[Personal_archives] Last thoughts of the first day

[Kristan Cook]

 Several months ago, a colleague and I met with a family to discuss a potential donation consisting of family photographs and family films.  While the mother, the primary creator of the material, initiated the meeting, one of the daughters vociferously objected to donating the films firstly because she appeared nude as a child in one of the films and secondly because many family members and friends appeared in the films and she felt that these family members and friends should be able to offer their consent before these films became “public” in our archives. Interestingly, the daughter felt no qualms about donating the family photographs even though she made several “compromising” appearances, the same family members and friends appeared in these photographs, and the photographs captured many of the same events featured in the family films. While we assured the family that they shouldn’t donate the material until they felt comfortable with the terms of making the material available to the “public”, my colleague could not help but tease out a few ideas during our meeting such as “what makes live action different from still shots and in turn how does that pertain to your feelings relating to privacy?”
 
Kristan 
> From: jbritton at library.uwaterloo.ca> To: mlangford at qc.aibn.com; Personal_archives at mailman.yale.edu> Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:49:12 -0400> Subject: Re: [Personal_archives] Last thoughts of the first day> > Martha's 'last thought" resonated strongly with me when I read them> yesterday. It has been my experience that families tend to relinquish their> photograph albums when there is no longer a relationship between memory and> photography, or when the keeper forsees an interruption in the chain of> "storytelling and conversation." We as archivists are often in the position> of knowing more about the family than the family themselves; we identify> people, places, events and attach the stories and facts gleaned from the> diaries, letters etc. in an archive of which the albums and photographs are> only a part. The donors see us as a place that is "safe"; that is, not only> are the physical objects preserved, but the memory is also. In the course of> preparing the material for "public" use we take the disparate parts of a> family archive and recast a web of meaning and context around them, in turn> offering to the family the possibility of a re-discovered narrative> (although obviously never the original one). Our position becomes almost> that of extended family, and for the researcher ours is the voice that is> the first encountered -- so the narrative "burden" passes from the private> to the public sphere. > > The concept of "public" vs "private": we have a number of photograph albums> kept by girls and young women, many documenting time spent away from home at> school and on holidays. These are not public even at the family level; the> privacy of these albums is ensured by the obscure narrative whose language> is understood only by the participants in the experiences thus documented.> Teachers and fellow classmates all have nick-names with significance lost in> time; captions tend to exist only to reinforce the memory of the participant> in a clique with reference to shared misdemeanours, crushes and escapades.> The intended audience is small and entrance otherwise granted only by a> "gatekeeper". > > A final observation: I've always wondered why so few people are identified> in early photograph albums, and feel envious of the complacent assumption> thus displayed that someone would always know who they were. Alas, how many> rootless souls inhabit these albums, as indistinguishable as 'rabbit's> friends and relations" -- alas for us who try to document a living> community with the images of its forbears.> > Jane Britton> Archivist, Special Collections> University of Waterloo Library> 200 University Ave. W. Waterloo ON N2L 3G1> (519) 885-1211 x32445  FAX: (519) 888-4322  > > > -----Original Message-----> From: personal_archives-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> [mailto:personal_archives-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Martha> Langford> Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 6:23 PM> To: Personal_archives at mailman.yale.edu> Subject: [Personal_archives] Last thoughts of the first day> > About the notion of photographs as launching pads for oral history: > aren't we really talking about memory? What I've argues elsewhere about > the relationship between memory and photography in photographic albums > is that the content and organization of the photographs preserve the > characteristics of orality - that is, the photographs are a scaffolding > for storytelling and conversation. I think this recognition is important > because it changes the way we read the album - we should not read it, as > a book, but understand that the narrative is, as you say, > multi-directional. Orality offers both narrative and its interruption.> > Our fascination with photography is its provision of visual facts and > photographic experience in one neat package. Photographic interpreters > like facts, but they are also drawn to good yarn and they look for its > spark in the image. Photographs are not just taken, they are occasioned > by a constellation of factors that make the moment seem significant.> > 'Night all.> > _______________________________________________> Personal_archives mailing list> Personal_archives at mailman.yale.edu> http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/personal_archives> > _______________________________________________> Personal_archives mailing list> Personal_archives at mailman.yale.edu> http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/personal_archives
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