Crafting the Past: Mission Models and the Curation of California Heritage

Abstract

Small scale representations of the California missions in the form of mission models and miniatures have circulated in public and private display contexts for close to a century.Produced by students, hobbyists, preservationists, and artists, this material culture constructs in specific and codified ways an ideal mission materiality. For almost a century the mission models have been consumed through the distinct discursive practices of crafting, collecting, displaying, and buying. The models allow me, therefore, to trace the production of cultural memory in daily life through the materialization of heritage constituted through formal and informal practices, across personal and public spheres, and over multiple generations. In their representation of landscape, labor, and Native Americans, these discursive cultural artifacts contribute to the construction of a highly politicized past that reinforces a romanticized and valorized presentation of colonialism. A postcolonial critique of the models also raises questions regarding the roles of heritage professionals in mediating community-curated history. Keywords:Resumen: Durante casi un siglo, las reproducciones a pequeña escala de las misiones de California en forma de maquetas y miniaturas han circulado en contextos de exposición tanto públicos como privados. Realizadas por estudiantes, aficionados, conservacionistas y artistas, la cultura material construye de formas específicas y codificadas una materialidad de la misión ideal. Durante casi un siglo, las maquetas de las misiones se han consumido a través de las distintas prácticas discursivas de las artesanías, las colecciones, las exhibiciones y las compras. Por lo tanto, las maquetas nos permiten rastrear la producción de la memoria cultural en la vida diaria a través de la materialización del patrimonio constituida mediante prácticas formales e informales, en la esfera personal y la pública, y a lo largo de múltiples generaciones. En su representación del paisaje, el trabajo, y los nativos americanos, estos artefactos culturales discursivos contribuyen a la construcción de un pasado sumamente politizado que refuerza una presentación idealizada y valorizada del colonialismo. Una crítica poscolonial de las maquetas también plantea preguntas con respecto a los roles que desempeñan los profesionales del patrimonio a la hora de mediar la historia curada por la comunidad.Résumé: Des représentations à petite échelle de missions californiennes sous la forme de maquettes de missions et de miniatures ont été présentées de manière publique et privée depuis

Can Buildings be Racist? A Critical Sociology of Architecture and the Built Environment

“…The promotion of this myth was so widespread that since the 1960s, California school children have been building scale models of the missions every year. Here, we see public education playing an active role in promoting this idealized architecture while whitewashing its history (Kryder‐Reid 2015; Menchaca and Valencia 1990).…”

“…While greater awareness of the past is important, it is important to directly confront these legacies in the present. As Kryder‐Reid (2015) documents, the building of mission models is deeply entrenched in the region’s collective memory. For instance, terms such as “tradition” or “rite of page” are still invoked when discussing this school project.…”