Methods of Cataloguing / Tutorial 1 / 22/10/24
Catalogue choice:
Political Buttons, Harvard Library, Curiosity Collections:
https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/political-buttons
Sub-categories:
HKS LIBRARY BOOKMARKS
ANTI WAR & PRO-PEACE
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
FEMINISM & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
WORKERS’ RIGHTS & LABOUR UNIONS
Today was interesting. In Methods of Investigation, I felt that I spent too much time digging into the material, and not enough time listening to my instincts. Whether that is a correct assumption will come out in the assessment I suppose.
This time, I wanted to be more instinctive with my response. This is also because I am still balancing the course with work commitments. This project is in much less time, but asks for the same amount of work. I am mindful of catalogue material choice and medium choice (how I’m working/classifying/end result), there is simply not time to dive into a new media or suddenly do metal sculpture. This needs to stay digital.
I classified the badges into groups of colour, graphic or typographic and noted down answers to the questions in the brief, see page 5 of the attached pdf:
What are the different components? How are they similar? How are they different? How are they held together, both formally and conceptually? How is your understanding of each component shaped by its relationship to the other parts in the set? Is there an identifiable ‘grammar’ within the system? What patterns are visible across the set? How is it presented, circulated, or accessed?
However, because of time constraints I could only allow 1.5 days on experimenting, so I went straight into the material without questioning my approach too much.
Pages 7-8 deal with representing the type on different badges in an opposing style form another badge. Asking if they take on a different tone when styled differently.
Page 9 overlays random badges, mixing themes to create something new.
Page 10 shows current version software historic badges, not from the collection. One grouper member responded well to this, as did tutor.
Pages 11-12 look at putting the badges into a new context, sometimes opposing the theme of the image. Recontextualising.
Pages 13-14 subvert the badges by breaking them up and recombining elements.
Page 15-16 – more recontextualising, photographic context and us elf digger tent circle motifs to replace the badge material.
Page 17 looks at shape, is the circle integral?
Page 18 – repeated messaging within single badges.
Pages 19-20 takes away any styling, just uses words and dingbats as an experiment.
Pages 21-23 break out graphics, looks at length of the message, and people involved in the badges.
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The following questions came out of today:
Which method of recategorising/manipulating the material do I find most engaging?
Dissecting the badges and combing random elements.
What is my critical position on the badge catalogue at this point?
The original catalogue from Harvard is quite dry and formal, and does not echo the loud, confident tone of voice of the material.
I want to reframe the badges and understand their constituent parts in order to show their value clearly, and loudly. Can they have impact no matter what combinations there are?
In a wider context, the issues of protest badges are still around today and there is a pointlessness to them. Is it just fucked up and pointless? As the green badge on page 4 says: ‘WEARING BUTTONS is not enough’. I think this reclategorsiation/representation can make a comment about the value in the badges but ask if they are REALLY heard?
What form do I think the end result will take?
Some kind of recombination to make conclusions from. Could that be a game of some kind? Make your own protest badge? Could it be a pamphlet to show how buttons work? I think this last one is a little dry.
What are my next steps?
Take a random cross section, pull them apart, categorise, make conclusions, tink about a method of bringing them together and redefine my critical position on the old and new catalogues.
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Batia Suter’s Parallel Encyclopedia and Marianne Wex’s Let’s Take Back Our Space discussed as good context.
See attached pdf of today’s work.
http://23045260.myblog.arts.ac.uk/files/2024/10/MECOB_MethodsofCataloguing1_lowres-2.pdf
