The Library is sad to announce the departure of our amazing colleague, Ingrid Martis. Ingrid has worked in various capacities at MoPA since 2007, most recently as Associate Librarian and Collections Development Coordinator. Ingrid’s contributions to MoPA and the Dubois Library are too many to list, but include the creation of the Podcast program highlighted here on this blog, as well as the development and digitization of many audiovisual resources and archives in the Library. We are so sorry to see her go, but look forward to hearing stories of her Museum and Library adventures in NYC! Best of luck Ingrid, and thank you again for all that you have given to MoPA and the Dubois Library!

“The crowd was like an electric battery, sending out a stream of sparks. Everyone was happy to see others in a happy mood….Gradually I managed to push through the crowd and attached myself to a group near the meeting-place, who seemed to be scientists. Here I felt myself at last closer to events, both spiritually and physically…After a long wait…the secret gradually unfolds itself…” -Ludwig Pfau¹

It was August 19, 1839, and François Arago was giving a scientific presentation to the Académie des Sciences in the Palais de l’Institut de France. The reason for all of the electric energy, mystery and excitement? As Beaumont Newhall later described, it was the “great moment when photography was, at long last, given to the world”.²

To commemorate that day and moment, staff here at MoPA felt a birthday card was in order…Happy Birthday Photography!

Notes

¹Ludwig Pfau, Kunst und Gewerbe (Stuttgart, 1877), pp. 115-117, translated in Helmut Gernsheim, Origins of Photography (New York, 1982), p. 45.

²Beaumont Newhall, “Eighteen Thirty-Nine: The Birth of Photography,” in Photography: Discovery and Invention: Papers delivered at a symposium celebrating the invention of photography/ organized by the Department of Photographs and held at the J. Paul Getty Museum on January 30, 1989 (Malibu: 1989), pp. 19-30.

Posted by Jennifer Sunga, Intern at MoPA

For years, The Edmund L. & Nancy K. Dubois Library’s archives included a number of videotapes containing material that dates back to the first years of The Museum of Photographic Arts. Until recently, MoPA had been unable to play or access the content of these tapes, which was captured on antiquated video formats. Thanks to a project by the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, all the hours of footage on these obsolete tapes have been exhumed from the MoPA vault and are finally digitized. As a result, MoPA has been able to rediscover video content that had been inaccessible until now.

The Edmund L. & Nancy K. Dubois Library will be hosting a screening series of this material, scheduled to begin in early 2010. These 20-minute presentations will include a variety of interviews, documentaries, and other films featuring notable photographers including Mary Ellen Mark, Duane Michals, and Arthur Ollman- MoPA founder and past director.

Make sure to sign up for email updates about these special screenings and other events taking place at MoPA. To add yourself to the mailing list, click here:  http://mopa.org/info/generalinfo.htm.

The Duane Michals Show, 1990

Arthur Ollman interview with local TV station.

Post written by our fabulous intern Erika Johnson:

On June 29th, the Museum of Photographic Arts held a workshop for staff to finalize a disaster plan in the event of a flood, fire, or any damage to the collection. Presented by the Balboa Park Art Conservation Center, conveniently located in the same building as MoPA, the meeting covered the steps to be taken, by whom, and with what priority.
Each type of photographic process, from every time period, has a slightly different conservation procedure, and depending on the degree of damage, it can take many hours to both assess, stabilize, and begin recovery.
Since disasters can happen anywhere, we thought it would be useful to present a brief summary of techniques that any photographer or book collector, large and small, can initiate if a situation arises. And keep in mind, even a burst pipe, a bathroom flood, or a leak in the roof during a storm can cause significant damage if works of art or susceptible material is not properly protected.

Photographs

• Act as quickly as possible! The longer you wait, the more distortion can happen and if left for more than two to three days, mold can take over. If there is too much to recover and not enough time to begin conservation on all of them within 48 hours, you can freeze albums and prints for as much time as you need in a regular home freezer in a plastic bag.

• Be careful to not store prints in basements, under pipes, or on the floor

• If images are soaked, rinse them with drinking water if there is debris, then separate. If the images have already begun to dry, wet them again and then separate.

• Gelatin silver prints remain stable even when wet, however they can stick to other prints and distort after drying. To dry, place sheets of blotting paper under them with pressure (such as books) on top.

• The best way to save an album is to disassemble, dry each page separately, or even better remove prints and place them in a new album.

• Do NOT put your prints or albums in a microwave to dry. Water droplets on the print can cause spots to form, any metal can cause fire, and plastic will melt.

Books

• Like photographs, don’t store your books near any pipes, in the attic, or stacked on the floor.

