[-empyre-] active and passive archive access

[Gair Dunlop <gair@easynet.co.uk>]

I am particularly interested in this discussion as it touches on my own 
arts practice.
It seems to me that there are two poles of archiving theory: one about 
"saving" and "preservation" which see the results of their efforts as 
largely static, a repository of knowledge which is consulted in rather 
the same way as an encyclopedia.
The second- perhaps embodied by such projects as the Prelinger Archives- 
seeks to re-site the found material in a context of use, flux, and 
transformative exchange. This position acknowledges the inherent 
subjectivity and re-use potential of archive material, and posits the 
user as ultimate determinant of the destination of the work. It allows 
diffusion but on uncertain and uncontrollable terms.

The second pole is of course only made possible by a stable ground from 
the first.

Then there are projects which attempt to reach from the first position 
to the second, such as Scottish Screen's "Archive Live " initiative.

I think that in an amnesiac time such as now there is a greatwer need 
than ever to spread an awareness of content available, and to spread the 
potential for use of this material.

Gair Dunlop

www.cumbernauld.nu
www.tompro.co.uk
www.gairspace.org.uk