(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)
Abstract
Subcultures, as cultural practices implemented by social actors who seek to distinguish themselves within more complex cultural systems, provide belief systems, customs, practices, and codes of social interaction that can turn into countercultures, or be absorbed by society in the form of fashion and lifestyle expressions. In this context of opposition to a hegemonic culture, alternative cultures and youth cultures exhibit a complex relation with mainstream culture. Elements of opposition to the institutionalized culture, such as copyright infringement, anti-commercialism and anti-conformism challenge the possibilities of integration into formal heritage frameworks and introduce elements of complexity with regard to the preservation, documentation and communication of such cultures through the traditional instruments of cultural heritage. In this paper, we present a digital storytelling format that aims to build a multimedia narrative, based on historical documents and testimonies, that aims to portray the complex nature of historicized subcultures through the use of historic documents and contemporary testimonies. This format allows to create a dialogue between the external representation of the subculture, as perceived by mass-media and self-representations provided by the culture itself, through self-produced communication artifacts, such as fanzines, pirate and free radios, forums, websites, and social media. The proposed format is presented through a case study designed to describe the subculture originated from the Pordenone punk scene, in Italy. The digital storytelling project is composed of two main modules: the first provides a rich multimedia narrative based on more than 446 photographs, 12 posters, 10 fanzine, 8 records, and 5 videos that reconstruct the evolution of the subculture, its main protagonists, the places of its development, and the artifacts that have been produced by it. The second module offers a digital archive that allows for direct-access fruition of the documents, allowing for a personal exploration of the contents.
Marco Quaggiotto is a senior researcher at the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano, where he holds a PhD in Industrial Design and Multimedia Communication. Since 2009 he has been a lecturer at the Design School of the Politecnico di Milano, where he teaches Communication Design with a focus on digital communication formats. His work is focused on the field of Communication Design, with particular interest in the design of digital interfaces for the exploration of complex territories and systems, the application of digital cartography to narrative formats, and issues related to the representation and interaction with data and knowledge systems.
Giovanni Covre is a visual and digital designer. He has a master’s degree in Communication Design at Politecnico di Milano with a thesis on communication strategies for subcultures and youth cultures, and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and Multimedia at the IUAV University of Venice. His work is focused on the design of immersive digital narratives that tie together social and cultural elements of the territory, especially in regard with subcultures, youth cultures and their relationships with the overall cultural context. Currently he works as freelance visual and digital designer in Venice (Italy).