• Books can absorb large amounts of water, which can cause irrevocable warping. Paper fibers swell and expand, and if the paper is old it may turn color. If there is no pressure put on the book, it will dry distorted. If the book has a coating the colors will bleed and the pages stick together. If the books are not soaked, leaving them pressed together on the bookshelf will help prevent warping.

• If possible, reduce humidity and increase air circulation.

• If taken off the shelf and placed in a box, store with spine down and close together to increase pressure to prevent distortion.

• Freeze-drying books is the best way to prevent damage, and as with photographs, if you need time this will allow you to work at your desired pace. As the book freezes, ice goes directly into a vapor form, skipping the aqueous state. This is the best route if the books are very wet. As an experiment, the MoPA library has its own book in the freezer (see photo)!

These simple steps can be taken during an emergency and can ultimately save a lot of time and money. Of course for meaningful and priceless pieces, a conservator can be contacted for professional cleaning.

Disaster Recovery, Salvaging Photography, Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, 1998.

A Consumer Guide for the Recovery of Water-Damaged Traditional and Digital Prints, Image Permanence Institute, 2007.

Review by Walter Pomeroy,  Dubois Library volunteer since 1999.

Rainier, Chris. Ancient Marks: The Sacred Origins of Tattoos and Body Marking, Media 27, 2004.

“This book transported me back to Junior High School where I first discovered the National Geographic Magazine. The exotic and erotic photos were an eye opener for a teenage boy in the 40’s! It is not surprising that Rainer has worked with the National Geographic.

This is much more than a book of tattooed people. It is a sociological tour of the world, seeking out the ancient customs of body markings, including a world map of the countries visited. In Rainier’s photos we meet compelling individuals who happen to have body markings or piercing. Some are so beautiful, that at first you do not notice the markings. Like the Ukasa mistress on page 128/129, whose delicate curved backside captures your eye before you notice her full body tattoos. Or the Tahitian youth on page 120 who looks like he could stand astride an ocean. Again you have to look very close to see the lace like tattoos. I do not want togive the reader the impression that all is light and beauty in the book. There are some disturbing images that might offend some viewers. I found the book interesting enough to buy it for myself. The soft bound edition comes with a twelve minute DVD travelogue of Rainier and his travels.

This book is in the Dubois Library Collection and is also available for purchase at the Museum Store.

Imagine the scenario : you had planned to do this research on your favorite photographer for 2 months already. You realize 30 minutes before the appointment that your nanny won’t be able to attend to the needs of your offspring… Should you cancel again? Should you just drop your class?

The Dubois Library is thrilled to present the Kids’ Corner, an area entirely dedicated to youngsters from 3 to 10 years old. With more than a hundred books, little Billy will now spend hours juggling between William Wegman’s abecedary, a Digital Photography Guide for kids, or an early edition of the Cat in the Hat Beginner Books. Meanwhile, you can finish up this paper on Ansel Adams, or polish your knowledge about daguerreotypes.

The Kids’ Corner is also open to any kid between the age of 10 and 107.

Staff and volunteers of the Dubois Library are relentlessly pursuing the goal to give patrons the best research atmosphere possible. Our latest accomplishment is the creation of a Research Guide Series. These research guides, also known as pathfinders, outline various resources available for use in the library relating to specific topics or individual photographers. For a .pdf version of these research guides, click Research on the header toolbar or follow the links bellow. Among the existing topics covered (or to be coming soon):

- Lou Stoumen

- Edward Curtis

- Children’s art books on photography

- Ansel Adams

- Diorama in Photography

- Contemporary Photography in California

- Japanese Photographers

Picture: Lou Stoumen, Time Square in the Rain, New York, 1940. © MoPA

The library is now available to our members on a walk-in basis Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m!
We are also open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am to 5pm by appointment only.
The Library is closed for major holidays.

Ever wondered what Film Noir is all about? How to make a documentary? Do you want to know everything about Iranian Cinema? Or learn more about Shirley Temple?

Come to the Dubois Library, browse through our Cinema section and come upon the fascinating history of the 7th Art!

Also, keep an eye on current and future film programs at MoPA!

Now available in the Dubois Library : Nancy Newhall Exhibition Catalog!

Based on MoPA’s blockbuster exhibition: Nancy Newhall, A Literacy of Images, this publication is the first comprehensive survey of Nancy Newhall, a prolific writer and major contributor to the history of photography. During the first half of the twentieth century, Newhall helped define photography and was one of the first to write about visual literacy- the importance of reading images and how text can change their meaning. Using her skills as designer, editor and collaborator, Nancy Newhall helped shape the concept of the modern photographic book. A Literacy of Images celebrates the 100th anniversary of her birth, exhibiting her photographs (many for the first time) and the work of her circle of friends, including well-known photographers such as Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Helen Levitt and Edward Weston.

This volume is also available for purchase from the Museum Store.