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background : on archiving

Writer's picture: matilde tomatmatilde tomat

When looking at a system of representation that would suit me, and having looked at Tacita Dean as suggested by the tutor JH, and having reflected on my mark-making and where I tend to go to as a reference point… I thought about referencing and archiving. This is supported by my previous studies and interests (see: languages, mathematics, semiotics, Mesopotamia and museum archival and library approach), by my methodology (see: logic), by my therapeutic propensities (see: journalling and recording).

As a first research, I focused on the following library of King Assurbanipal (668–631 BC) at Nineveh which I have explored at the British Museum (more here). This is considered to be the oldest library / archival system ever. From the museum dedicated website on the project:

The oldest surviving royal library in the world is that of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria (668-around 630 BC). British Museum archaeologists discovered more than 30,000 cuneiform tablets and fragments at his capital, Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik). Alongside historical inscriptions, letters, administrative and legal texts, were found thousands of divinatory, magical, medical, literary and lexical texts. This treasure-house of learning has held unparalleled importance to the modern study of the ancient Near East ever since the first fragments were excavated in the 1850s.

Here following are some of the pictures I have taken this past November 2019:

And here following is an image of a table of synonyms:

Library_of_Ashurbanipal_synonym_list_tablet.jpg
 

Then, I wanted to explore more the pictographic idea of modern archiving, and in order to do so, I have downloaded some photographs which I have used as reference and research. See the following:

And then I have expanded looking at websites which discussed exhibitions which had an element of archiving. See the following:

Here following are links to websites I have accessed and used as contextual research:

How the Art World Caught Archive Fever here

Archive Fever Uses of the Document in Contemporary Art here

and its pdf media release here

dOCUMENTA retrospective here

The Imaginary Archive here

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