Sparks Fly at ARLIS UK 2023- Part One
As the Graduate Trainee for CILIP Scotland, I am fortunate enough to attend continued professional development activities and training in line with my own interests within the Library and Information sector. Having a background education in History of Art, my artistically inclined mind was immediately drawn to attend the Art Libraries Society Conference 2023, with the title of Generative Spaces: The Creative Powers of the Art Library. Within this experience I found a wealth of incredibly motivating thoughts, creative exercises and some good, old fashioned inspiration too! There was so much split over the three days of keynotes, lightning talks and presentations that there is enough for two blog posts- so stay tuned for part two!
KEYNOTE
To the Library… Where Artists and Books Want To Be
Sarah Bodman, Senior Research Fellow for Artists’ Books, University of the West of England.
One of the key themes of this Keynote was the concept of artist’s intervention in the library space, namely artists like Maddy and Paul Hearn taking the physical space and filling it with words from the ethereal space. A slightly different approach to cataloguing was also taken, for artists could intervene in the space and use a visual method of cataloguing, which privileged visual over information. It spoke to a curatorial approach to displaying in the library space, one where Art and the library intertwine to create new meanings and perspectives. Art and the library in this way can feed off of each other in a sort of symbiotic way, and I think that the relationship and potential for creativity this speaks to is incredibly exciting!
With different artistic interventions in the generative Library space such as finding love in the stacks, a Library-rave self-service and a night visit to the library, a lot can come from this cultural, informational and creative intervention.
Ideas that Sarah shares, such as making the physical Library into a gallery space, privileging display, with shelves which house artworks shows how this might alter the physical space through creative mediation. The library is already an inherently creative space where knowledge and ideas live, so gaining a new perspective and way of displaying and interacting in these spaces, informed by a formally artistic approach will surely make for some interesting experimentation. Although this throws the cataloging rule book completely out of the window, I think it’s a really compelling, collaborative and creative exchange. The knowledge that it is inspired by how Artists use and think about the library as a creative resource is also a really helpful information for librarians to have, almost like user data that perhaps would not be able to be collected through formal means. You can find Sarah’s slides here.
Sarah Bodman is giving her ARLIS 2023 keynote again, you can book to attend the online talk here– I would highly recommend it!
PRESENTATION
Artists and Libraries: Research for Creative Practice
Rosie Enys, Victoria Rees and Catherine Worrall, Academic Liaison Librarians, Falmouth University and University of Exeter.
For me, this presentation was one of the most interesting and fruitful in terms of ideas. The notion of empowering research skills to support creative practice was a really successful one in my view, and especially as a theme which ran throughout the conference. The presentation consisted of Rosie talking through the design and delivery of a programme which enhanced research practices for arts students.
Their own investigation into how students interacted with the library showed that research and use of the library was synonymous with written assignments. Therefor they were inspired to explore online sessions which demystified what the library and Academic Liaison Librarians could offer. The design of the programme ended up as bite-sized online sessions taking place on the Mural online teaching tool, an interactive digital whiteboard which promotes interactivity.
Rosie emphasised that the process of creativity isn’t a linear one, and the research they could empower students to undertake informs both the creative process and the end result. Unlike written assignments, studio practice for students continues throughout the year so encouraging library use for students throughout the year creates a better and more expansive relationship with the library services.
They also ensure as part of this course that the value of research is emphasised by sharing the research belonging to lecturers who are teaching them, validating the concepts and practical skills they are gaining through processes like journaling.
This talk was the first time the word “spark” had appeared however, it would go on to be a word that underpinned and ran through the entire conference. Serendipity too, is a word which seemed to crop up again throughout the talks. The resources can be found on their website subject guides here.
LIGHTNING TALK
Alexander Bell, Liaison Librarian, University of the Creative Arts.
Alexander Bell shared a very concise but interesting lighting talk with delegates. He began by stressing the importance of gathering inspiration and source material, especially for the fashion and textile students he works with. Leading to the importance of visual literacy skills, as the creative research process requires a lot of different sources. The visual environment his students are working within is a very fast paced one with the prominence of social media, which also regularly precludes the wider context of its materials.
