how do we make better use of our archives?

To restore cultural innovation, he proposes, paradoxically, that we once again need to become intimately familiar with all that has come before:

In the past, conservatives treated the canon as a sacred and complete archive, something to be preserved rather than expanded. This is precisely why the avant-garde sought to destroy it. But in truth, even

... See more

no, it isn’t entirely sensible to take thousands of pictures of your life (or to undertake many of the projects that captivate us); and, no, you’re not likely to wring transcendence out of the mundane on a regular basis. You can, however, learn something about yourself and your world by doing or attempting to do these things. Even amateur hour... See more

It occurs to me, much later than it occurred to the archivists, that we have never possessed such a complete and damning record of our past interactions. I can tell you every college scholarship I never got. Every sale at The Gap for the past 18 years. Every flight I’ve ever taken, anywhere in the world. Most grocery lists, news alerts,... See more