The Baby and the Bath Water: Reassessing Analog Slides

  • Karen L. Kessel M.A. Sonoma State University
Keywords: disposition of analog slides, artist permissions, local art history

Abstract

The curator of Sonoma State University's Art and Art History Department Image Collection describes her strategy for preserving unique and original images that document local history while preparing for the eventual disposition of 150,000 35mm slides acquired over 45 years in support the department's curriculum. She is ferreting out the collection's original photography of exhibitions and installations and work by faculty and other local artists that demonstrate the vibrant culture history of Northern California and seeking permission from the artists to display images of their work.

Author Biography

Karen L. Kessel M.A., Sonoma State University

Karen Kessel has worked as the Visual Resources curator at Sonoma State University for 24 years following 9 years in the same position at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She earned an interdisciplinary Master's Degree at SSU in Art History and Anthropology with a thesis on bird imagery in Ancestral Puebloan ceramics.

Published
2020-02-09
Section
Feature Articles