Editors Note
Welcome to the fourteenth issue of Acid Free, a biannual online publication of the Los Angeles Archivists Collective.
Recent years have seen a growing interest in archives among artists and arts institutions. At the same time, archivists working with artists' materials — whether in museums, galleries, studios, institutes, or foundations — face specific concerns that are often left unaddressed in broader archival conversations. This issue brings this work to light and asks, "Where are the archivists in the archival turn in art?"
The articles that follow respond to this question from many perspectives. We hear from archivists who enter their artists' lives and studios to work with their materials, whether procesing in situ in a Manhattan studio loft or preparing a collection for transfer from the artist's living space in the Westbeth Artists Housing in downtown New York. Others deal with artists' afterlives through interpretive archival projects, such as the David Wojnarowicz Knowledge Base at NYU, or efforts to create oral histories for members of artists' estates, foundations, and researchers preparing their catalogues raisonnés at the Wildenstein Plattner Institute.
The nuances of access and programming can vary based on the convictions and needs of the record creators and their housing institutions. We hear from archivists at the Skid Row History Museum & Archive, a project of the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) arts organization. At the Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, archivists grapple with the complexities of access and transparency in juxtaposition with the realities of finance and philanthropy in the art world. We are introduced to ART | library deco, an online virtual art library documenting the visual experience of art and literature through the eyes of African American artists and institutions. And in Watertown, Massachusetts, the Project Save Armenian Photograph Archives considers how to expand its traditional mandate through artist programming.
We look at conservation conerns for artworks, whether they are those of plastics and plastic-based artworks at the Getty Conservation Institute, or as they appear in the monumental task of transporting a giant mural by Diego Rivera from its original location, at the City College of San Francisco, into a museum setting. Finally, we consider the descriptive and preservation challenges of archiving ephemeral and location-based artworks such as graffiti.
We hope you enjoy this issue, and as always we would love to hear from you! Email Acid Free at acidfree@laacollective.org, or give us a shout out @laacollective.
Stories
Finding Street Art in the Archives
Marissa Friedman explores where we might encounter street art in the archives and issues around the documentation of an impermanent medium.
Some Considerations for Archival Use
Zach Rutland discusses issues of access and ethical use when stewarding materials of the Skid Row History Museum and Archive for the Los Angeles Poverty Department.
After Sunset: LACA + Common Field
Acid Free's Jennie Freeburg speaks with Hailey Loman of the Los Angeles Contemporary Archive and Shevaun Wright, an artist and lawyer, about the Common Field Archive and the possibilities and limitations of radical transparency in an art world bound up in philanthropy.
The Cosmos Loved Us
Becky Alexander discusses the transport of Diego Rivera’s fresco The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on This Continent from City College of San Francisco into temporary residence at SFMOMA.
The Archives as Salve
Arto Vaun discusses the legacy of the Project Save Armenian Photography Archives, and plans for artist and research residencies.
Plastics Conservation in Art
M Suhosky considers the challenges of plastics conservation while processing a library of trade literature from the Getty Conservation Institute's Collin J. Williamson collection.
Archiving in the Clouds
Lauren McDaniel recalls her experience processing fiber artist Lenore Tawney’s eclectic archive in the artist’s Manhattan loft studio.
Where Archives Meet Artistic Legacies
Josie Naron and Samantha Rowe discuss the Wildenstein Plattner Institute’s initiative to create oral histories with researchers and members of artists' estates and foundation, in addition to their archives and catalogue raisonné projects.
ART | library deco
kYmberly Keeton reflects on the origin of ART | library deco and her realization that education materials could be more broadly accessible through targeted initiatives and effort.
Manifestations Which Compress as Coal into Diamonds
Patricia Reguyal reflects on navigating the blurry boundary between art and archive while helping multi-faceted artist Barbara Rosenthal prepare her collection for transfer.
Activating the Artist's Archive
John Henry discusses his work around the archives of David Wojnarowicz and his participation in the creation of the David Wojnarowicz Knowledge Base as part of NYU's Artist Archives Initiative.
Masthead
Editors
Laura Cherry · Courtney Dean · Jennie Freeburg
Melissa Haley · Alyssa Loera
Art Direction
Grace Danico
Editor-in-Chief
Lori Dedeyan
Past Issues
Sign-up to be a member of LAAC
Connect With Us
Site by Grace Danico