Alexander’s suggested mediation for this dilemma is to teach on the importance and practice of “slow looking,” which he suggests is a crucial counterbalance to social media culture. Similar to the previous talk that Rosie gave, the importance of visual literacy for Art Libraries becomes apparent. With this in mind, Alexander set out to formulate an activity-based approach to help students undertake slow looking.
The five-step approach was; look, read, examine, describe + check understanding, and reflect. It gives students the tools to approach an image, describe it and know how to conduct further research which meets the unit brief and generates key ideas.
Another key development which has impacted the way individuals approach this research is generative Artificial Intelligence and visual misinformation. (It seems as though no conference this year is exempt from the looming discussion of AI!). Although Alexander spoke of the danger to visual literacy, i.e the credulous and fictitious image creation through software, he also spoke of the way that students could explore ideas using artificial intelligence for content like mockups and mood boards. This was a really interesting perspective from an early career professional, I really enjoyed hearing about how he is tackling some of the hurdles he faces as an Art librarian in this day and age!
PRESENTATION
Lavender & Violet: Lesbian Flowers in the New York Archives
Storm Greenwood, PhD researcher, Glasgow School of Art.
I didn’t take many notes from Storm’s presentation however, it was nevertheless incredibly interesting and certainly the most charming talk of the conference. The talk had an extremely personal verve, as Storm’s research is inspired by her identity as a Lesbian, starting off the presentation with the sentiment that for feminism to be fully liberational, it has to be queer and decolonial.
Sharing the old art historical adage that art which depicts flowers as its subject is a lesser form of painting as it is mostly the preoccupation of women, Storm interrogates this concept. In her research she examines images and creations of flowers in the New York Lesbian archives and from this created her own illuminated-manuscript like paintings- which were truly beautiful (click here to see some examples from Storm’s website). This revitalisation of the craft speaks to a really radical intervention, one that’s inspired and informed by Archives. Some that are formally collected such as the New York City Public Library’s, and others which are maintained by volunteers such as the Lesbian Herstory Archive in Brooklyn.
In a kismet twist, her manuscripts will end up in the archives which she researched as part of her creative process. This was a really delightful interlude and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Storm’s botanical intertwining with Lesbian historical culture.
PRESENTATION:
At What Point(s) in the Research Lifecycle Can an Art Library Facilitate Visual Art Research?
John Latour, Teaching & Research Librarian, Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montreal.
John Latour’s presentation was a very methodical one which talked about his own research working with the art organisation Artexte, which is a library, research centre and exhibition space in Montreal, Canada. John’s experience was as a researcher in residence having been funded by the organisation to undertake research with a public output. He chose to examine how artists make use of alternate identities in Art, and how these publications would be collected and accessioned in library collections.
His research was to determine at which point in the research cycle can an art library facilitate visual research? Spoiler alert, his conclusion pointed to the answer that it could be used at any and all points, highlighting the value and expansiveness of the Art library as a resource and service to researchers. He walked through his process, sharing the eight stages in which he examined this research question:
- Initial idea/ Question: the original spark (that word again), in relation to something else.
- Plan & Design: preparatory groundwork, scope, projects and goals and a literature review.
- Explore & Create: Research is largely carried out at this stage, a time for experimentation and ideas.
- Reflections: This is the stage to look at the successes and failures of the project, analyse progress and deal with the failures and setbacks.
- Output: Going public is the main element of this stage, showing in exhibitions, publishing, but it is not the end of the process!
- Preserve & Document: Make sure it is future proofed and findable for future reference.
- Promote: Public activities.
- Reuse & Inspire: Make sure the research is open access under Creative Commons, and is online too.
To conclude, John shared that the lifecycle of research is comprised of many “distinct but related phases.” The value of the art library in every stage of this process is instrumental in supporting the successful outcomes at every stage. The way that John laid out and presented his talk emphasised the structure of his research cycle in a very meta way, and it was a very attentive presentation. You can find his writings under e-Artexte here.
The first day of ARLIS 2023 was filled with a lot of the ways in which Art librarians have problem solved to make sure that the library becomes and stays a crucial part in facilitating key ideas for creative research. Without the ingenuity of so many incredible and didactic Librarians and the faculty that support them, many people wouldn’t experience the full benefit of the Library- and what a massive shame that would be!