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Fact or Truth

Lisl Ponger.
Text: Tim Sharp. / Fotos: Lisl Ponger. Ausstellungsansichten: Peter Olschinsky.

 

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 “Archaeology is the search for facts, not truth.” One of the betterknown sayings of Indiana Jones, hero of Steven Spielberg‘s film epos,
an adventurer, archaeologist, and university professor. In the third of the four films Dr. Jones goes in search of the holy grail and, of course,
finds it though he is not able to hold onto it and thus fails to implement his guiding motto: “It belongs in a museum”, something all the
good guys say with absolutist conviction. In another film he tells his students “X never, ever, marks the spot”, and his voice is vibrant with
the certitude of the crusading educator. He didn’t count to X before he said it so, moments later, Dr. Jones is battering away at the medieval
floor of a Venetian church/library where X does mark the spot. But it’s only make believe after all so we don’t have to pay too much attention
to the fact that throughout his career Dr. Jones leaves rather a large number of compromised cultural objects behind, contrary to what one
might expect from a professional archaeologist. ...

 

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