1.The Importance of Space in Narrative
The fundamental reason for the birth of the field of memory is that when spontaneous memories disappear, we are forced to consciously construct archives, celebrations, and monuments. These places are no longer natural carriers of memory, but deliberately designed symbols of memory – they are both ruins and new life.——P.17-19
Nora pointed out that when spontaneous memory breaks, we are forced to ‘build symbol monuments on cemeteries’. This means that the real space and events of the past need to be reconstructed and merged and filtered, merging important elements and removing unimportant parts. This is the important aspect after iterating traditional on-site, oral, and book based approaches – design. Through design, the audience can more intuitively experience an emotion rather than a specific unrelated story of others. As a creator, I believe that I do not have the power to comment on history and guide the audience, but rather the power to display all traces.
2.Designing Ceremonies to Highlight Collective Memory
Rituals ceased to be unconscious practices of the group and became specimens to be displayed. When the ritual moved from the shrine to the museum, the officiating priest changed from the patriarch to the curator.——P.152-154
Collective family rituals crystallize culture, but this can make it difficult for members to understand the significance of the rituals. It is how to bring out the meaning that is the essential claim of the ritual. For example, the essence of a family ritual is to make the ancestors and past deeds known and memorized by younger family members. This unites the family connection and identity.
3.The hypocrisy of the historical record
The piling up of files exposes the fractured nature of memory. We record frantically only because real memory is dead.P.23
Artificial records are positional and unjust, so we have to think: what form of recording and presentation is respectful of history and posterity?
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