"Latta Plantation" Taken by James Dillon Yeager III
Precision or Perception: Latta Plantation's Ambivalent Authenticity was written in Dillon's Introduction to Preservation studio. In questioning the fabric of record and perception, one introduces the reevaluation of previously accepted narratives. In today’s climate of preservation progressives, such judicious critiques further broaden the field from social disparity to academic investigation. With such derivatives in mind, the frameworks of heritage and preservation converge. It is in this intersection that particular assessment is due in regard to authenticity. Considered by some to be a distant notion of unachievable objectivity, authenticity can elude many preservation endeavors in place of appropriated settings. Concerning reconstructions, Kelly et al. states “any building is an artifact of its context.” While such proposals may reign true, what contexts are perceivable in such a building? Even if new interpretations can “[recover] a cultural identity,” what party claims the title? Whereas Kelly et al. presents an international approach to authenticity, the 1800 federal mansion, Latta House offers a distinctly American view of the Antebellum plantation. Not only exclusive to such Gone with the Wind understandings, but many house museums have also exchanged a comprehensive existence for more myopic legacies. However, it is on the banks of the Catawba River that Charlotte’s Latta Plantation exploits an ambiguous philosophy in the application of their heritage and preservation. Please scroll down to the final paper, Precision or Perception: Latta Plantation's Ambivalent Authenticity.
Precision or Perception
