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Violeta Periklieva, Ivaylo Markov
Visualization of Policies of Cultural Memory
Construction
Introduction
According to Anthony Cohen, history is extremely malleable and its recalling is
based on interpretative reconstruction (Cohen 1995: 99-101)—that is on the
creation of “cultural memory”, in the terminology of Jan Assmann (2011). Cul¬
tural memory refers to the collective memories of a shared past transmitted from
generation to generation within a bigger or smaller social group and to the col¬
lective recollection and the process of remembering an event or person from the
past (Misztal 2003: 13). The process of remembering is inevitably influenced by
the specific context—this is what Maurice Halbwachs (1925) calls a “social frame¬
work” of collective memory. In this sense, remembering depends on the “space”
in which it occurs, therefore on the momentary aspirations of the remembering
subject. Hence, memory is a function of social power, and its expression varies
with the social settings in which people find themselves (Bourdieu 1986: 69-72).
Thus, cultural memory is not only what people really remember through their
own experience but it also incorporates the constructed past, which is constitutive
of the collectivity: it refers to human memories constructed from cultural forms
and to the cultural forms available to the people when constructing their attitudes
toward the past. These cultural forms are transmitted through various media—so¬
cial institutions and cultural artefacts, such as memorial complexes, monuments,
paintings, souvenirs, movies, music and so forth (Misztal 2003: 12-13). Cultural
memory is also related to specific cultural practices, commemorations, ceremonies,
festivals. In reference to this, Pierre Nora coins the term few de mémoire, which
may refer to any place, object, or concept vested with historical significance that
denotes, simultaneously or separately, the three aspects of memory: the material,
symbolic, and functional (Nora 1989). In addition, the importance and the role
of teachers, writers, painters, and even researchers as bearers and distributers of
cultural memory should be stressed. Therefore, the memory for the past emerges in
strong connection to the communication and interaction in the frame of a social
group. Upon their transmission, the cultural forms, objects and sites of memory
most often take visual form or material expression. Visualization is one of the most
powerful mechanisms for transmitting messages and ideas, for emotional impact
and suggestion, for constructing cultural memory and attitude towards the past.
Based on this theoretical frame, the chapter presents an example of construc¬
tion and maintenance of cultural memory through purposeful cultural policies
transmitted through various media and having diverse visual and material ex¬