(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

In his book, Camera Lucinda: Reflections on Photography, Roland Barthes wrote that the photograph is not a perfect depiction of the world it captures but a carefully crafted one based on the photographer’s point of view and values. The photograph is not a copy of reality, but a representation of it, providing one focalization created by the photographer’s choices of what and how to capture the image. Barthes, who admits to not being a photographer, approaches the subject from a philosophical and literary theorist standpoint. Using literary theory principles explored by himself and fellow narratologists (Gerard Genette, Jonathon Culler, Gerard Prince and Claude Bremond, among others), Barthes analyses the photograph as literature. Within narratology, a piece of literature is a narrative — or representation — of the story. The narrative provides one point of view and narrow focalization of the actual events that transpired — a filtered interpretation, much like a photograph’s selective view of reality. The same concept applies to the three-dimensional models created to become the digital twin of reality within heritage documentation and dissemination through digital storytelling. The digital model is a representation carefully constructed with the desired focalization highlighted. It is a combination of multiple individual digital assets, including but not limited to floors, walls, windows, furniture, columns, ornaments, sculptures, and lighting. The team creating the model chooses which assets to include or exclude and what level of detail is needed for their representation. The modeller becomes the world builder and decides what parts of reality are translated to the digital representation, expressing one focalized view of the heritage building. The modeller, like the photographer, does not capture reality but presents a single focalization of it. Therefore, digital models should be viewed using literary theory principles and read as narratives that provide one focalization.