Libraries, Archives & Databases 2011

High / Low
Opening Recetion: Saturday, April 9th. 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Presented by Eyelevel BQE Gallery (map)
April 9th Through May 7th, 2011

The beautiful thing about knowledge and books is that there is no one library. Even all of the world, collectively at any one moment is only part of the library. This exhibition, instead of trying to possess all knowledge, asks how to contain/present/expand/hold/share knowledge. Reading and writing are not necessarily separate activities and so HIGH/LOW suggests that using/storing/designing/collecting are not necessarily separate, either.

High / Low showcases projects that tackle ideas around the physical structure of libraries, exploring ways to display, store and archive books. During the course of the exhibition visitors are encouraged to contribute with donating materials for this library, and to use the books that are being displayed. Once the exhibition ends, these will form part of the library at The Gowanus Studio Space.

Participating designers and artists:
JOSEPH BURWELL / HECTOR CANONGE / BENJAMIN COHEN / NATALIA PORTER / MARIANNA DELLEKAMP / COLLEEN WHITELEY / ERIC WHITELEY / Emcee C.M., Master of None and all the K.I.D.S. / RICH WATTS

www.EyelevelGallery.com

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Deep / Shallow
Friday, April 29th. 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Presented by The Gowanus Studio Space (map)
April 29th through May 29th, 2011

Reference material is as often heavily researched as it is happened upon. Artists in Deep / Shallow respond to GSS library references that have been used as visual resources for other artists. The appropriation of these resources forces a continuity (which normally occurs organically and over time) across disciplines, content and processes.

To see materials donated visit: thelibraryatgowanusstudio.tumblr.com

Participating artists and designers:
FANNY ALLIÉ / GABRIELA ALVA CAL Y MAYOR / JILL AUCKENTHALER / NATALIA PORTER / BEN COHEN / NOAH BREUER / JONATHAN BUTT / ANGELA CONANT / HECTOR CANONGE / GRAYSON COX / KENDRA SULLIVAN / DYLAN GAUTHIER / EMILY ELSEN / BEKA GOEDDE / HALEY HUGHES / KATIE MERZ / RACHEL OSTROW / SARAH NICOLE PHILLIPS / FRANCESCO SIMETI / NICHOLE VAN BEEK / JOHN WHITLOCK / PERFORMANCE/INSTALLATION BY ROB ANDREWS

ABOUT THE LIBRARY AT THE GSS
The Library rethinks library organization by shifting from static, object-oriented models to a dynamic, process-based approach: not to categorize and associate with objective properties of publications, but to map their (inter)connections by focusing on the ways in which they have influenced artists.  The Library compiles these materials to gradually, organically construct a web of ever-growing references and to map a shared artistic history.

The Library shares both its physical location and overarching objectives with The Gowanus Studio Space. The Brooklyn-based studio provides support and a shared workspace for artists and designers working in a variety of disciplines and mediums, with the goal of fostering creative collaboration.

For more information visit http://www.gowanusstudio.org/TheLibrary

Institutional Critique: The Mamma Haïdara Library, Timbuktu, Mali

by Christopher Bentley

This essay critiques the post-colonial library through a case study of the Mamma Haïdara Library in Timbuktu. The library, in north-central Mali, is an internationally funded storage and research facility for Islamic manuscripts of north and west African origin.

Wendy Scheir, Director of the Kellen Archives, shared this announcement from a local archivists’ listserv:

An Invitation from Council Member Gale Brewer
A hearing in the City Council Governmental Operations  Committee regarding the proposed merger of the NYC Department of Records  & Information Services (DORIS) with the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) is scheduled for Wednesday, April 27, 2011, at 1pm, at 250 Broadway, 14 Floor, NY NY.

“City Hall is considering a substantial change in the administrative structure of the New York City Department of Records and Information  Services (DORIS), the department that runs the NYC Municipal Archives  and Library. The proposal will merge DORIS into the Department of  Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), a much larger and less specialized agency. The proposal must be brought before the City Council and approved by its members before it can be enacted. Eileen Flannelly,  the Commissioner of DORIS, at a hearing on March 15, described the proposed merger at a public meeting near City Hall. The Muni Archives and Library are the keepers of our city’s official history. They have birth and death records, mayoral papers, photographs of every building in the five boroughs, and old WNYC-TV film footage, to mention just a miniscule fraction of their holdings. They are the repositories of irreplaceable historical information and treasures that must not be  neglected or mistreated, so it is important that this proposal be well  considered. It must be discussed in public with input and feedback from  all of us concerned about the city’s past.”

Directions to the hearing location can be found on the New York City Council website here.

Archives' Stacks by Anne G on Flickr: http://bit.ly/hOLepJ

Archiving the Interwebs: A Look at 4chanarchive
A tumblr by Darrell McIndoe

Excerpt: <<Because of the impermanent nature of 4chan’s content the users took it upon themselves to archive those threads which they believe will be worth returning to at some point in the future. The culture of 4chan is permeated with talk of “epic posts” and “gets” (“4chan”), the former is any post which is seen to be extraordinarily funny or relevant, the latter is when a thread or post in a thread receives a certain ordered number, as all posts in all boards have their number clearly displayed in the upper-right corner. It’s not difficult to see how devotees of the board would be disappointed in missing an important post, possibly the genesis of the next lolcats or rickroll. The 4chanarchive is an attempt to capture these conversations in a snapshot that can be experienced in less than real-time.>>

Library Card, 1916, by Paul G: http://bit.ly/hGIwBZ

You’re welcome to take an extra week with your final project proposals. They’re now due before class on Tuesday, April 19. Of course you’re welcome to submit them before then! See the “Assignments” area for more details.

The New York University Department of Anthropology
invites you to
The 13th Annual Annette Weiner Lecture

ELIZABETH  EDWARDS

Senior Research Fellow, University of the Arts London

Marks of Being: Photographs and the Excavation of Encounter
A Case Study from the Pacific

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6PM, Thursday, April 7th
Hemmerdinger Hall (1st floor)
Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East
(Enter on 32 Waverly Place)
New York University

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THIS EVENT IS C0-SPONSORED BY THE CENTER FOR RELIGION & MEDIA

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Seating is limited. Please RSVP to: ANTHROPOLOGY@NYU.EDU