Perspectives: Negotiating the Archive

            Archival work has captured the imagination of many in the fields of history, and the arts as a central reference point of primary documentation. Still, the private notes, memoirs, and works of great historians and artists have been gathered to compose useful autobiographical archives that complement their public productions. The work of archivist and curators, as well as those whose journals are documented, has overlapped much recently. Many artists and historians have even resorted to cooperating with museums and other archival institutions to construct their content in a given manner for the advancement of particular individual interests. Breakell has advanced the view that futuristic archival work and curators of original documents have grown to depart considerably from traditional notions. The fundamental tenets of archival theory like authenticity have been traversed by new concepts of continuity, complexity, and ambiguity, which have been witnessed recently. 

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