The project Contemporary Imaginary of the Mudejar aims to renew the set of symbols and memories associated with this artistic and cultural phenomenon, going beyond mere architectural elements. It proposes an investigation and reflection from an image-centred point of view on the relationships that the inhabitants of these places have maintained not only with the monuments, but also with the landscape, the traditions, the trades or even the construction materials that reflect the true attachment to the territory. This initiative has provided a new look at the already existing visual heritage, creating and integrating a new ‘level’ which, from the present time, is added to the set of references that until now have defined what is understood as Mudejar.
In its first phase, the project has worked on the state of the question by reviewing all the photographic archives produced by different local entities and agents, seeking to construct new stories that help to disseminate the importance of the image for communication in the 21st century and that serve to teach the new visual languages that can be used to transmit a new way of “being Mudejar”.
The second phase of the stay was linked to the Cartografías de Identidades Locales project, selected by the Ministry of Culture and Sport in the 2019 call for projects for Cultural Industries for the company Ad Hoc Gestión Cultural, in the execution of which local photography was collected with neighbourhood groups. The collection activities have been carried out in several localities -Cervera de la Cañada, Belmonte de Gracián and Tobed- but have had resonance in the rest of the Mudejar Territory through the internet and social networks, which has allowed to obtain a ‘feedback’ not only virtually, but also through small displacements and meetings that are helping to “create community”. More info at: https://www.cartografiadeidentidadesrurales.es/
This research has concluded, among other things, that it is necessary to develop a specific methodology for collecting family images in rural areas in order to recover the history and “intrahistory” of the communities and to try to “professionalise” the cataloguing process. The study also points out that the concept of vernacular/popular photography should be overcome as a mere instrument of documentation and memory and understood as an instrument for building identity and projecting specific values into the future. Furthermore, it opens the door to building a network between municipalities that allows the exchange of knowledge of the images, comparing them, finding similarities and reinforcing the sense of identity of the Mudejar territory. And also to establish and strengthen the link between the citizens and the Mudejar heritage by appealing to the common history.
LINE OF RESEARCH. It can be framed in a double line of research (1) New views on Mudejar art and (5) Heritage from its social function
THE AUTHOR. Irene Ruiz holds a PhD in Art History, a degree in Fine Arts with a specialisation in photography, a technical architect, a master’s degree in restoration and a diploma in business studies. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Architecture and Design of the Politecnico di Torino, a job she combines with her work as a professional photographer. More info: https://polito.academia.edu/IreneRuiz