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Archive for February, 2008

Library acquisitions February 2008

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 28 February 2008

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Alÿs, Francis. Politics of rehearsal, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, 2007. ART MN 19 ALY
Picabia, Francis. I am a beautiful monster: poetry, prose, and provocation. MIT, 2007. ART MF 19 PIC
Virilio, Paul. Art as far as the eye can see. Berg, 2007. ART BA VIR
Avant-garde 2: experimental cinema 1928-1954. Kino Video, 2007. ISSUE DESK DVD 1147

The full list can be found here: Library acquisitions February 2008

British Transport Films Collection

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 27 February 2008

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The library has just acquired all six volumes in the BFI’s British Transport Films Collection.

Following the nationalisation of transport in 1948, the British Transport Commission set up its own in-house film production unit. Launched on 1st May 1949, and led for 25 years by Edgar Anstey – a founding father of the British documentary movement – it became one of the largest industrial film units in Britain.

These films are now prime examples of innovation in post-war British non-fiction filmmmaking. The set includes classics such as ‘Let’s go to Birmingham’, the Free Cinema-inspired ‘Holiday’, and the award winning ‘Terminus’, directed by John Schlesinger.

The collection is shelved with the DVDs at the Main Library Issue Desk.

Surrealism Plays

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 26 February 2008

man-ray.jpgSurrealism Plays is a website dedicated to Surrealist literature and avant-garde theatre. It includes short biographies of writers associated with the Surrealist movement such as Andre Breton and Federico Garcia Lorca. Avant-garde playwrights covered include Bertolt Brecht, John Paul-Sartre and Samuel Beckett. The section on Surrealist poetry contains five poems by Federico Garcia Lorca, Andre Breton, Antonin Artaud, Robert Desnos and Benjamin Peret. There is a bibliography covering Surrealist literature and theatre. Other sections include: Surrealist artists; publications and news; images and links to other relevant websites. There is also a link on the homepage to Andre Breton’s `First Manifesto of Surrealism’ (1924).

REWIND: artists’ video in the 70s and 80s

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 19 February 2008

Interview with Ian BreakwellThe REWIND project is digitally re-mastering artists’ works in video from the 70s and 80s. From the master DVDs, viewing copies form the basis of the REWIND Artists’ Video Collection, for curatorial, scholarly and public access at the Visual Research Centre, Dundee Contemporary Arts and CARTE in central London.

The REWIND website forms a database which includes detailed information, technical information, associated ephemera, reviews and critical texts on the artists and works, digitised paper archives, interviews, clips and still images from the works with searchable index.

BBC Audio Interviews

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 19 February 2008

Alfred HitchcockA collection of audio extracts from the BBC archives which can be accessed using RealPlayer via the BBC Four website. A wide range of people are featured, including actors, architects, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and politicians. Artists include Anthony Caro, Helen Chadwick, Salvador Dali, Elisabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth, Bridget Riley and Andy Warhol.

The Showcase of Community Media

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 19 February 2008

Community Media AsociationThe Showcase is a ‘streaming media archive’ of radio, television, and internet projects from the community media sector. The free, not-for-profit site offers “access to both fiction and non-fiction programmes in a variety of languages, made by individuals, community groups or organisations from all over the UK and beyond. Issues covered include: cultural identity, gender, human rights, democracy, labour and class issues, and the arts.

For example, in a 15 minute film, Pipilotti Rist talks about her video installation ‘Show a Leg’ at the Tramway gallery in an edition of Channel 6 Broadcasting’s television show, ‘Art in Scotland’.

The site uses Real Media for low bandwidth and broadband connections, and all video and audio materials are available for streaming or download.

Digital Artists Handbook

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 8 February 2008

gun.exe by AnonymousThe Digital Artists Handbook is an on-going database that introduces different tools, resources and ways of working related to digital art. It is composed of articles written by invited artists and specialists, published by Folly (a UK non-profit digital arts organisation) and supported by the Arts Council of Great Britain. At present there are detailed articles on the following subjects: graphics; working with sound; working collaboratively; publishing your work; working with digital video; software art; developing hardware. All articles have references with links to other helpful websites.

Smithsonian Archives of American Art Collections Online

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 8 February 2008

Joseph Cornell Ink Blot Drawing, 1969-1971Joseph Cornell Box Construction (part), undated.The online collections of the Smithsonian Archives of American Art provide access to the papers of American artists such as Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer and Louise Nevelson. The site also includes the papers of Joseph Cornell which have been scanned in their entirety, totalling nearly 33,000 images. Papers include correspondence, diaries, source material, notes, writings, photographs, printed material, two- and three-dimensional ephemera, art works, and books, as well as a limited amount of legal and financial records, and some miscellaneous personal and family papers.