Littlefield, D. 2019. Authentic reconstruction: authenticity, architecture and the built Heritage. International Journal of Heritage Studies. 25 (2), pp. 221-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2018.1476399
| Title | Authentic reconstruction: authenticity, architecture and the built Heritage |
|---|---|
| Type | Book review |
| Authors | Littlefield, D. |
| Abstract | It is two decades since US architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote of her loathing of the term ‘authentic reproduction,’ damning it as a perversion of language. It must therefore have been with great deliberation that the editors of this book choose use this very term; indeed, John Bold writes in the introduction that the title is ‘deliberately provocative'. There does indeed seem to be something perverse in the concept of a reproduction embodying such a sense of originality, essence, aura or value that it can be said to be in any way authentic. However, observers of developments within the fields of heritage and authenticity will know that authentic reproduction is not as oxymoronic as would it would appear. As this book makes clear, the notion of authenticity is socially critical, though complex and nuanced; equally, the need for a calculated and meaningful response to the loss of historic sites is pressing. The conclusion being that some sort of reconstruction might meet those intangible needs of cultural identity and a sense of place, while delivering something architecturally truthful and useful. |
| Keywords | authenticity |
| heritage | |
| reconstruction | |
| loss | |
| Journal | International Journal of Heritage Studies |
| Journal citation | 25 (2), pp. 221-224 |
| ISSN | 1352-7258 |
| 1470-3610 | |
| Year | 2019 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2018.1476399 |
| Web address (URL) | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527258.2018.1476399 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published online | 25 May 2018 |
| Published in print | 2019 |