Twisted Preservation Blog

  • Transparent Boundaries

    Transparent Boundaries

    As I clean my windows in our 1777 colonial house in Newport, with the sun streaming through the glass (a rarity lately), I contemplate how keeping clean windows has been a constant thread throughout my life. In 1999, I wrote about my philosophy of old windows but never explored my compulsion to keep them pristine. Read more

  • The Private Surveyor

    The Private Surveyor

    For years, a vintage postcard of Prague has held court on my studio table, a daily touchstone that speaks to something deeper than mere architecture. The Gothic spires and medieval towers rising against that moody sky aren’t just picturesque – they’ve fundamentally shaped how I see the world around me. Through this image, I’ve understood Read more

  • The Disposable Monument: Finding Truth in Transient Memory

    The Disposable Monument: Finding Truth in Transient Memory

    The act of remembering is never neutral. As I’ve watched different cultures and institutions create monuments to commemorate historical violence and genocide, I’ve found myself increasingly troubled by the underlying dynamics at play. There seems to be an unspoken assumption that memorialization somehow balances the scales of history – as if acknowledging past wrongs through Read more

  • Performative Authenticity

    Performative Authenticity

    Recently, while attending a drag brunch, I was struck by an unexpected parallel between the hyper-feminine (or masculine) presentation of drag performance and the carefully curated aesthetics of American historical landmarks. I realized that both practices engage in cultural amplification that transcends mere imitation to create something more theatrical and pointed than their original inspiration. Read more

  • Excavating Inequality

    Excavating Inequality

    As the author of these essays – which I began writing in 2020 and have continued to develop through thoughtful feedback and reflection – I’ve attempted to explore systemic bias within heritage conservation and historic preservation. My nine interconnected theses suggest we must examine our field’s fundamental assumptions about preservation work, including how our current Read more

  • Artificial Intelligence: Preservation, Destruction, and Cultural Intelligence

    Artificial Intelligence: Preservation, Destruction, and Cultural Intelligence

    Attending Pratt’s conference on “Preservation in a Time of Precarity: Intersecting Indigenous Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence” laid bare the profound complexities of AI as both a preserver and a transformer of cultural heritage. The day’s discussions examined how our relationship with AI technology mirrors many of humanity’s historical patterns – it can either amplify our Read more