a subject in transition; opportunities and problems
CHArt Seventeenth Annual Conference
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DIGITAL
ART HISTORY a subject in transition; opportunities and problems |
Wlodek Witek, Norwegian Library, Oslo, Norway
With camera to India, Iran and Afghanistan: Access to multimedia sources of Prof. Dr. Morgenstierne's cultural research material from South Asia 1923-1975
This project is concerned with the archive of the Norwegian linguist and explorer Prof. Georg Morgenstierne (1892-1978). The digitised archive has been made available at the National Library of Norway's website and an English translation is under development. This concludes nearly four years of research by a small team from the University of Oslo and the National Library. The material comprises over 3000 items (photographs, moving images, audio and a selection of drawings, sketches and notes) from Morgenstierne's travels to South Asia: Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
The uniqueness of this archive lies in the audio-visual records, especially those from 1929, of the previously undocumented culture of the tribes living in the secluded valleys of what is today Pakistan, the area of Chitral, near the border with Afghanistan. Some of these tribes retained the ancient religion and for centuries resisted (also through armed struggle) Islamisation from both Afghanistan and India (Pakistan). The once large area of Kafiristan was suppressed by the Emir of Afghanistan following his invasion of 1896 which also wiped out most artistic symbols that the people there made over centuries.
What prompted our project in 1998 was the fact that there was only one person left in Norway (1998) who knew the content and value of the archive and was concerned about the future of this heritage. This person is no longer with us today, but we have managed to finish the work on time to save these important records from oblivion. Not only has the archive been digitised and preserved, but also analysed, the content of individual records, exact dates and places identified and classified in order to give researchers free access to this material. We hope that one day the indigenous people will also gain access.
Website: www.nb.no/baser/morgenstierne/