archived data in a spatial manner, every detail of an object or environment could provide access to relevant archival records. When the physical space is dressed in digital material obtained through multispectral documentation, both the physical space and the documentation is contextualised. The material is thus resituated as a place-centric analytical layer accessible to care takers, conservation scientists, and the public alike, all while leaving the current state of the physical space free from obtrusive markings.