This page is an idea board for the electronic monument, or MEmorial, I propose to construct in my AM ST 550 final project. It is designed for communities in Susquehanna County, PA where industries such as coal mining, the railroad, sawmills, and hydraulic fracturing have influence and shaped the cultural landscape. Richard Longstreth describes the cultural landscape as including man-made and natural components, the relationship between them, and their historical context, which may include one or many special events or kinds of meaning. In the case of Susquehanna County, PA, the natural landscape, material culture, local stories, family traditions, art, and many other cultural components have been shaped by its industrial heritage. The MEmorial would attempt to display, commemorate, and invite discussion about all aspects of this cultural landscape, recognizing both the static and dynamic aspects of a region’s cultural identity.
The idea for the electronic monument, or MEmorial, is based on the theory of Gregory L. Ulmer (Electronic Monuments). He argues that “Memory and identity have evolved with the changes in the language apparatus of civilization.” (x) Essentially, just as the media of communication have changed, so might the media of identity formation and commemoration.
~Preexisting physical monuments to the impact of technology on the Susquehanna County landscape – coal mining and the railroad – serve as visual anchors for my accompanying electronic monument to Susquehanna County industrial heritage.~
“The rhizomatic nature of tourism and monuments is due to the reciprocal relationship between the formation of individual and collective identity. The entry points to the network of American identity are marked by monuments.” (Ulmer, 13)
Starrucca Viaduct, Lanesboro, PA (photo from Wikipedia)
Martin’s Creek Viaduct, Kingsley, PA (postcard from Bridgehunter website)
Coal Miner Bronze Tableau, Forest City, PA (photo from Susquehanna County Historic Sites)
~Industries represented in Pennsylvania art~
1937 Works Progress Administration poster of Pennsylvania coal miner
Starrucca Viaduct (1865), Jasper Francis Cropsey
1949 Pennsylvania Railroad Calendar: Painting by Grif Teller
Old Saw Mill (1851), Alfred S. Wall. There is an interesting article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about this painting.
Pennsylvania art depicting hydraulic fracturing is still being produced. As the industry and its impacts on the Pennsylvania cultural landscape are still comparatively new, the majority of art available on the internet is political-style cartoons. Ideally the MEmorial would be able to present a much wider variety of art than that seen here, from the contributions of community members. Their images and artwork may also be more likely to include images of people, which are for the most part missing from those images presented here.
- An interesting article from 2011 in The New Yorker has two fracking-related cartoons.
- Visual representations depicting hydraulic fracturing are often photographs by Pennsylvania residents or schematic diagrams by universities or companies explaining the process. The photos below are from my colleague and PA resident Hilary Miller. The photos depict the Pennsylvania landscape, but not Susquehanna County. The diagram is by Mike Norton, from the Wikipedia Creative Commons.
This last photo shows some of the roads that are required in any area where hydraulic fracturing takes place.
