Overwhelming blogging
Ask any archivist how they feel starting a new job position or starting to process a huge archive collection. The response is pretty universal, overwhelming. Library & archive institutions can house hundreds of thousands of records, volumes, publications, rarely you’ll even find artefacts. If each volume contains 100 pages, that is potentially 100 unique stories, events, and perspectives. As a professional archivist, my role is to organize records into an accessible filing system. One that preserves records original order, their informational authenticity which adds to societies collective knowledge of history.
Receiving funds & support from the James Ford Bell library research fellowship, the virtual artist residency is approaching knowledge from an artist creative perspective. My practice is shaped by the working methods / philosophy of an archivist. The creative activity I produce is always in some way structured by records management theory, practices, or literally based upon the retained archival knowledge that this management process helps preserve.
So, what art journey can you expect to follow? What outcome will be produced? Archivists retain and make accessible knowledge with high informational / evidential value. Navigating Narratives doesn’t aim to produce a specific form, produce journal articles, rather the research emphasis is on the creative discovery from within the home. That is enabled by the institutional knowledge finding aid and blogs.
COVID-19 has restricted physical access to heritage on an international scale. I can’t visit the James Ford Bell library in person, therefore my experience of this heritage will be exploring the digital documentation (generated legacy data) made available by the institutional staff. Navigating Narratives is essentially a question; is it possible to create artwork (research) preserving high informational & evidential value that could be considered for long-term retention by the Institution? Will the creative activity enhance our understanding of the collections, or enable access to knowledge through a different visual perspective? Will the records generated preserve an unique perspective of living through the pandemic as a creative practitioner who like everyone else, is restricted to the home environment.