Returning to Historical Materials:A Reflection on the Use of Images as Historical Evidence in the Perspective of Archival Science
The use of images as historical evidence is not only an important topic in the field of traditional art history,but also an important prerequisite for the entry of image research into the field of history.Although images as new historical materials and sources of evidence have entered the study of history,the challenges faced by image materials in terms of credibility and clarity,as well as their subsidiary status as a supplement to textual narratives,have affected the scope and possibilities of their entry into history,leading to reflections on the concept of historical materials at the theoretical level of history.The root cause of this dis-cussion lies in the fact that although the current historiography focuses on the use of image-related historical materials,it still cannot break away from the traditional ways of text-based historical research.Therefore,it has not been possible to provide a theoretical perspective on the unique recording methods of images and the diverse content information.From the perspective of archival studies,and through re-examining the essence and mechanism of image evidence in history and leveraging the archival attributes and historical characteristics of image materials,images can enter the perspective of historical research and become the objective and primitive textual basis,thus completing the research premise of image history.To truly achieve the goal of verif-ying history through images,it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the content elements of images and their corresponding historical connections,and to restore more complex and multifaceted historical facts through more detailed and comprehensive documentary records.Therefore,the discussion on the use of images as historical evidence should return to the recording characteristics of image-related historical materials themselves.In addition to seeking truth and novelty in historical materials,it requires comprehensiveness.While achieving a complete and systematic understanding and application of the con-cepts about historical materials,it also provides ideas and methods for more related issues.
images as historical evidencebinary archival practiceconcept of historical materials
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