Living history is about the living more than the history, I think. Here the twenty-first century looks back at the nineteenth century. The young man on the skateboard was just mesmerized by the blacksmith heating up rods of metal and pounding them, with sparks flying, into something useful (in this case, door hinges). For me, this photo shows why these history demonstrations are so important: they reach out to people today and help them see how their lives are connected to what went before.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Bridging the Centuries
Living history is about the living more than the history, I think. Here the twenty-first century looks back at the nineteenth century. The young man on the skateboard was just mesmerized by the blacksmith heating up rods of metal and pounding them, with sparks flying, into something useful (in this case, door hinges). For me, this photo shows why these history demonstrations are so important: they reach out to people today and help them see how their lives are connected to what went before.
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3 comments:
Yes, its a good idea. I doubt he would have ever found out about metal work from the past. Nice photo :)
I find it fascinating that in this day and age a youngster could take such and interest in the older fellows olde worlde skills. I'm originally from the UK Birmingham and ironworks, foundries, sheet metal works were all around. It was known as the workshop of the world at one time, but well manufacturing is a bygone skill in the UK. A real link here to my own heritage.
History is fascinating when you translate it into how people lived, loved, worked.
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